The Theatre of Our Minds: An Interview with Dr Farhan Ali

Dr Farhan: I am the second child in a family of four boys. My parents held blue-collar jobs. Growing up, I went to Bendemeer Secondary School then to Nanyang Junior College. I pursued my bachelor’s degree at the National University of Singapore (NUS) followed by a PhD in Biology at Harvard University. I am now a Postdoctoral Associate at Yale University.

I didn’t have much of a career outside of research before joining Yale University. I went from an undergraduate, straight to PhD at Harvard, then to Yale. I’ve been in an academic research environment since my undergraduate days.

My wife and I have three young children, two of whom go to school. So, there is not much work-life balance beyond Netflix.

Q: Why did you become a scientist? What attracted you to the career?

Dr Farhan: Growing up, I looked up to various scientists including Muslim ones such as Abdus Salam and Ahmed Zewail.

Q: What’s a typical working day like?

Dr Farhan: I perform experiments on mice. This includes imaging their brain and testing them with certain drugs. I also supervise students, analyse data and write papers.

Q: Why did you choose to work overseas? And why the United States (US)?

Dr Farhan: The US has the best environment to get trained in cutting edge science.

Q: What’s your area of research? And why did you choose this field?

Dr Farhan: My current area of research looks at how the brain functions normally and in diseased brains, particularly in schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. I use mice to model these neuropsychiatric diseases. I was attracted to the field because neuropsychiatric disorders have imposed and will continue to impose enormous personal, financial and societal burdens. Finding treatments and cures can help alleviate those burdens.

Q: Can you share some of your interesting findings with us?

Dr Farhan: I have broad interests in brain and behaviour. During my PhD, I sought to understand the learning of motor skills. From speaking to writing to music to sports, a lot of aspects of human culture are enabled by dexterous movements of muscles, fingers and body parts. I used the zebra finch, a bird that learns to sing a complex song to better understand how motor skills are learned. I found that complex motor skills are learned by distinct modules in the brain, one involving the cortex and the other implicating the basal ganglia, an important brain area just below the cortex. In my current postdoctoral research, I use mice with mutations related to schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease to better understand the pathologies associated with these neuropsychiatric disorders. My results suggest that these disorders involve an imbalance between excitation and inhibition in the brain, leading to dysfunctional neuronal circuits.

Q: What are the best parts of your job? What are the challenges?

Dr Farhan: The best part about my job is that I get to conduct new experiments that no one else in the world has done. The challenge, however, is that not all experiments work, and even if they do, the data may not support your hypothesis.

Q: What are the major issues or myths around your role?

Dr Farhan: There is no grand “eureka” moment of discovery or a cure. Science moves slowly and incrementally.

Q: What is the highlight of your career thus far?

Dr Farhan: The highlight of my career would be publishing my PhD project in a major research journal. The paper has been cited many times and has influenced the field in multiple ways.

Q: How hard is it to become a research scientist like you?

Dr Farhan: It requires a very long training process, well over 10 years after a bachelor’s degree.

Q: Any qualifications or professional development that has helped you develop in your role?

Dr Farhan: Being immersed in research early during my undergraduate definitely helped me. Like any career, early exposure by way of experience or role models definitely helps.

You can read more about Dr Farhan Ali and his research work at bit.ly/drfarhanali.