This profile is part of a series to highlight the researchers and leaders who will be honored at a ceremony on Nov. 6 for UNMC’s annual research awards – the prestigious Scientist Laureate Award and the Research Leadership, Distinguished Scientist, New Investigator, Career Achievement and Community Service to Research Awards.
Research Leadership
The Research Leadership Award honors scientists previously recognized as Distinguished Scientists who have a longstanding research funding history and also serve as research leaders and mentors on campus.
- Name: Vijaya Bhatt, MBBS
- Title: Professor, Division of Hematology and Oncology, UNMC Department of Internal Medicine; section leader, malignant hematology; medical director, leukemia program; co-leader, Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center
- Joined UNMC: 2012
- Hometown: Kathmandu, Nepal
Describe your research focus in three words or less:
Acute leukemia in older adults
Why is research important in the world today?
Research is important to improve human health and extend life expectancy. In leukemia, advances in chemotherapy and blood or bone marrow transplant over the past few decades have improved outcomes so that patients, including many older adults or those with other comorbidities, now have a chance of achieving cure. We must continue to build upon these advances to further improve the chances of cure and improve health of survivors of cancer.
My work will make a difference because:
Acute leukemia is common in older adults, who often have other health conditions and lower level of fitness. My work aims to personalize treatment and supportive care in older adults with leukemias to improve their treatment tolerance, functional independence and quality of life. Our study findings are important in an aging population with an increasing burden of blood cancers in older adults.
The best advice I could give a beginning researcher is:
Skills you acquire early in your career will be useful for up to four decades of your career. It is important to invest in learning skills. In addition to grantsmanship and learning how to design and run clinical trials, skills such as time management, organizational skills, leadership, negotiation and communication skills are crucial to performing well in today’s fast-paced clinical practices.
The toughest lesson I’ve learned is:
When you enjoy and prioritize your work, you could lose sight of other important things in life. These include your health, family and friends, and other activities that bring joy in your life. While balance may look different at different stages in your career and life, it is important to remember that there is more to life than your work. And you can be intentional and define for yourself what different things you want in your life, and to what extent.
The best part of my job is:
My work provides opportunities to take care of patients, do research, participate in research leadership and mentoring. Getting to know patients, their families and their passion and purpose, witnessing their resilience and strength they show in the face of serious health conditions, and supporting them through their treatment brings immense joy and a sense of higher purpose. Designing and conducting clinical studies and writing grants and papers fuel creativity and fulfill my artistic desire. Research leadership allows me to be a part of a bigger team and have greater impact than I can accomplish on my own. Mentoring is so much fun, energizing and crucial to train new generation of scientists.
Three things you may not know about me are:
- I started lifting weights and going to gym about two years ago. My research focus in older adults with leukemia and aging was an impetus for exercising more, and my personal interest in exercise and healthy aging now is starting to influence my research.
- In the past few years, I have also dabbled in paddle boating with my family and friends.
- I started to read books outside of medicine after our older son was born. Before that, I almost exclusively read medical literature. Parenting and leadership books are two of my favorite genres.