“ I, Uzma Zaheer, am employed here at TTCRC as ‘Research Assistant’ in the Pediatric Hematology Department as part of the Genomics team. I joined TTCRC in August of 2019 right after I finished my post graduation degree in MSc Biotechnology (Integrated) from the reputed St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. Here at TTCRC, I am primarily involved in patient-based testing and quantification of Minimal
Residual Disease (PCR-MRD) by use of identification of specific immunoglobulin and TCR rearrangements for each Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia patient. The results of which are utilized in risk stratification and deciding the future treatment plan (intensification,  deintensification, transplantation) for patients in the clinic while also providing useful insight for research purposes i.e determining the therapeutic efficacy of novel treatments. This is a part of the nation-wide project titled “Indian Childhood Collaborative Leukaemia Group” or ICiCLe-2014 which is a randomized open-label phase IV study for patients with newly diagnosed Acute Lymphoblastic  eukaemia. In addition, I am also involved in and processing and bio-banking blood, bone marrow and CSF samples from ALL patients, for downstream experiments. We here at TTCRC work as part of a team rather than individual researchers and hence, one’s responsibilities need not be limited to just their own project but we also provide assistance and support to our fellow team members as and when required.