Ukhrul: It is not often that one hears of incredible success stories from the city of Ukhrul, nestled in the Hills of Manipur. As and when we do, they are mostly about farmers who have carved out successful entrepreneurial careers, and every once in a while, the story of a footballer making big. But medical sciences? Not so much. This makes the achievements of Dr Khanmi Kasomva even more stellar: with perseverance and hard work, Kasomva is now all set to join some of the brightest minds in the world as a research scientist in the United States.
Born to Luingam Kasomva and Jointy Kasomva, both farmers and residents of Hungpung village, Khanmi is the eldest son among seven siblings. Currently, he is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Gastroenterology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, where he works on chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.
Khanmi, who wanted to become a physician, has been selected to join the prestigious Medical College of Wisconsin as a research scientist. He will be working on multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukaemia (blood cancer) with the most renowned haematology and oncology scientists in the USA. His tentative joining date, as informed to EastMojo over the phone, is the first week of June 2023.
Talking about how he landed the job, Khanmi said that in November last year, he came across a job opening on the internet, after which he sent his job application.
“After my application was accepted, I had to go through three rounds of the interview via video conferencing in December and January,” he said.
“After I got my appointment letter in February, I called my parents and conveyed the news. My parents, especially my mother, cried, and I know those were tears of happiness. Without their support financially and emotionally, I would not be where I am today,” said Khanmi, the first generation in the family to get higher education.
When asked why he chose his line of work, he said, “Since an early age, we came across various types of diseases in the community, but no one thinks about exploring or researching such diseases.”
“Initially, I wanted to become a physician. But due to my family background and lack of financial support, I couldn’t pursue further because I couldn’t afford to waste my time. It does not mean that I cannot clear the medical exam, but to do this, I will have to spend my time and resources, which was not possible,” he said.
So, the only option was to pursue further studies in biotechnology and specialising in medical biotechnology and work in cancer biology. That’s how he became a research scientist, he added.
Khanmi did his early schooling at Hill View English School in Tashar village. Later, he completed his secondary-level studies at Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School in his village. He relocated to Chennai for further studies and studied at Loyola College, University of Madras.
Since 2021, he has also been serving as a vice president of the Tangkhul Scholar Association. He is also an associate member of the American Association for Cancer Research, USA, since 2016 and a member of the Society of American Asian Scientists in Cancer Research, USA, since 2019.
Over the years, Khanmi has received many accolades and recognition based on his studies and research.
He received an International travel award from the Science and Engineering Research Board, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India in 2019, Visiting Research Fellow, at New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, USA. (2017 & 2019).
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He is also a recipient of the International travel award by the Indian Council of Medical Research, Government of India (2016), the Young professional-II award by the Indian Council of Agriculture Research for North-Eastern Hill Region, Meghalaya, India (2016), Best Diplomacy award by North East Indian International Model United Nation, Nagaland, India (2013) and Research Fellow award by Indian Academy of Sciences (2013).
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