Pulkit Kumar
Scientist & Founder
VictoryTales with its objective to strive and grope vigorously to bring most of the meaningful and powerful inspirational stories from around the world to empower and motivate our growing community, this time we are introducing Mr Pulkit Kumar, Founder of the UofA Cancer Society. Pulkit Kumar (known as Pulkit), is an Indian-born Canadian scientist from Alberta, Canada. He is also known for his discoveries in the field of medicine and technology. He aims to provide more effective treatments for the future, which challenges current treatments in all aspects. He also aims for net-zero carbon emission and plans on creating clean and renewable energy resources, which will decrease the net carbon emission and will keep the average earth temperature in the ideal range.
Pulkit published a paper in May 2020, while touched upon the future of anti-depressants. The paper proposed an alternative treatment for a potential add-on, which in the previous studies was proven to be almost at the same level as the current treatments, with almost zero side effects, even when taken for a period of 7–10 years. This got a lot of attention since the proposed treatment costed almost nothing when compared to the billion-dollar medicinal industries. Later, in October 2020, Pulkit published another paper that proposes the idea of using plant-based compounds for the treatment of cancer. Though he faced lots of challenges with this (since very little research has been done in this field), he took it upon himself to solidify his claims and to encourage more research in this direction.
His study, also published on Research Gate, a well-respected platform used by scientists to host their findings, is one of the most widely read with more than 1,000,000 views to date. In his popular paper Pulkit methodically breaks down the scientific findings surrounding the use of Ocimum sanctum (OS), a popular cancer treatment in Ayurvedic medicine.
Share this Interview:
Know more about
The UofA Cancer Society
The purpose of the UofA Cancer Society is to raise awareness/funds for cancer research. The main objective of this (organization) is to educate the people on Cancer as the (organization) believes that the first step in combating this disease is to educate the populace by imparting education and making the people aware. This (organization) also works for fundraising and educating people more about the Cancer so that the people can distinguish between disorder & disease and for that they distribute handout brochures and help answer most questions on the topic as well as informing the public on what they can do to help the cause. The (organization) (also accepts) donations for the noble cause.
The second aspect of the UofA Cancer Society is to treat cancer. They believe not just antibiotics or any drug, but anything can be used to treat cancer. So, if you have any original ideas to treat cancer, do share with this Cancer Society and the Society will guide through each step!
Tell us a little about your organization and your organization’s journey so far.
The purpose of this group is to raise awareness/funds for cancer research. Our main goal is to educate the public on the topic as we believe the first step in combating this disease is through education. On top of this, we also fundraise and educate people more about this so that they can distinguish between disorder and disease. The second aspect of this group is to treat cancer. We believe not just antibiotics or any drug, but anything can be used to treat cancer. That is why we promote all types of original ideas and ways to treat cancer.
Tell us a little bit about yourself (background) and your journey as an entrepreneur /scientist please.
Since my childhood, I have always been fascinated by different innovations taking place to improve life efficiency and how these innovations have helped humans. As a kid, I have always liked the idea of reverse engineering, which plants an image in my brain of how everything works. I have always been actively participating in science symposiums and have liked discussing new ideas with different people who have similar interests. The more I talked and observed other people, the more I encouraged myself and bent upon towards my goal. Thus far, I am happy that I have contributed positively to the society, whether it’s my discovery about antidepressants, cancer research or the fundraising we’ve done, and I hope I will continue to do the same!
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
In my opinion, the source of my motivation comes from within me itself. You see, no matter how many motivational speakers you listen to, or quotes you read, you will not be truly motivated unless there is something inside of you, driving you towards that goal. In simpler terms, you must be passionate about what you do! If you are passionate, you will automatically love what you do, and do not need any external motivation. There will be a force inside of you, which drives you towards your goal. However, if you do not like what you are doing, nothing will motivate you and often it’s a good indicator to quit and start afresh with something more exciting.
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
During my first year in the university, I got diagnosed with clinical depression. At some point, it got worse to a point where I had no idea whether it was day or night, or what day and date it was. It was really a hard time for me. Also, since I was only 18 and had never experienced anything like that before, I had no idea what to do, whom to ask for help. But luckily my doctor helped me to get out of that situation. In retrospect, this became the reason for my very first discovery, where I discussed what patients with Major Depressive Disorders (MDD) go through and the amount of side effects they experience because of the antidepressants they consume. Thereafter I wrote my very first paper, highlighting how we have antidepressants which have little to no side effects.
What comes first for you - money or emotions?
Being a scientist and the way, I have been raised, I have always been an emotional person and I think I have been able to empathize with people. On top of this, science and my own personal experiences in life have led me to the person I am today. I believe that if we must grow together and improve our lives, we would have to support each other. During this pandemic, people need more mental and moral support than financial.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
Although I stay excited almost all the time, during pressure situations, I tend to calm down. This is because I believe that our body needs to be in equilibrium and any decisions, we take in these situations may have a higher impact on our life in future. During stressful times, I tend to be a little more cliche and start singing songs (which is one of my hobbies since I was 13) and this helps me with my dopamine levels and calms me down.
What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person/startup?
I think the strategy of “letting things go” has helped me personally to grow. This also helps with my overthinking. So, instead of overthinking situations (which may never happen), I tend to use the same amount of thinking in something productive.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
Personally I feel you must experience down before you go up which will balance you for future crest and turf. So, according to my philosophy, any kind of heartbreak--which puts you down, will be the reason for your success. Other habits like hard work, determination, enthusiasm will follow once you find your passion and start chasing your dreams.
What was the main idea behind your discoveries?
I used to shadow a psychiatrist back in 2019. During my time there, I observed how many patients experience the adverse side effects of the modern antidepressants, especially teenagers and young adults. This really struck a bell in my mind and a thought sparked in my mind, that there must be some other way to treat patients with MDD with medicines that have virtually no side effects. I did some research online, read scientific literatures and even visited libraries in the US and the UK, just so I have enough information to draft my paper. Fortunately, I was able to come up with a medicine which almost had everything I was looking for. Similarly, I was heartbroken to learn about the aftereffects of patients diagnosed with cancer. So, following the similar procedure, I started digging on the internet to find a potential medicine that can help people with cancer. Luckily again, I was able to find it. Although it had almost no research done on it but, the chemical compounds it possesses, have a great amount of anti-tumour properties in them and I’m confident that this will open gates for new research in this field. At last, I just wanted to say that my vision is to create a very sustainable future, where science and technology is used to help people and virtually no one is on the receiving end of any kinds of side effects due to science.
