Prof. Khanna hails from Chandigarh in India. He works as a research scientist at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. He came to Australia some 27 years ago. In fact he was invited to Australia as he remembers, "I received a call from Australia that there is a job for you if you are interested. My wife is also a scientist. So we came on invitation therefore it was not that difficult."
Nevertheless, Prof. Khanna has worked hard to be where he is today. He explains, "It has been a journey of missed weekends, working till midnight and late hours. And sometimes hard work pays well."
Indeed, it has paid well. Dr Khanna is being recognised for his research on cancer with an Order of Australia award. Khanna is developing a new treatment for cancer called immunotherapy. He explains that it is different from surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy as it does not have side effects. According to Dr Khanna, “We train white blood cells of patient in our labs and inject them back in patient’s body.”
Khanna accepts the award with all the modesty as he says, "It feels good. Being an Indian, it is really exciting to be recognised by the Australian society."
Take a listen to his complete interview in which he shares some of his very interesting experiences in Australia.
