Scientist at CARON | NIH Funded PI | UGA 40u40 | STEM Educator & TEDx Speaker
Mentoring to me is much more than just training my mentees. It reminds me of the dreams I had growing up and the promises I made to myself. Mentoring allows me to multiply the manifestations of my own dreams.
Die Thao Nguyen
Training Period: 2015-2020
Current Position: MS Student, Duke, Joining Medical School Fall 2021
Jiten is a very personable individual and his positive energy is very contagious. He constantly strives for excellence, and his ambition is always radiating to everyone around him. I always feel empowered in his presence. Jiten’s commitment towards research excellence and his leadership and dedication to his mentees and colleagues is commendable. I have learned over the years that a leader is only as good as his team is. Jiten embodies the traits that make a great leader: he is not only just a phenomenal individual, but on top of that, he is also a remarkable leader who is a natural at nurturing talent, and his congenial characteristics allow him to foster a strong relationship with people. Without a doubt he is an unparalleled educator.
Juhi Mancha
Training Period: 2017-2020
Current Position: Pdt Mgmt & Co-op Johnson & Johnson
Dr. Pant is the kind of mentor who believes that we all have the power to seek change and see it through. I have learned from him that the motivation must come from within as he helped me see my failures as a learning curve. From him, I learned about discipline, problem-solving, and independence. It is evident that Dr. Pant doesn’t fail to go above and beyond his duties as a researcher and a mentor. As a representative of the researchers he has trained, I can confidently say that Dr. Pant is the kind of educator that any student would fortunate to learn from.
Arnab Mondal
Training Period: 2017-2020
Current Position: PhD Candidate, University of Georgia College of Engineering
Jiten’s optimism in life is contagious. It leaves you feeling powerful enough to overcome your own hurdles. Two important lessons of life that he has taught me- 1) never give-in to the whims of naysayers and 2) If your worries are keeping you up at night, DO something about it than agonizing over it. For me, knowing him is a truly transformational encounter.
Lori Estes
Training Period: 2016-2019
Current Position: PhD Candidate, UGA
Dr. Pant’s leadership and mentorship was evident since the day I started working in Dr. Handa’s lab, where we both completed our PhDs. As a direct Bachelor to Ph.D. student, I didn’t have much research experience, but as a student 3 years senior Dr. Pant was always willing to lend a helping hand and give me advice every step of the way. He always emphasized the importance of planning and time management to make sure time was never wasted and projects were completed efficiently. He also understood the significance of becoming a fully engaged researcher rather than a lab technician, teaching me that I should always be asking, “Why?” when I am learning a new skill, reading literature, or starting a new project, and I should never grow complacent in a research area. Dr. Pant had a way of being encouraging and patient at the same time, and I am so grateful for his mentorship and the role he played in my personal and professional growth during my Ph.D.
Sai Nagula
Training Period: 2016-2019
Medical Student · Mercer University School of Medicine, GA
Jiten was my direct supervisor and mentor during my time as an undergraduate researcher at UGA. My experience in that lab was extremely rewarding and educational, and a big reason for that is Jiten. He had a great ability to connect to his students, and was amicable and friendly, making us feel comfortable to ask questions and allowing us to establish a good and productive rapport among our team. At the same time, he is a gifted educator, as he was able to consolidate higher-level bio-engineering concepts and explain them to a student at the undergraduate level in a way that was understandable and digestible, which is a skillful talent on its own. There is no doubt that my experience in the Handa Lab was as enriching as it was mostly because of Jiten."
Ryan Devine
Training Period: 2017-2020
Current Position: PhD Candidate, University of Georgia
Dr. Pant served as the ideal role model and mentor during the formative years of my graduate studies. His drive to constantly improve his professional skills, from scientific research process to presentation skills, pushed me to do the same. I made sure to have my desk as close as possible to his to adsorb whatever I could, as he exudes excellence. Any institution that chooses to affiliate with Dr. Pant should know they're getting a true go-getter that will bring a sense of honor and distinction.
Megan Douglass
Training Period: 2016-2020
Current Position: Ph.D. Candidate, University of Georgia
Jiten was instrumental in my early development as a PhD student. I came in directly from undergraduate with only basic lab skills. However, Jiten quickly and clearly trained me on antimicrobial testing and cell culturing techniques, which I was able to master within the first few months of starting. Jiten's patience and clarity during his mentorship is something that I have aspired to adopt over time when I mentored students as well.
Eashan Prabhu
Training Period: 2020-21
Current Position: Undergraduate Research Assistant, BME, University of Michigan
I have been mentored by Dr. Pant since October 2020 and over this period of time, I have gotten the opportunity to learn a lot from him. He is a fantastic mentor and is very driven, dedicated, and passionate. From him, I have gained not only knowledge regarding protocols in the lab but also knowledge about the field of science in general. Through his teaching methods, I better understand the hows and whys of each step, better equipping me for solving problems as they arise. Further, as a mentor, he provides guidance using his own experiences to help encourage me along my own journey towards becoming a researcher.