Nature has the answers; we must ask the right questions 

“I was first introduced to aspirin when I was in high school. Until then, my grandmother used to treat me with herbal medicine,” said Balakrishna Lokeshwar, PhD, a professor and researcher at the Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University. These natural remedies were the beginning of his long-time belief that nature holds the answers.  

With his keen interest in natural remedies, Lokeshwar set his sights on an education in medicine; however, it has not been an easy journey.

Raised in a small coastal town in India, Lokeshwar’s father, a teacher, was the only earning member of his family. When his father passed away, his mother had to not only manage the household but also become the provider for the family.  

“My mother had not even completed her high school degree, so she went back to school and became a teacher like my father and grandfather had been,” said Lokeshwar. “It was difficult as the school board only paid the teachers for the school months, so for two months or longer, we had no income.” 

His mother’s hard work and dedication inspired Lokeshwar, and, like his mother, he worked tirelessly toward his goal of higher education. 

His hard work eventually paid off when he received the Natural Science Talent Scholarship and was invited to be a student at the Birla Institute of Technology, located in Pilani, India. While he wanted to pursue an education in medicine, the fees were too expensive, so he decided to turn his direction toward biological sciences.  

“Going to an Ivy League school with a full scholarship and attending various summer research opportunities expanded my horizon, I learned the importance of science and research,” he said.  

But inspired by the research aspects of his studies, Lokeshwar finished his master’s degree and then went on to the Indian Institute of Science, where he obtained his PhD in Biological Sciences in 1984. During his graduate studies, he was the author of several publications. 

Lokeshwar then attended Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, as a post-doctoral fellow for three years.  

“My time at Washington University served as my first introduction to cancer research and immunology,” Lokeshwar said.  

When his fellowship ended, he stepped into the role of an independent investigator at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. Over the next 26 years, Lokeshwar rose through the ranks until he became the co-director of research at the Department of Urology and Radiation Oncology. 

He and his wife, Vinata Lokeshwar, PhD, the chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia, moved to Augusta in 2015 when they were both offered the opportunity to leave the bustling city of Miami for the quieter lifestyle Augusta offers.  

“Miami is a wonderful city, but we were looking for a hometown environment, and labs with integrated approaches to research,” he said. “This was the perfect fit for us.”  

Lokeshwar not only serves as a researcher but is also the Dr. Harold Harrison Distinguished Professor in Basic Sciences, a professor of medicine, surgery, biochemistry and molecular biology and a member of the Molecular Oncology and Biomarkers Program at Augusta University.  

His lab focuses on research centered around cancer prevention and therapy of prostate, bladder and breast cancer. He is working on understanding the role of specific proteins mediating benign and malignant prostate cancers, the mechanism of drug resistance and chemoprevention. 

He is specifically interested in using natural products as his chemoprevention agents. Recently, he discovered an anti-cancer compound from Allspice, which is often used in Pumpkin Spice, that works very well on prostate cancer. While it is in the very early stages of research, he is hopeful of the benefits it will provide patients in the future.   

“A lot of medicine is in our own gardens; we just don’t know how to use them,” Lokeshwar said. “Nature is very clever in how it conveys the answer and leaves it up to us to interpret it correctly.” 

Lokeshwar views research as a game he plays with nature. With over 100 publications under his belt, he thoroughly enjoys this game. He believes that the answer is always there in nature, but it is up to one’s own intelligence, patience and perseverance to find it.  

“I tell my people, ‘Ask the question. Be smart, but don’t think you’re smarter than nature,’” he said. 

He enjoys teaching the graduate and post-doctoral students in his lab the importance of effective communication, research and developing their own methods that not only provide results but also provide excitement and passion for the work that they are doing. Having the chance to educate students so that they can advance and become inspiring researchers is one of his favorite parts of the research game.  

“There is this kind of excitement and curiosity that comes with constantly finding something that you never expected,” Lokeshwar said. “That alone is amazing, but research’s side benefits help us improve human life, reduce suffering and disease. Something that can last beyond your lifetime. This is how all the great scientists have contributed little by little, and how we managed to live past 100. This opportunity to advance is what excites me every day to come to work and ask a question.”