Krishna Melnattur, PhD - Assistant Professor
Krishna obtained a BTech in Biotechnology from Anna University, Chennai before going to the US for graduate school. He graduated with a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst working with the late Dr. John Nambu. For his doctoral dissertation he studied the development of wiring specificity in the Drosophila olfactory system. Always excited about behavior, he went on to a postdoctoral fellowship at the NIH Bethesda, studying the neural circuitry for colour vision with Dr. Chi-Hon Lee, before finding his true intellectual calling in sleep science first working with Dr. Paul Shaw in the Dept of Neuroscience, Washington University, St Louis, and since at Ashoka.
Krishna was recently awarded a Ramalingaswami Re-Entry Fellowship from the Department of Biotechnology, to establish a sleep group at Ashoka and continue the adventures in brain science. |
Rahul Kumar - PhD student
Rahul graduated with a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from University of Delhi and an MSc from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. He is highly motivated to understand organismal behaviour and how brains adapt to certain behaviours to ensure fitness and survival. He is a neuroscience enthusiast and loves to do science outreach. He is an avid stargazer, a bigtime selenophile and loves to read books and write poetry
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Omkar completed his BSc in Biotechnology from Abasaheb Garware college, Pune. He went on to finish a PGDip in Life Sciences from University of Waikato, New Zealand and then completed an MSc in Zoology from Nowrosjee Wadia college, Pune which is affiliated with the University of Pune.
He has a keen interest in understanding biological and neuronal mechanisms behind animal behaviours, and would like to study topics like brain computer interfaces and neuromechanical enhancements in the future. In his spare time, he indulges a lot in science fiction TV shows and is trying to cultivate a reading habit for science fiction and popular science and history. He loves playing board games, especially chess, and also enjoys playing sports like badminton and table tennis. |
Priyanka Balasubramaniam - Project Associate
Priyanka Balasubramaniam, holds a bachelors degree (B.Tech) in Biotechnology from Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore and a master’s degree (MSc) in Molecular Genetics from University of Leicester, UK. She aspires to become a researcher studying neurodegenerative disease - Huntington’s, Parkinson’s and associated circadian abnormalities. She is very interested in working with Drosophila along with wet-lab work involving genetic material isolation, cloning and so on. Apart from that she likes singing, photography and occasionally playing guitar. She is excited to be a part of this lab.
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Gokul Madhav -Junior Research Fellow
Gokul graduated with a BS-MS from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Berhampur, majoring in Biology. He has a wide range of interests from ecology and evolution, to neurobiology. His is an amateur naturalist, into birdwatching and insect watching and a supporter of citizen science projects. As a hobby he reads books on popular science and popular history.
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Rhea Lakhiani - Research Assistant
Rhea graduated from Ashoka in 2023 as a Biology major with a minor in Philosophy. She is continuing her undergraduate thesis work in the lab as a research assistant. She is interested in learning more about neuroscience, in particular how the brain and neuronal firing affects the way we function and about the importance of sleep. She is also extremely passionate about animal welfare and works towards improving the lives of stray animals. She spends most of her free time hanging out with dogs and cats and she also enjoys reading and baking.
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Kangna Verma - MSc thesis student
Kangna graduated with a bachelor’s in Biochemistry from Delhi University and is currently pursuing her Masters in Biology at Ashoka University. She is interested in Behavioral Neuroscience and is fascinated by the question of how a network of cells in the brain and the communication between them shape the behavior and consciousness of an organism. Her hobbies include singing , doing yoga and catching up on good TV shows and movies.
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Anushna Pal - Senior ISM student
Anushna is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Ashoka University. Having completed her Biology major, she is pursuing a second major equivalent in Psychology. She is interested in learning more about neuroscience and is currently studying the impact of flight disruption on sleep in Drosophila. She is also interested in public health and health administration and hopes to pursue a career in the same. She enjoys painting and travelling.
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Mugdha Joshi - Undergraduate Intern
Mugdha is pursuing her undergraduate degree in Psychology along with a minor in Biology at Ashoka University. She is interested in exploring various aspects of neuroscience and cognitive psychology such as sleep, memory, language, neurodegeneration and traumatic brain injury. She is working as an intern in the lab and is enthusiastic about developing a deeper understanding of our complex mental processes. When not pursuing her academic interests, she enjoys reading, cycling, and music.
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Srijith Poosarla - Undergraduate Intern
Srijith is an undergraduate student at Ashoka University, currently pursuing a major in Psychology (BSc+Research) with a minor in Biology. His research interests include neuroethology, ecological adaptations among various systems(Zebrafish, Bush Crickets, and Drosophila), neuro-psychology, Computational Neuroscience, and the intersection between Music and Neuroscience. Apart from this, he is also pursuing a career in Carnatic music as a Carnatic Mandolin Instrumentalist. In his free time, he enjoys listening to music, learning how to play new instruments, cooking, and reading Philosophy!
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Srimantee Mohanta - Undergraduate Intern
Srimantee is an undergraduate student at Ashoka University, currently pursuing a major in Psychology (BSc) with a minor in Sociology. Their research interests include looking at ecological adaptations among various systems, neuro-psychology, adolescent psychology and identity, among other topics. She is particularly interested in studying behavior from the lens of underlying neural mechanisms and social and cultural contexts. In their free time, they enjoy reading, petting stray dogs and watching horror films.
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