PrinciPAl investigAtor
Dr. Balaji Jayaprakash
Associate Professor, Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science.
Research: Learning and Memory
Post Doctoral Fellow with Prof. Silva, Department of Neurobiology, UCLA, Los Angeles, July 2007- Dec 2011
Post Doctoral Fellow with Prof. Ryan, Department of Biochemistry, Weil Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY – 10021. USA, 2005 – 2007
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Visiting Fellow, 2004 – 2005
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Ph.D. (Chemistry), 2004
Post-Doctoral Fellows
Dr. Himanshu Bansal
Himanshu joined the lab as a Research Associate II in June 2024. He earned his Ph.D. in Physics from Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Agra, in 2023, where his doctoral research focused on formulation of computational models to study the optogenetic control of neuronal signaling. Currently, Himanshu is involved in the design and development of advanced imaging systems that include a Non-Descanned Image Scanning Microscope and Two-photon in-vivo imaging systems. His research interests lie at the intersection of physics and neuroscience, with a particular emphasis on creating innovative tools for studying brain function at the cellular and subcellular levels.
Dr. Sriji S. Nath
Sriji joined the lab as a CSRI-DST post-doctoral fellow in 2021. She completed PhD in Physiology from the Department of Physiology, AIIMS, New Delhi. During the PhD period, she worked on the role of thalamus in sleep wakefulness and gained expertise in electro physiological characterization of sleep in rodents. Currently she works on the behavioural, structural and molecular underpinnings of memory and learning in aging and rodent models of Alzheimer’s disease.
Doctoral Students
Nirupam Das
Nirupam joined our lab in 2018,after finishing his M.Sc in Zoology from Banaras Hindu University(2016-18).From his Master’s day he was interested to study animal behavior and underlying neuronal mechanisms, which motivated him to join our lab. Currently he is working on inhibitory neuronal networks,and its role in maintaining memory specificity, generalization and Higher-order associations. He is using chemogenetics and fiber-photometry techniques to selectively modulate the activity of inhibitory neurons ,and measure their activities in real-time.
Manish Prajapat
Manish completed his bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from the IIT Guwahati. Passionate to understand how the brain generates new information from existing knowledge motivated him to pursue a PhD in Neuroscience. His research explores the mechanisms that resolve the conflict that arises from the interplay between sensory inputs and memory-driven processes within the brain. He uses state-of-the-art methods to reactivate the memory cells in the brain to invoke conflict.
Aritra Dutta
He pursued his graduation in Microbiology from St Xaviers College, Kolkata (2015- 18) and his masters in Biotechnology from IIT Roorkee (2018- 20). He joined this lab as a graduate student in 2020 with the crave of having in depth understanding of how the brain functions especially in forming memory. He is interested in unraveling the mechanism of encoding information by the brain already primed with different experiences. It has been established that the molecular pathway responsible for encoding memories by the brain which has previously already acquired a similar experience is different from the pathway which gets activated for encoding a novel memory. He is working to understand how such memories formed by a novel experience and subsequent similar experience interact with each other by dissecting the underlying molecular pathway.
Rajesh Mandal
Rajesh completed his B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering at the Central Institute of Technology in 2019, he pursued his M.Tech in Electronic Design & Technology at Tezpur University. In 2021, he joined this laboratory to delve into the field of Neuroscience. Currently, his focus lies on a project centered around the design and development of noninvasive, portable opto-electronic devices. These devices are based on broadband functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) and are utilized for the detection of neuronal activity in various regions of the brain. His research interests primarily revolve around (fNIRS) and studying neuronal activity in terms of cellular metabolism pathways.
Maiolica Bandyopadhyay
Maiolica pursued her integrated B. Tech and M. Tech Dual Degree in Biotechnology from School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar (2019-2024). She joined this lab recently, with strong motivation to understand the mechanisms of neuronal plasticity in response to new experiences, environments, and learning. Currently she is working on behavioral patterns of memory and learning in mice at external space surrounding them.
Project Assistants
Vaishnavi V
Vaishnavi joined the lab as an intern in July 2023, she completed her Masters in Neuroscience from Department of Anatomy, University of Madras. She has worked on the establishment and feasibility study of radial arm water maze in the analysis of learning and memory function parameters in rodents (rat) during her masters. Now she is working as a project associate in the lab. Currently she is involved in setting up the optical instrumentation to study the function of specific populations of neurons.
Raniya Panali
Raniya completed her integrated BS-MS dual degree from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Thiruvananthapuram, majoring in Chemistry with a minor in Physics. During her undergraduate studies, she explored a range of disciplines before discovering her passion for Neuroscience. She is now a research assistant in the lab.
Thesis Students
Ishatpreet Singh
Ishatpreet is a final-year BS-MS student in Biological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali. He joined our lab in May 2023, initially working with Dr. Sriji S Nath before developing his own research direction on memory interference. His work focuses on understanding how interactions between existing and newly formed memories influence encoding and retrieval, using behavioral paradigms in mice to investigate the mechanisms underlying interference. In May 2024, he returned to the lab for his master’s thesis, where he continues his research on memory interference while also exploring the neural basis of temporal interval memory—examining how the brain encodes and retrieves time-dependent associations.
Palash Ahuja
Palash joined the lab in November ’23 as master’s dissertation student and further extended the project as an intern. He completed his master’s from St. Xavier’s college, Mumbai. He is working with Nirupam Das on elucidating the roles of Parvalbumin interneuron in specificity and Higher order association. Along with that, he is also working on mapping the different brain regions involved in HOA
Aayush Banerjee
Aayush joined the lab as a research intern in August 2024 and is currently completing his final-year dissertation as part of an Integrated BS-MS Dual Degree programme in Biological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Berhampur, Odisha. His interest in neurobiology was cultivated during the early stages of his undergraduate studies, and he is committed to pursuing a career as a researcher in this field. Under the guidance of Nirupam Das, his current work focuses on elucidating the role of Parvalbumin-positive interneurons in regulating memory specificity and social behaviour.
Ria Bhat
Ria is pursuing a B.Tech in Medical Biotechnology at Dr. D. Y. Patil Biotechnology & Bioinformatics Institute, Pune, and began her internship in January 2025 under the guidance of Aritra Dutta for her Bachelor’s dissertation. Fascinated by the brain’s complexity, where billions of neurons shape thoughts, emotions, and memories, Ria is drawn to its many unresolved mysteries. She is especially curious about the fundamental processes that govern neural function and cognition.
Sarang Gajare
Sarang is an Integrated Masters student in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics at the Department of Biotechnology, SPPU University. He joined the lab in December 2024 and am working with Himanshu and Raniya on designing and developing advanced imaging systems and creating innovative tools to study brain function at cellular and subcellular levels. His fascination with the brain and its complexities has always driven him towards neuroscience.
Saujanyaa Surendran
Saujanyaa is an Integrated Master’s student majoring in Biotechnology at SASTRA University, Thanjavur. She has joined our lab in the beginning of January 2025 for her master’s dissertation. Under the guidance of Aritra Dutta, she is studying how molecular pathway regulation is dictated by relative memory formation. Her interest in neuroscience began in school and has only deepened over time, driven by a curiosity about how much we have yet to understand about the brain’s inner workings.
interns
Yukta Subramanian
Yukta is an undergraduate at IISc. Passionate about the intricacies of brain functioning at molecular and cellular level, in healthy and diseased conditions, she joined the lab in May 2024. With Pradeep and Ishatpreet, she is studying memory interference in mice using spatial learning task.