Intro
👋 Hi there, I’m Anirudh or Ani.
In my previous job, I worked in research on the brain. Check out my research page for some accessible readings of my research.
In brief, part of my research was developing algorithms to analyse neural data obtained through various experimental procedures. I also implemented computational models to understand the underlying neural principles. I have a Ph.D in statistical physics and neuroscience and several years experience in analysing complex, multi-dimensional data using statistics and custom-built algorithms.
I worked as a Research Associate (postdoc) in the lab of Dr. Tobias Reichenbach at the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London. More specifically, I worked in Auditory Neuroscience to understand the mechanims behind Multisensory Speech Processing in the Auditory Cortex. To understand speech, we use not only our ears but also our eyes and other senses. Even the early areas of speech processing in the brain i.e. Primary Auditory Cortex receive inputs from visual areas of the brain. My research focused on understanding these mechanisms in the Primary Auditory Cortex which underlie how vision assists in speech comprehension.
Before that, I worked with Dr. Romain Brette on understanding the action potential mechanism in Paramecium at the Institut de la Vision in Paris. Paramecium is a single cell that swims around freely and surprisingly has many properties similar to that of a brain cell i.e. neuron. Futhermore, because it is a single cell, one can study its behaviour and couple the behaviour with its voltage activity. Our research on paramecium focused on understanding this single cell and effectively, improving our understanding of neuroscience.
I graduated with a PhD in 2017 from the Sorbonne Université (specifically the Université Pierre et Marie Curie or Paris VI) while working one two projects. The first one was in the group of Dr. Vincent Hakim at Laboratoire de Physique Statistique (Statistical physics laboratory) at Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris where I researched on mechanisms behind propagation of brain waves. I also worked on the Motion After Effect illusion and Glial cells in Zebrafish larvae in the group of Dr. German Sumbre at Institut Biologie de Ecole Normale Supérieure.
I did my Masters in Optics, Nanosciences and Condensed Matter Physics at Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. Prior to that, I did my undergraduate Major in Electrical Engineering and Minor in Theoretical Physics from Indian Institute of Technology Madras in Chennai.
I am also learning more about Data science and Machine learning to keep up with the world of AI. I completed a Data Science Nanodegree on Udacity to that end. I am hoping to also do more training on Unity to prepare for the upcoming VR revolution.
I have an Associate Fellowship of Higher Education Academy degree in recognition of my teaching experiences.
In my free time, I like to engage in science dissemination and maintain a Science Blog on Medium to that end.