Biographies

Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath
Founding Director of the National Brain Research Centre, India

Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath is the Founding Director of the National Brain Research Centre, also a Deemed University, established by the Government of India in Manesar as a centre of excellence for brain research and to co-ordinate and network neuroscience research groups in the country. After completing her Master’s degree, she obtained her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Mysore University in India and carried out post-doctoral research at the National Institutes of Health, USA. Prior to taking over the current position at NBRC, she was a Professor of Neurochemistry at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, where her research centered on identifying the factors involved in differential drug response often seen in patients with mental illnesses. She has also been studying the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and motor neuron disease.

Since 2000, as the founding director of the National Brain Research Centre she has helped establish a unique institution with focus on unified approach to neuroscience, the first of its kind in the country. In this institute, she has been able to attract faculty from all over the world who adopt a multi-disciplinary approach to understand the human brain - from molecular biology to systems, cognitive and computational neuroscience. This is the first institute in the country to be able to attract mathematicians and biologists of high caliber to work on a unified problem. Recognizing that centres of excellence should have dynamic interaction with other universities/research centres, NBRC is networked to other institutions around the country and the resources such as the digital library are shared. She also plays a vital role in promoting neuroscience research internationally and specifically in the Asia-Pacific region.