Integrating AI into neurobiology
In this interview from our sister site Neuro Central, find out how AI is applied to neurobiology. Highlights include: neural network theories and AI and how Kanaka uses comic strips to communicate her research.
For International Women’s Day 2023, we interviewed Kanaka Rajan, Computational Neuroscientist and Associate Professor at the Friedman Brain Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York (NY, USA). Kanaka discusses her work bridging neurobiology and artificial intelligence, using comic strips to communicate her work, as well as her advice to her younger self.
Please tell us about yourself and how you got to where you are today.
I came to neuroscience circuitously. At first, I followed a typical trajectory of a young student in India, studying math, physics and engineering. My interest in neuroscience wasn’t piqued until after my undergraduate degree. I took a summer research internship position at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bangalore (India), where I found myself immersed in the discussions and research of mental illnesses. I was thrilled by the novelty of this new environment, but I also felt a touch of familiarity. You see, my grandmother helped raise me and also suffered from schizophrenia. Neuroscience research sparked a familiar connection to her lived experiences, which was both comforting and incredibly motivating.
