Saishree Badrinarayanan
Program Manager and Research Scientist
Saishree Badrinarayan completed her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences from Sri Ramachandra University and Medical College, Chennai. During her time there, she interned with Dr. Deepak Arjundas, a neurologist in Chennai, to understand the process of clinical diagnoses. While interning with him, she had an opportunity to present findings from her internship at the International Conference for Neurorehabilitation and Neuro-Restoration in Neurological Disorders in India. It was during this conference that she had the chance to interact with Dr. Francesca Cicchetti, which sparked her interest in pursuing a summer research internship at the University of Laval, Canada, focusing on Parkinson’s disease and the role of neuro-restorative and neuro-protective molecules in its biology.
Following this, Saishree pursued her Masters in Neuroscience from the University of Edinburgh, U.K on a School of Biomedical Sciences Master’s Scholarship, where she honed her skills in neural circuit techniques such as patch clamp electrophysiology. Building upon her master’s degree, she continued her academic journey by enrolling in the competitive PhD Rotation Program at McGill University in Canada, within the Integrated Program in Neuroscience, for which she was awarded a recruitment award. During her rotation year, she had the opportunity to work in the labs of Dr. Etienne de Villers Sidani (Montreal Neurological Institute), Dr. Sylvain Williams (Douglas Mental Health Institute), and Dr. Mark Brandon (Douglas Mental Institute). Following this, she joined Dr. Brandon’s lab to investigate the role of interneurons in maintaining the excitation and inhibition balance in the medial entorhinal cortex, a brain region implicated in spatial navigation and memory. During her graduate studies she was supported by a Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives Doctoral Fellowship.
During her time as a graduate student, Saishree was also deeply engaged in science communication activities. She served as Co-President for Science, Policy, and Exchange, one of Quebec’s largest student-led non-profit organizations dedicated to providing and amplifying the student and early-career researcher voice in issues at the interface of science, society, and policy. Additionally, she served as a member of the policy engagement committee for Research Canada, a national, broad-based alliance dedicated to advancing health research through collaborative advocacy.
At CHINTA, she is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of brain research while fostering collaboration within the neuroscience community. As program manager, she is enthusiastic about utilizing her passion for bridging the gap between scientific inquiry and societal understanding, with a focus on translating complex concepts into accessible knowledge. Furthermore, as a research scientist, she specializes in neural circuit techniques, allowing her to explore the intricate connectivity of the brain and contribute to advancements in neuroscience.