P.S.Nandini, MS, is a PhD student in Dr. Edward Chang's Lab at UCSF as part of the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Bioengineering Graduate Program. She holds an MS in Neuroscience from Berlin, Germany and Amsterdam, Netherlands, with the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship. For her PhD, Nandini is researching invasive deep brain stimulation in humans to treat depression in patients with treatment-resistant depression who have been surgically implanted with a brain-computer interface (BCI), as part of an ongoing clinical trial.
As a Kavli Ethics, Science, and the Public Fellow, Nandini is interested in exploring the ethical implications and societal consequences of such emerging neurotechnologies, due to the highly sensitive real-world applications and ethically complex nature of her research. She is particularly interested in exploring global science diplomacy efforts related to brain health, including how science and policy are approached and perceived in different countries around the world. Toward this goal, Nandini is also an inaugural Quad Fellow (awarded by the Governments of USA, Australia, Japan and India). She has also been selected to present her research to lawmakers at the California State Capitol in 2024 and has developed a policy brief and Op-Ed on safeguarding neurorights as part of her selection for the Universities Research Association’s Science Policy and Advocacy for Research Competition 2024.
Outside of academics, she is the Founder of The Keni Project, a student-run organization that has so far set up 12 libraries in underprivileged schools in 4 cities in Tamil Nadu. She is also a Carnatic vocalist and Veena player, and an avid painter and artist for which she received the National Balshree award (second highest national honor for the youth of India) given by the President of India.
