I am a neuroscientist and neural engineer developing neurophysiologically-based brain computer interfaces (BCIs). My main objective is to augment human capabilities using BCIs. This work is driven by a fundamental understanding of how the brain represents and encodes information. By integrating basic neuroscience with statistical signal processing, machine learning, and kinematic engineering, I seek to translate these principles into long-term stable neuroprosthetic systems.
Brain computer interface (BCI) control of a robotic arm and hand in a paralyzed patient
Natraj et. al., 2025
A closely related research direction is to examine at the role of sleep in the consolidation of motor skills. More broadly, I have also investigated the ameliorating and therapeutic effects of sleep in clinical populations, specifcially focusing on anxiety reduction in patients with PTSD.
I am currently working in a BCI startup.
Previous: Research faculty in Neural Engineering at the Weill Institute for Neurosciences at the University of California, San Francisco with affliation to the UCSF - Veteran Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). I worked with Dr. Karunesh Ganguly, and also did my post-doctorate fellowship in his lab. I also collaborated with Dr. Anne Richards at UCSF-VAMC.
Education: MS and PhD from Georgia Tech with Dr. Lewis Wheaton in Bioengineering and Neurophysiology respectively. B.E. in Electrical Engineering from College of Engineering, Guindy Chennai, India.
Misc: Wrote code as a software engineer for 18 months in industry. Prior to all this, I was a tennis player and track athlete in my first career before embarking on my professional journey.