Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath

Biography

Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath, Ph.D. was a Professor and Chairman of the newly created Centre for Neuroscience at Indian Institute of Science. Dr. Ravindranath joined the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, (NIMHANS) Bangalore in 1986. She served as Director at NBRC from 1999 to April 2009. She established the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC). In a short span of 3 years, she established a state-of-art institute in a remote location and initiated a unified approach to understanding the human brain, integrating mathematical and computational science. She networked 45 institutions around the country with NBRC with a goal to share resources and promote neuroscience research. She serves as Member of Advisory Board at Jeevan Scientific Technology Limited. She is an elected Fellow of all the 3 science academies in the country, namely Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India. She is also a Fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, India, Indian Academy of Neurosciences and Third World Academy of Sciences. She is a recipient of the prestigious S.S. Bhatnagar award (1996), Omprakash Bhasin Award (2001) and the J.C. Bose Fellowship (2006) and the fourth highest civilian award in India, Padma Shri (2010). In 1986, she completed her Post-Doctoral training at the NCI, NIH, USA. Dr. Ravindranath obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Mysore in 1981.

Research Interest

Pathogenic mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disorders. Our laboratory is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in this selective vulnerability. In addition, we have a long-standing interest in understanding drug metabolism in brain, particularly human brain.