Meet Dr Sreedhar S. Kumar working on information processing in the brain
The Indian engineer is fascinated by interfacing engineering techniques with complex biological systems. He joined the Bio Engineering Lab of Professor Andreas Hierlemann to investigate principles governing information processing in biological neuronal networks. Sreedhar likes the medieval charm of the City of Basel in combination with its modern twist and its music scene.
What did you know about D-BSSE before you came here, and what was your motivation to come to ETH Zurich?
I knew that D-BSSE is bringing together diverse disciplines to address pressing challenges in the life sciences. What struck me when reading some of D-BSSE’s work was the active role that technology played in the research process here. The work comes across as dynamic and responsive to the requirements of a challenging application or an open scientific question. I think this flexibility opens up a world of opportunities. This is what motivated me to be part of the team led by Professor Andreas Hierlemann here.
What were your expectations and were your expectations met since you arrived in Basel?
I expected that the experiences I make here will keep me engaged and growing. And indeed, it has been so from the very beginning, be it in terms of science, colleagues, and Basel in general. There is a fascinating variety of stories and positive experiences that I have encountered in these first few weeks.
What were your first impressions?
Positive and welcoming. I found my colleagues warm and engaging and the science exciting. I have also been exploring the city of Basel a bit. It has a medieval charm that goes well with its modern twists. The people are helpful and considerate (even when they drive!).
Which research will you pursue at D-BSSE?
I am interested in information processing in the brain. The tools available in the lab offer a comprehensive view of in vitro neuronal networks in action. We want to extract meaningful information from this data and deduce rules that constrain network activity. I will also investigate how such insights could be exploited to systematically shape activity patterns in such networks. I hope that our research will yield insights that can guide the development of novel ‘network-targeted’ interventions for neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy.
Which hobby or private interests do you hope to pursue in Switzerland?
I am generally curious about exploring local history and folklore when moving to a new place. Basel seems to have much to offer in that regard. I’m also keen to explore the music scene here. The outdoor activities generally don’t engage me as much. But I do find an occasional hike refreshing. And hey, the local trails come highly recommended.
Thank you, Sreedhar, and good luck with your research!
Sreedhar S. Kumar studied Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the National Institute of Technology (Karnataka), India, and later Mathematical modelling at the Universities of L’Aquila, Italy and Hamburg, Germany (M.Sc.). Here, he became interested in exploring the opportunities of interfacing engineering techniques with complex biological systems. He joined Prof. Dr. Egert’s lab at the University of Freiburg, Germany for his doctoral studies in neurotechnology. During his PhD he worked on developing a novel closed-loop approach to control electrical activity in biological neuronal networks. His contributions were published in the journals external page PLoS Computational Biology and external page Neurocomputing. The latter received the best paper award at the 2018 European Symposium on Artificial Neural Networks and can be found highlighted at the external page BCF news page. In mid-August 2019, Sreedhar joined Professor Hierlemann’s Bio Engineering Lab at the D-BSSE as a postdoctoral researcher.