Sravani K
- Research Program Mentor

PhD at University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley)

Expertise

Neuroscience, neural engineering, bioengineering, medicine, coding

Bio

I'm a physician-scientist interested in the overlap between neuroscience, engineering, and medicine, specifically towards the development of closed-loop modulation therapies for neurological disorders. I obtained my PhD from the joint UCSF/UC Berkeley program in Bioengineering (concentration, neural engineering), examining how brain regions interact to execute motor skills, and how electrical stimulation can affect these interactions (UCSF, Dr. Karunesh Ganguly). I also completed my MD at UCSF and have continued there for neurosurgery residency. My undergraduate research was quite broad, spanning microfluidic drug screening platforms (UC Berkeley, Professor Luke Lee), interventional medical devices (UCSF, Dr. Steven Hetts), neuroimmunology (Stanford, Dr. Lawrence Steinman) and more. Outside of science and medicine, I love figure skating (having competed since I was a child), long-distance running along the San Francisco waterfront, playing piano, and taking care of way too many plants.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Therapeutic targets for neurological diseases

In this project, you will learn about how to identify biomarkers of neurological diseases from research papers, identify a potential stimulation target, as well as design a sample closed-loop stimulation paradigm. You will then summarize your findings in the communication methodology of your choice: research paper, interactive website, podcast, or another desired method. Prerequisites: 1) Strong high school level background in biology 2) Strong background in math, basic calculus preferred Optional: 1) Coding skills, in either Python or MATLAB, to implement closed-loop algorithm

Coding skills

MATLAB (expert), Python (basic)

Languages I know

Telugu, Spanish

Teaching experience

I have previously mentored high school students in the field of systems neuroscience, particularly towards independent projects that identify deficiencies in current technologies or therapies. Projects completed by students included implementation of a tremor detection app for movement disorders with a team of neurosurgeons and neurologists at UCSF, as well as longitudinal journal clubs to discuss future research endeavors based on recently released literature. I also have mentored three students so far, and am looking forward to meeting more bright, enthusiastic students!

Credentials

Work experience

UCSF (2023 - Current)

Resident Physician

UCSF (2016 - 2023)

MD/PhD trainee

Education

University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley)

BS Bachelor of Science (2015)

Bioengineering