Raghav ("The Boss") completed his B.E. Mechanical Engineering from BITS, Pilani. He then worked with Upi Bhalla at NCBS for his PhD and Allison Doupe at UCSF for his postdoc. He joined IISER in 2013.

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He is interested in the broad question of how neural activity generates complex, natural behaviours.

 

Raghav loves his chai, (with a drop of lemon in it now) and if he's not discussing work, he is busy checking if others want a cup of chai. All of our brainstorming sessions start with Raghav saying "What do you think" and ends with "Sounds good"!

Titir completed her Bachelors and Masters in Cell and Molecular Biology from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda before joining IISER in 2020.

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Her thesis examines female preference for song and the neural basis for song preferences.

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Everyone in the lab fights for the male birds in the lab but being an ardent feminist, Titir works with female birds! 

Dhanya completed her Bachelors in Agriculture from Agricultural  College, Rajahmundry before joining IISER in 2021.

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Dhanya's work examines preparatory activity before song and its possible role in song initiation and generating variation in song bouts. She is also working on a "delayed-song" paradigm.

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Dhanya's goto quotes are "put your brain in the fridge", "sed lyfe" and "I am hungry".

Anand is currently doing his Masters thesis in the lab as part of his BSMS programme at IISER Pune. He joined IISER in 2019.

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Anand is working on examining the role of LMAN in learning the properties of introductory notes.

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No one in the lab, including Anand, knows what the 'C' in his name stands for. We think it is "Chikoos". He is also the first brand ambassador for Apple in the lab. 

Abhilipsa is currently in the 4th year of the BSMS programme at IISER Pune. She joined IISER in 2020.

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Abhilipsa is examining respiratory pressure during branch points in Bengalese finch song.

 

Abhilipsa periodically releases birds in the lab to test everyone's bird-catching abilities.

 

Sonam completed her Bachelors and Masters in Zoology from University of Jammu and HNB Garhwal University. She did her PhD with Manjari Jain at IISER Mohali where she studied the complexity of vocalizations produced by jungle babblers and sunbirds. She joined IISER Pune in 2022.

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Sonam is interested in the neural basis of complexity in bird songs. She is currently recording RA activity in zebra finches and bengalese finches.

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Sonam is the established boxer of the lab and practices on everyone in the lab.

Sheetal completed her Bachelors in Electronics and Communication Engineering from NITK, Surathkal. She joined IISER Pune in 2022.

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She is currently recording in Area X in zebra finches to examine activity before song and during introductory notes.

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Sheetal is the second brand ambasaddor of Apple in the lab and uses her iPad to scare away dogs! 

Devika completed her Bachelors in Zoology from Hansraj College, University of Delhi before joining IISER in 2022.

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Devika's work examines respiratory activity in zebra finches before song and during INs.

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Devika considers herself an introvert, but others in the lab vote her the most extroverted, unless it is her twin in the lab.

Vidushi is currently doing her Masters thesis in the lab as part of the BSMS programme at IISER Pune. She joined IISER in 2019.

 

Vidushi is working on examining the role of LMAN in learning the properties of introductory notes.

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Vidushi likes to meditate (to be read as switching on the fire alarm) when she is not taking care of juvenile finches.

Nakul is currently in the 4th year of the BSMS programme at IISER Pune. He joined IISER in 2020.

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Nakul is working on training birds to sing after specific cues as part of a "delayed-song" paradigm.

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All birds in the lab like Nakul as he lets them "hang-out" with each other.

Shikha completed her Bachelors in Biochemistry from Sri Venketeshwara College, Delhi before joining IISER in 2014.

 

Her thesis examines the development of introductory notes in zebra finch song. Using experimental tutoring techniques, she is also examining the contribution of learning to the development of INs.

 

Shikha is the lab tutor and makes all of the important decisions in the lab - what song each bird will learn, where to go have chai, etc.! 

Shouvik completed his Bachelors in Life Sciences from Presidency University, Kolkata before joining IISER in 2021.

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Shouvik's work examines the neural basis of complexity in vocal sequences. He is currently looking at introductory notes in zebra finch song and branch points in bengalese finch song.

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Shouvik is in charge of lab meeting schedules, so no one dares write anything about him here.

Manali is currently doing her Masters thesis in the lab as part of her BSMS programme at IISER Pune. She joined IISER in 2019.

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Manali's work examines HVC activity before song in zebra finches.

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Manali is good at everything in the lab, but she can't solve "Captchas". We think she might just be a robot.

Abir is currently doing his Masters thesis in the lab as part of the BSMS programme at IISER Pune. He joined IISER in 2019.

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Abir is examining HVC activity during introductory notes before zebra finch song.

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Abir is the master of "Rizz" in the lab and refuses to teach everyone else.

Prakash has completed B.Com. and has been part of the lab since 2014.

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He takes care of our different bird colonies and is constantly thinking about ways to improve our bird housing and care.