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Additional Professor, Department of Psychiatry urvakhsh@gmail.com LinkedIn | Google Scholar Back Back to People Page Back Co-Investigator Team Dr Urvaksh M Mehta Additional Professor, Department of Psychiatry Urvakhsh Mehta practices in Bengaluru, India. He is highly rated in 2 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Schizophrenia, COVID-19, Bipolar Disorder (BPD), and Delirium Tremens. His clinical research consists of co-authoring 119 peer reviewed articles in the past 15 years.

Professor, Department of Psychiatry Google Scholar Back Back to People Page Back Investigator Team Dementia, Schizophrenia Dr John P John Professor, Department of Psychiatry Dr. John P. John is a Professor of Psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India. He underwent post-graduate training in Psychiatry at NIMHANS and post-doctoral training in MRI analyses at the Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA. He has been a faculty at NIMHANS since 2002. His area of clinical specialization is General Adult Psychiatry. His research interest is in linking multi-modal brain imaging techniques (sMRI, fMRI, MRS, DTI, EEG, ERP, PSG) and genomics in understanding the neurobiology of schizophrenia, dementia as well as of different cognitive states. He is the Faculty-in-Charge of the Multimodal Brain Image Analysis Laboratory (MBIAL) at the Neurobiology Research Center at NIMHANS. He is also the faculty-in-charge of the ADBS Neuroimaging Centre (ANC) and the Centre for Brain Mapping (CBM) of the Department of Psychiatry at NIMHANS. Arora, S., Praveen, A. P., Subu, O., Suhas, S., Gowda, G. S., Reddi, V. S. K., & John, J. P. (2025). Sequential ketamine infusion and electroconvulsive therapy in severe depression with psychotic symptoms and pseudo-dementia – A case report. Asian Journal of Psychiatry , 104 , 104383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2025.104383 Arora, S., Suhas, S., Gowda, G. S., Reddi, V. S. K., & John, J. P. (2025). Avertible filicide: A call to action for early intervention and mental health support in India. Archives of Women’s Mental Health . https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-025-01559-0 Feng, Y., Chandio, B. Q., Villalon‐Reina, J. E., Thomopoulos, S. I., Nir, T. M., Benavidez, S., Laltoo, E., Chattopadhyay, T., Joshi, H., Venkatasubramanian, G., John, J. P ., Jahanshad, N., Reid, R. I., Jack, C. R., Weiner, M. W., Thompson, P. M., & for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. (2025). Microstructural mapping of neural pathways in Alzheimer’s disease using macrostructure‐informed normative tractometry. Alzheimer’s & Dementia , 21 (1), e14371. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.14371 Malipeddi, S., Mehrotra, S., John, J. P. , & Kutty, B. M. (2024). Practice and proficiency of Isha Yoga for better mental health outcomes: Insights from a COVID-19 survey. Frontiers in Public Health , 12 , 1280859. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1280859 Villalón-Reina, J. E., Zhu, A. H., Benavidez, S., Moreau, C. A., Feng, Y., Chattopadhyay, T., Nabulsi, L., Kushan, L., John, J. P. , Joshi, H., Thomopoulos, S. I., Lawrence, K. E., Nir, T. M., Jahanshad, N., Bearden, C. E., Kia, S. M., Marquand, A. F., Thompson, P. M., & the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. (2024). Lifespan Normative Modeling of Brain Microstructure . https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.15.628527

Scientific Communication Coordinator writetokadambari7900@gmail.com Back Back to People Page Back Communication Team Kadambari Patil Scientific Communication Coordinator CBM Kadambari Patil is a science communicator and illustrator with a background in Zoology and Botany. As the visual communication lead at the Centre for Brain and Mind - NIMHANS, she ensures complex scientific information is accessible and engaging across platforms. Kadambari has secured grants for outreach, curated science-art exhibitions, and coordinated neuroscience public engagement programs fostering community involvement

Learn more about upcoming events at the Centre for Brain and Mind - NIMHANS Upcoming Events 5 days to the event Perspectives of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Zine Making Workshop 31 Oct 2026, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Come be part of an interactive space for dialogue and creative expression with persons with lived experience (PwLE), caregivers, NIMHANS representatives, and the public to explore addiction beyond stigma and substance use, and the people who are so much more than it. Register here Past Events Measuring Neural Health: An Energetic Signature of the Living Brain Mon, 12 Oct Arts Theater Details Perspectives of Addiction - Zine Making Workshop Sat, 04 Jul NIMHANS Centre for Well-Being Details The Fault in our Cells Sun, 26 Apr The Bangalore Local Why do mental illnesses exist and why do they affect some people but not others ? Details Medulina Matu | Prof Raghu Padinjat Fri, 06 Mar Samagata Foundation Medulina Mathu (“brain talks”) is a new series by the Centre for Brain and Mind, NIMHANS, that brings neuroscience out of the lab and into everyday conversation. Details Brain Bridge: Talks by CBM NIMHANS | Prof Deepak Srivastava Thu, 12 Feb Zoom Webinar Details Load More

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Project Scientist B (Non- Medical) Back Back to People Page Back Lab Team Ashim Paul Deb Project Scientist B (Non- Medical) CBM

Multi Tasking Staff ramyashreemtsnimhans@gmail.com Back Back to People Page Back Support Team Ramyashree Multi Tasking Staff CBM

Professor, Department of Psychiatry bijuv1@gmail.com Google Scholar | Twitter | PubMed Back Back to People Page Back Investigator Team Bipolar Disorder, Molecular Genetics, Stem Cell Research Dr Biju Viswanath Professor, Department of Psychiatry CBM, MGL, A-BIG-NET, DBT/IA Lithium I am a professor of psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru (NIMHANS) , where my primary area of research includes understanding the molecular basis of etiology and treatment response in neuropsychiatric disorders. My training as a physician specialising in psychiatry and as a basic researcher in human stem cells enables me with a unique skill set to develop and execute translational psychiatry research. I am currently funded to examine genetic and cellular correlates of lithium response in bipolar disorder. I am also a key investigator at the Rohini Nilekani Centre for Brain and Mind at NIMHANS (previously the Accelerator program for Discovery in Brain disorders using Stem cells (ADBS) program funded by the Department of Biotechnology), which aims to build a biorepository of human induced pluripotent stem cells for serious mental illnesses in India. The proposed study is in line with my interests in the genetic basis of bipolar disorder. I have established a network of investigators in India that has the capability to become an important contributor in the field of psychiatric genetics. I am also a DBT/WT India Alliance Intermediate Fellow in the Clinical and Public Health programme Publications Agrawal, A., Bulik, C. M., Abebe, D. S., Andreassen, O. A., Atkinson, E. G., Choi, K., Corvin, A., Davies, H. L., Davis, L., Docherty, A., Edenberg, H. J., Franke, B., Gelernter, J., Giusti-Rodriguez, P., Hettema, J. M., Hjerling-Leffler, J., Huang, H., Johnson, E. C., Lewis, C., … Sullivan, P. (2025). The Psychiatric Genomics Consortium: Discoveries and Directions . https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/xykj2_v2 Parthaje, S., Janardhanan, M., Paul, P., Karunakaran, K. B., Deb, A. P., Shankarappa, B., Pal, P. K., Mahadevan, A., Jain, S., Viswanath, B. , & Purushottam, M. (2025). CAG Repeat Instability and Region-Specific Gene Expression Changes in the SCA12 Brain. The Cerebellum , 24 (3), 60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-025-01808-z Ratna, N., Venkatesh, S. D., Pasupulati, S., Murari, G., Kamble, N., Viswanath, B ., Yadav, R., Varghese, M., Pal, P. K., Jain, S., & Purushottam, M. (2025). Allelic Diversity, de novo CAG Expansions, and Intergenerational Instability at the HTT Locus in a clinical sample of Huntington’s Disease from India . https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.03.03.21260193 Ritter, P., Glenn, T., Achtyes, E. D., Alda, M., Agaoglu, E., Altınbaş, K., Andreassen, O. A., Angelopoulos, E., Ardau, R., Aydin, M., Ayhan, Y., Baethge, C., Bauer, R., Baune, B. T., Balaban, C., Becerra-Palars, C., Behere, A. P., Behere, P. B., Belete, H., … Bauer, M. (2024). Association between a large change between the minimum and maximum monthly values of solar insolation and a history of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder. International Journal of Bipolar Disorders , 12 (1), 43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40345-024-00364-5 Shankarappa, B., Prasad, V. P., Kumar, S., Rao, R. S., Royal, A. B., Swamy, M., Prasad, P., Niranjana Murthy, A. S., Ganesh, S., Viswanath, B. , Jain, S., Purushottam, M., & Thyloth, M. (2024). A Novel Homozygous Variant in CPLANE1 Gene in a Patient with Developmental Deficits. Molecular Syndromology , 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1159/000541167

Psychiatric Social Worker rajkumardavid95@gmail.com Back Back to People Page Back Clinical Team Raj Kumar K Psychiatric Social Worker CBM

Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neurotoxicology swarnabuddha_nayok@yahoo.co.in ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3173-4248 Back Back to People Page Back Clinical Team Dr Swarna Buddha Nayok Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neurotoxicology Swarna Buddha Nayok has completed DPM & MD in Psychiatry, and done Ph.D. in Clinical Neuroscience (submitted). His fields of interest are severe mental illness, media & psychiatry

Project Scientist (Lab) bhagyams@gmail.com LinkedIn | Twitter | Google Scholar Back Back to People Page Back Co-Investigator Team, Lab Team Molecular Genetics Dr Bhagyalakshmi M Shankarappa Project Scientist (Lab) CBM Dr Bhagyalakshmi is a project scientist at Centre for Brain and Mind with PhD in Genetics and Epigenetics of Psychiatric disorders. She is experienced at working with clinical samples, conducting association and candidate gene studies. She has also worked extensively on DNA methylation in psychiatric disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Alcohol Use Disorder, and Alcohol Liver Disease. Currently working on molecular genetics, epigenetics, and epigenomics of various neuropsychiatric disorders to understand the contribution of epigenetic modifications to the disease pathobiology and to explore gene -environment interaction in this aspect. Jeevan, Y., Mahadevan, J., Viswanath, B., Jain, S., Ganesh, S., Holla, B., Purushottam, M., & Shankarappa, B. (2024). F35. INVESTIGATING GENETIC RISK FOR PSYCHOSIS IN BIPOLAR DISORDER IN INDIA USING POLYGENIC SCORES. European Neuropsychopharmacology , 87 , 224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2024.08.446 Mahadevan, J., Holla, B., Ganesh, S., Shankarappa, B ., Paul, P., Sud, R., Jain, S., Purushottam, M., & Viswanath, B. (2024). W32. A GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY OF BIPOLAR DISORDER FROM INDIA. European Neuropsychopharmacology , 87 , 118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2024.08.241 Parthaje, S., Janardhanan, M., Paul, P., Karunakaran, K. B., Deb, A. P., Shankarappa, B. , Pal, P. K., Mahadevan, A., Jain, S., Viswanath, B., & Purushottam, M. (2025). CAG Repeat Instability and Region-Specific Gene Expression Changes in the SCA12 Brain. The Cerebellum , 24 (3), 60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-025-01808-z Shankarappa, B. , Ganesh, S., Purushottam, M., & Jain, S. (2024). W94. ALLELE FREQUENCIES AT CRUCIAL LOCI MIGHT UNDERLIE DISPARATE CONSEQUENCES OF ALCOHOL ABUSE ACROSS WORLD POPULATIONS. European Neuropsychopharmacology , 87 , 151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2024.08.303 Shankarappa, B. , Prasad, V. P., Kumar, S., Rao, R. S., Royal, A. B., Swamy, M., Prasad, P., Niranjana Murthy, A. S., Ganesh, S., Viswanath, B., Jain, S., Purushottam, M., & Thyloth, M. (2024). A Novel Homozygous Variant in CPLANE1 Gene in a Patient with Developmental Deficits. Molecular Syndromology , 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1159/000541167

Clinical Project Associate, Doctoral Student shrinkhalamajumdar96@gmail.com LinkedIn Google Scholar Back Back to People Page Back Doctoral Candidate, Data Centre Team, Clinical Team Shrinkhala Majumdar Clinical Project Associate, Doctoral Student CBM, A-BIG-NET Shrinkhala has a Masters degree in Psychology and has worked in both industrial & clinical settings. She is a therapist by profession who pursues her research in deviation in neurotrajectories amongst those affected by bipolar disorder. She enjoys writing for newspaper articles, swimming and art therapy with children in her spare time.