Rachna Balaji

EDUCATION

College / University

Anna University

Highest Degree

Bachelor of Technology

Major Subjects

Molecular Biology, Genetic engineering, Neurobiology and cognitive sciences, Bioprocess engineering, Tissue engineering, Bioinformatics

Balaji

Country

India

Lab Experience

Wet laboratory skills: Cell culture handling, Animal handling, Maintenance and dissection of organs of mice, RT-PCR, Western blotting, DNA/RNA isolation, ELISA, Tissue preparation, Blood smear, Blood count analysis, tDCS-Transcranial direct current stimulation
Dry laboratory skills: Basic coding in MATLAB (Psychophysics tool box), C++, Arduino programming, LABVIEW, Autodock- Beginner, Advanced MS Office skills

Projects / Research

  • Bachelor’s thesis: “Study of fingertip force distributions during thumb perturbation” (Dr.SKM. Varadhan) Neuromechanics laboratory, Dept. of Applied Mechanics, IIT-Madras, India
  • Summer research internship 2018: “Influence of a 24hr consolidation period on generalization of motor skills”, Cognitive workspace, Division of Biological engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar
  • Summer training 2017: Molecular Biology techniques and fluorescence microscopy, Dr.Mahaboobkhan Rasool’s Lab, VIT University, Vellore
  • Winter internship 2016: Haematology and Histopathology laboratory, Apollo Hospitals, Teynampet
  • Winter training 2015: Immunological techniques, Dept. of Immunology, Dr.M.G.R Medical University, Tamil Nadu

Scholarships / Awards

2019 – 2020: Stipend by International Max Planck Research School
05/2018 – 07/2018 Fellowship obtained through Summer Research Internship programme 2018, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar

SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS AND GOALS

My interests lie in exploring the integration of the various cognitive and molecular aspects of learning and memory. I believe this understanding is important for the discovery of better and innovative therapies for a number of associated neurodegenerative disorders.