Hi There, I'm Vini,

I am the group leader of the NeuroElectronics group at CeNSE, IISc, Bangalore. 

My research interests lie in using state-of-the-art technologies in materials science and engineering to address challenging problems in the field of neurosciences. The cross-disciplinary projects in this area that I have led range from developing photodetectors to stimulate blind retinal tissues; to creating nano-scaffolds for studying and engineering neural circuits in a dish.

I believe that major challenges can be solved by the cross-pollination of ideas and skills from different disciplines.

Below you will find detailed info about my professional journey, past and present

Prof. Vini Gautam

 

Contact: vini@iisc.ac.in

Previous Appointments

January 2020- October 2022: Group leader / Assistant Professor) in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, .

February 2018 – January 2020: ARC DECRA and Westpac Research Fellow at John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University (ANU), Canberra, Australia.

January 2017 – January 2018: Research Fellow; Research School of Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, ANU, Canberra, Australia.

January 2016 – December 2016: Postdoctoral Fellow; John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU, Canberra, Australia.

Education

2010 – 2014: Doctor of Philosophy (Materials Science)

University: Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore, India.

2007 – 2010: Master of Science (Materials Science)

University: Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore, India.

2004 – 2007: Bachelor of Science (Honours, Physics)

University: University of Delhi, India.

Awards and Achievements

  • ACT Young Tall Poppy 2018, awarded by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science, in “recognition of the achievements of Australia’s outstanding young scientific researchers and communicators”.
  • Joint Winner of “Falling Walls Lab” (Australia) organised by the Australian Academy of Science (2017). 
  • Best Oral presenatation Award at the Australian Society for Medical Research’s New Investigator Forum (Canberra, 2017).
  • Selected to participate in the Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting held in Germany (2017). Received a competitive travel grant from Science and Industry Endowment Fund-Australian Academy of Science (SIEF-AAS, Australia) to travel to Lindau.
  • National Finalist (Australia) in the “FameLabs” competition organized by the British Council (2017). 
  • Travel Award to participate in the 25th Australasian Society of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Conference (2017).
  • Awarded the University House Early Career Career Fellowship at the Australian National University (2017)
  • Selection and Travel Award to participate in the 2015 Theo Murphy Australian Frontiers of Science for the theme ‘Materials for 21st Century – from design to applications’ (2015)
  • Best Poster Presentation Award at JNCASR In-House Symposium, India (2011). 
  • Best Oral Presentation Award in International Conference on Chemistry of Materials, held in Cochin, India (2010). 
  • Best model/design award in the International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition, conducted by MIT, Cambridge (2007). 
  • Summer research fellowship award for undertaking summer project at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, India (2007)
  • Science Meritorious Award from University of Delhi, India for two years (2005-2007). 

Competitive Research Grants

  • University of Melbourne’s FEIT platform interdisciplinary grant.

  • Manchester – Melbourne joint research fund.

  • NHMRC Ideas grant 2020 (CI-B)

  • Australia-India Strategic Research Fund EMCR fellowship 2019, awarded by the Australian Academy of Science to visit Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

  • Australian Research Council’s Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) for three years (2018-2020).

  • Westpac Research Fellowship from Westpac Bicentennial Foundation, awarded in 2018 to only 2 early career researchers across Australia (2018-2022).

  • Yulgilbar Alzheimer’s Research Program (Australia) grant (2018, co-CI).

  • Co-investigator in the project ‘Your Health in Your Hands: Future Personalised Medical Technologies for a Sustainable and Effective Healthcare’, which won funding in the inaugural ANU Grand Challenge Scheme (November 2017).

  • Selected to participate in the Lindau Nobel Laureates meeting to be held in Germany (June 2017). Received a competitive travel grant from Science and Industry Endowment Fund-Australian Academy of Science (SIEF-AAS, Australia) to travel to Lindau.

  • Travel Grant to participate in the 25th Australasian Society of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Conference (April 2017).

  • Selection and Travel Grant by the Theo Murphy (Australia) fund from the Royal Society of London to participate in the 2015 Theo Murphy Australian Frontiers of Science for the theme ‘Materials for 21st Century – from design to applications’ (December 2015).

  • Summer research scholarship for undertaking summer project at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, India (June-August 2007).

  • National examination based competitive scholarship from Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Government of India for undertaking both Masters and PhD degrees at JNCASR, India (2007-2013).