Ishani Ganguly
- Program Year: 2
- Academic Institution: Columbia University
- Field of Study: Theoretical Neuroscience
- Academic Advisor: Ashok Litwin-Kumar
- Practicum(s): Practicum Not Yet Completed
- Degree(s):
B.S. Engineering and Applied Sciences (Computation and Neural Systems), California Institute of Technology, 2020
Summary of Research
I aim to develop generative connectivity models that are constrained using prior knowledge such as spatial features and functional types. Deviations from these random models will reveal structural motifs of interest across multiple connectomes. In the Litwin-Kumar lab, I am developing such pipelines and applying them to multiple partial connectomes of the fly mushroom body (center for olfactory discrimination and learning) to detect structure in neuronal circuits involved in odor representation. When these comparative methods are fully developed, they will enable us to probestructural differences in individuals across different age groups, sexes, and experiential history, link brain structure to function, and elucidate features contributing to neuropathologies.
Publications
Hayashi, T. T., MacKenzie, A. J., Ganguly, I., Ellis, K. E., Smihula, H. M., Jacob, M. S., ... & Caron, S. J. C. (2022). Mushroom body input connections form independently of sensory activity in Drosophila melanogaster. Current Biology, 32(18), 4000-4012.Isaacson, M., Ferguson, L., Loesche, F., Ganguly, I., Chen, J., Chiu, A., ... Reiser, M. (2022). A high-speed, modular display system for diverse neuroscience applications. bioRxiv.
Ganguly, I., Litwin-Kumar, A. (2022). Connectomics: Relating synaptic connectivity to physiology. Current Biology, 32(3), R118-R120.
Tanguay Jr, A. R., Stiles, N. R., Ganguly, I., Shimojo, S. (2020). Mapping audio-visual crossmodal interactions in the visually impaired. Journal of Vision, 20(11), 1768-1768.
Tanguay, A. R., Stiles, N. R., Ganguly, I., Shimojo, S. (2019). Time Dependence of Predictive and Postdictive Auditory-Visual Processing: The Temporally Extended Audiovisual Rabbit Illusion. Journal of Vision, 19(10), 19b-19b.
Awards
- Member of Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, 2020- George W. Housner Student Discovery Fund, California Institute of Technology, 2019
- Perpall Speaking Competition Semi-Finalist, California Institute of Technology, 2017
- Class of '36 Named Fellow, California Institute of Technology, 2017
- National Merit Scholarship Winner, National Merit Scholarship Corporation, 2017
- Distinction in Communication Skills Level 8 (highest level), Trinity College, UK, 2016
- Youth Fellow for Safer Roads, Safer India, Youth Service America, 2015
- Outstanding Cambridge Learner Award: Highest Marks in India in IGCSE Biology, University of Cambridge International Examinations, UK, 2014