Adapted from Meet the 2024 Beckman Institute Graduate Fellows
"The Beckman Institute has announced seven University of Illinois students as Beckman Institute Graduate Fellows: Shagun Ajmera, neuroscience; Janice Baek, material science and engineering; Suri Bandyopadhyay, chemistry; Walker Gauthier, neuroscience; Tyler Price, materials science and engineering; YiRang Shin, electrical and computer engineering; and Simran Singh, neuroscience."
Shagun Ajmera
Shagun Ajmera is pursuing her Ph.D. in neuroscience. She earned her M.S. in computer science at Chennai Mathematical Institute and her B.Tech. in computer science at SASTRA University.
Shagun Ajmera, a Ph.D. student in neuroscience
People with tinnitus hear sounds that aren’t present, such as ringing or buzzing. Understanding how tinnitus alters brain waves, which can be measured with an electroencephalogram, can help scientists and clinicians identify and treat patients. However, current EEG analysis techniques cannot identify consistent differences in brain wave patterns. With her background in computational neuroscience, Ajmera will use deep learning methods to discover the hidden relationships in these recordings.
Ajmera is collaborating with adviser Fatima Husain, a professor of speech and hearing science; Mark Anastasio, a professor and head of bioengineering; Kara Federmeier, a professor of psychology; and Naiman Khan, an associate professor of health and kinesiology.
Walker Gauthier
Walker Gauthier is pursuing his Ph.D. in neuroscience. He earned his B.S. in neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University.
Gauthier studies how the brain processes sensory input with predictive coding: inferring information from prior experiences, especially when a situation is complicated or ambiguous.
Walker Gauthier, a Ph.D. student in neuroscience
Alterations in predictive coding may contribute to the sensory overload often associated with autism spectrum disorders. Gauthier and his collaborators developed a sound detection task with preliminary results suggesting that a rat model of Fragile X Syndrome (a model for ASD) has impaired predictive coding. His research will build on these results to identify specific areas in the brain correlated with processing sensory stimuli versus implementing top-down predictions. In addition, he will apply a method called dynamical systems analysis to understand how these areas share information with each other.
Gauthier is collaborating with Benjamin Auerbach, an assistant professor of molecular and integrative physiology; Yurii Vlasov, a professor of electrical and computer engineering; Dr. Daniel Llano, a professor of molecular and integrative physiology; and Howard Gritton, an assistant professor of comparative biosciences.
Simran Singh
Simran Singh is pursuing her Ph.D. in neuroscience. She earned her B.H.Sc from the University of Western Ontario.
Simran Singh, a Ph.D. student in neuroscience
To better identify and treat hearing loss, a condition affecting approximately 1.5 billion people globally, Singh studies the structural organization of the auditory cortical subdivisions. The auditory cortex is an area of the brain that processes auditory information and is divided into different regions that can change with hearing loss. Singh will use multiple methods to make structural maps (of cells and membranes) and functional maps (of neuron activity when exposed to sounds) of the AC in mice. By comparing these images, Singh aims to determine whether different densities of myelin, a membrane which can be imaged with MRI, may indicate AC subdivisions.
Singh is collaborating with adviser Dr. Daniel Llano, a professor of molecular and integrative physiology; and Howard Gritton, an assistant professor of comparative biosciences.