About Us
Founded in May 2019, Simply Neuroscience is an international, student-led nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering students' interdisciplinary interests in the brain, specifically through neuroscience and psychology education, outreach, and awareness.
Our aim is to empower youth to engage in brain-related fields through projects and initiatives on local, regional, national, and international levels.
Overall, we work to increase early neuroscience access by connecting students with free online resources, opportunities, events, mentorship, and more through our diverse array of 25 departmental initiatives.
Pursuing the brain and unlocking the future -- one neuron at a time
Meet Our Initiatives & Leadership
Interested in having a Simply Neuroscience team member speak at an event? Email us at info@simplyneuroscience.org
Chinmayi Balusu
Chinmayi is a final-year medical humanities and neuroepidemiology student at Columbia University. She is passionate about brain injury and stroke research, neuroethics, and science communication.
In her free time, Chinmayi enjoys writing poetry, practicing taekwondo, exploring nature trails, watching Telugu movies, and gardening.
(she/her)
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Sasha Tunsiricharoengul
Sasha is an undergraduate student in her 2nd year at Harvard University studying Neurobiology and Comparative Literature. She is passionate about neurosurgery, neuroethics, biomedical research, and education. She also enjoys reading, doing graphic design, taking nature walks, watching movies, and playing the piano.
.jpg)
(she/her)
Chief Operating Officer
Coming soon!
Board President
Inchara Athreya
Inchara is an undergraduate student pursuing psychology and linguistics at the University of Warwick. She is very passionate about psychology and hopes to pursue a career in the field. She loves being around people, especially children. She is an avid reader and enjoys writing too. She hopes to raise more awareness about mental health issues through her writing and exploration of the interdisciplinary aspects of psychology.
(she/her)
Board Vice President
Kaushik Patra
Kaushik is a 1st year college student from Ashoka University in India. He is fascinated by the fields of neuroendocrinology as well as behavioral neuroscience. In his free time he enjoys playing basketball, meditation, listening to podcasts, watching underrated documentaries and anime, as well as talking to his friends.
(he/him)
Chief Financial Officer
Accessible Axon Initiative (AAI)
Initiated in 2021, the AAI team works to make Simply Neuroscience’s resources more accessible to neurodiverse communities. This includes captioning YouTube videos and podcasts, narrating the website, and more.
Tarah Gilles
(she/her)
Bio coming soon!
Co-Lead
Action Potential Advising Program (APAP)
APAP virtually connects neuroscience students (“advisees”) with professionals (“advisors”) to provide free educational guidance and mentorship. The APAP team envisions creating an international, centralized space that goes beyond individual schools and colleges. We aim to help both STEM and STEM-adjacent brain enthusiasts develop their interest in neuroscience and provide a channel for inspiration from experts in the field through this flexible program
Deena Khan
Deena is a hard-working, 1st year student at Stockton University. Her favorite sections of Neuroscience include Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuropsychology, along with Clinical Neuroscience. In her spare time, Deena enjoys activities such as reading, spending time with her family and friends, watching K-dramas as well as C-dramas, and listening to music.
(she/her)
Director
Advice Hotline
Our team answers educational inquiries through our advice email hotline for free. Whether it be about career exploration, securing an internship, or undergraduate and graduate applications, we have our community members' questions covered.
Camryn Roundtree
Camryn is a Senior from Goshen, New York. The fields of neuroscience that interest her the most are clinical and behavioral. Camryn enjoys dancing and spends time with her passion at the NYDC dance studio.
(she/her)
Project Lead
Awareness Content Creation
The Awareness team aims to bring attention to the connection between mental health and neuroscience, with a specialization in destigmatizing neurological disorders in adolescent communities. We conduct research in order to create content guides as well as connect with experts in order to make the conversations about struggles with mental health easier to access in our communities.
Liza Tsepovatenko
Liza is a Year 12 student from Hatfield, England. She is particularly interested in Neurological/Neurodegenerative Diseases, neuroimaging, and cellular neuroscience. She enjoys spending her time with cross country, reading, cooking, and learning languages.
(she/her)
Co-Director
Eleanor Wynne
Eleanor is a high school student attending Colorado Academy. The areas of neuroscience that most fascinate her are mental health awareness, criminal psychology, and the effects of psychedelic drugs on neuroscience. In her free time, Eleanor loves to play volleyball, paint, and listen to music.
(she/her)
Co-Director
Brain Resource Creation
The Brain Resource Creation Department’s goal is to create engaging educational content to help students of all levels learn about the brain and its interconnected fields. This includes creating and hosting workshops, video series, and providing resource databases.
Patrick Bloniasz
Patrick F. Bloniasz is a mathematical neuroscientist and educational reformer. Patrick is a PhD student at Boston University where he creates models of neural time series at different spatial scales (e.g., spike trains, ECoG, and EEG/MEG). He is currently using the anesthetic propofol to study stages of consciousness in humans and monkeys. He is also a Research Associate at Bowdoin college where he maps functional networks underlying human memory. Previously, Patrick served as the Director of Education at the non-profit Aeon for Ocean, as a researcher for the Maine Department of Education, as a national researcher for America’s Service Commissions, and as a Senior Interviewer at Bowdoin College. Outside of science, Patrick is a certified personal trainer, a coffee enthusiast, and avid runner. Find Patrick at his website (patrickbloniasz.com) or on Twitter (@PatrickBloniasz).
(he/him)
Co-Director
Computational and Systems Neuroscience (CSN)
The CSN team strives to craft resource guides that help students of all levels to explore computational neuroscience research. We work closely with the Brain Resource Creation team to create educational content and resource databases.
Campus Brain Ambassador Network (CBAN)
The Campus Brain Ambassador Network works to bridge the gap between neuroscience and psychology opportunities present at grassroots through global scales. Each Ambassador has the opportunity to interact with fellow students in the network from around the world to collaborate in hosting events, amplifying resources, and more.
Events
The Events Planning department ideates and organizes events such as Simply Neurocon, Synaptic Hacks, Neuroethics Student Championship, workshops, fireside chats, and much more to encourage involvement and foster curiosity amongst youth within the neuroscience community. From devising themes, to acquiring speakers and sponsorships, to logistics and wrapping up, the department is responsible for the organization and execution of all Simply Neuroscience’s much-awaited events!
Vishnu Swarup Kadaba
Vishnu is a high school senior from the Oxford Independent Pre-University College. His favorite domains of Neuroscience comprise of Computational Neuroscience, and Neural Engineering. Vishnu's hobbies involve the Classical Dance of Bharatanatyam, listening to music(especially Lauv), and contemplating the future and the past.
(he/him)
Co-Director
Ria Kamat
Ria is a highschool sophomore in New Jersey. She got interested in science from a young age and since then she wanted to deepen her knowledge in all fields of science. She continuously takes part in science fairs and is currently doing biology research at her highschool. Ria hopes to work in orthopedics or neuroscience in the future and continously learn more about the various fields of science. In her free time, Ria loves to listen to science podcasts, solve puzzles, hang out with her friends, and play board games!
(she/her)
Logistics Lead
Raj Boparai
Raj is a high school senior from Hillsborough, New Jersey. Since a young age, he has found cognitive and behavioral sciences intriguing and intends to be a neurosurgeon in the future. He aspires to take challenging science courses in college and hopes to pursue a pre-med track. Outside of SN, Raj is a prominent member of his high school’s varsity debate team where he actively researches political topics. He is also a part of the programming subteam of his school’s robotics team, as well as the varsity mock trial team. In his free time, Raj leads a non-profit organization, enjoys playing basketball, and competing in chess.
(he/him)
Communications Lead
Inchara Athreya
Inchara is an undergraduate student pursuing psychology and linguistics at the University of Warwick. She is very passionate about psychology and hopes to pursue a career in the field. She loves being around people, especially children. She is an avid reader and enjoys writing too. She hopes to raise more awareness about mental health issues through her writing and exploration of the interdisciplinary aspects of psychology.
(she/her)
Co-Director
Editing
The Editing department works to revise and provide feedback on materials written or created by individuals in any of Simply Neurosciences’ departments or initiatives. Editors seek to transform written material into pieces that are relevant, professional, free from errors, and easily readable for all audiences. All our pieces are published on the Simply Neuroscience website, and past topics have included anything from neurotech startups tackling big issues to psychological analysis of parasocial relationships
Engagement
The Engagement team organizes welcome calls, social gatherings, and more for SN team members!
Anika Bukkapatnam
Anika is a 10th year high school student from Goshen Central High School. The domain of Neuroscience that she finds most intriguing is Cognitive Neuroscience. Apart from being a stellar student, Anika enjoys writing poetry, spending time with her puppy, and reading sappy romance novels.
(she/her)
Co-Director
Krish Shah
Krish is a 1st year college student at Brown University. Ever since he was a child, Krish has been very interested in how the human body functions, particularly the brain and other cognitive organs through shadowing his grandfather, a cardiologist. He is very passionate about the intersection in neuroscience, human anatomy, and equality in health treatment. In the future, he aims to engage in both the medical and business fields in order to ensure everyone has a path to adequate treatment as well as contribute to research regarding treatment of diseases. When he’s not shadowing a physician, brokering a resolution in a Model UN crisis committee, or working as a tutor, you can find Krish biking, drawing, writing, or watching the NBA.
(he/him)
Co-Director
Human Resources (HR)
The HR team coordinates the volunteer application, interview, and onboarding process. HR members gather feedback from the broader team and work to support Simply Neuroscience’s team culture behind the scenes.
April Yu
April is a freshman attending East Brunswick High school, who is passionate about the workings of the brain and how it affects human behavior. Her favorite parts of neuroscience include Behavioral neuroscience, social neuroscience, and biopsychology. In her free time, April enjoys exploring her creative side through writing, and loves to play the flute. April is also an avid runner who can also be found curled up around a good book.
Director
(she/her)
.jpg)
.png)
Humans of Neuroscience (HoN)
HoN is devoted to empowering neuroscience aspirants by sharing the stories of individuals in neuroscience. Our aim is to inspire students by showcasing the extent of diversity and opportunities in neuroscience and psychology
Aleena Rana
Aleena is a 12th grade student from International School Lahore. The section of Neuroscience that interests her the most is Neuro-Biology. In her spare time, Aleena enjoys reading, baking, listening to music, swimming and spending time with my cat.
(she/her)
Co-Lead
Marketing
The marketing team works to maintain strong ties to our middle, high school, university and professional audiences by designing content (graphics, takeovers, etc.) for our various social media channels as well as regular newsletters. Our goal is to expand our online presence by spreading the word about Simply Neuroscience's initiatives, as well as establishing a positive relationship with the larger SN community
Lina Chihoub
Lina is an undergraduate student pursuing neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania. She is fascinated by the intersection between neuroscience, computer science, and marketing, with a particular interest in how technology can be used to treat behavioral/psychiatric disorders. In her free time, she loves graphic design, creative writing, baking, meeting new people, and traveling! Lina is also actively involved with her community by volunteering at her local hospital and Special Olympics!
(she/her)
Co-Director
Rishika Singhal
Rishika is a high school Senior from Ontario, Canada, who is deeply fascinated by neuroscience. As she grows older, Rishika aspires to be a neurosurgeon or biomedical engineer, and help neuroscientists with disease and cures research. To learn more about neuroscience and make new connections, she joined Simply Neuroscience, originally managed their takeovers and now is a Director of Marketing, so others, like her, could have a live resource to listen and learn from. Along with her ongoing interest in Neuroscience, she loves to cook, play instruments and sports, garden, do robotics, and for her community she always is willing to volunteer.
(she/her)
Co-Director
Media/Video Content Creation (MVCC)
The MVCC team collaborates with the Brain Resource Creation and Humans of Neuroscience teams to create and launch videos for SN’s social media and YouTube channel.
Gabriela Konde
Gabriela is a high school sophomore attending Marshall High School. She is fascinated by neuroscience, most notably cognitive neuroscience, clinical neuroscience, and neuro-anatomy. In her free time, Gabriela enjoys Soccer, playing music (piano, clarinet, ukelele, etc.), and reading.
(she/her)
Project Lead
Neuroscience and Society
The Neuroscience and Society department strives to create awareness in schools for the need of neuroscience day. Our past projects have included reaching out to state policy legislators for change in neuroscience policies.
Aahana Aggarwal
Aahana is a 12th grade student from Mayor World School . Her favorite subjects of neuroscience include Neuro-Biology, behavior, and cognitive neuroscience . In her free time, Aahana enjoys crocheting, writing, and reading.
(she/her)
Director
Outreach and Research
Outreach & Research department implements a variety of projects that serve STEM/neuroscience outreach purposes.
Tima Al Shammaa
Tima is an undergraduate from Queen's University. Tima is fascinated by Neuroscience and all it entail, but the branches of Neuroscience that interest her the most are Epigenomic control of memories and disorders of consciousness. Hobbies include photography, hiking, and catching up with family members overseas.
(she/her)
Co-Director
Yug Yadava
Yug is a junior at Rowan University in New Jersey. His interest in neuroscience stems from his internship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where he conducted research on pediatric demyelinating diseases. He also loves to write science-based articles to help the general public understand complex topics. In the near future, hopes to combine international relations and medicine to help create better laws and equality for all throughout the world.
(he/him)
Co-Director
Presynaptic Project
The Presynaptic Project is an international, student-led initiative devoted to inspiring students across the world to pursue neuroscience through diverse integrations and introductions of interdisciplinary neuroscience into early education-by creating unique lesson plans and hosting international workshops and summer camps/competitions.
Divya Venkataraman
Divya is a high school senior at Monta Vista High School. She is especially interested in neurological/neurodegenerative diseases. She loves Research (especially in the field of Neuroscience), Piano, Dance (Indian Classical Dance: Bharatanatyam), Science Olympiad, Public Speaking, Tutoring, and Advocating for mental health!
(she/her)
Co-Lead
Elizabeth Yang
Elizabeth Yang is a college freshmen at Northwestern University. She is passionate about mental health advocacy and has always been fascinated with the science behind dreaming. She became specifically interested in neuroscience and psychology after learning about neurologic music therapy and its application to sensory and cognitive dysfunctions. Outside of neuroscience, she enjoys reading, playing the piano, as well as making mini clay art
(she/her)
Co-Lead
Public Relations
Research Resource Creation
The RRC team aims to diversify academia and introduce students to research opportunities. We develop student guides, interviews with prominent neuroscientists, a research opportunity database, and more.
Aryan Gupta
Inchara is an undergraduate student pursuing psychology and linguistics at the University of Warwick. She is very passionate about psychology and hopes to pursue a career in the field. She loves being around people, especially children. She is an avid reader and enjoys writing too. She hopes to raise more awareness about mental health issues through her writing and exploration of the interdisciplinary aspects of psychology.
(he/him)
Co-Lead
Simply Neural Network
The Simply Neural Network is a global coalition of nonprofits, clubs, and initiatives centered around neuroscience, psychology, mental health, disability advocacy, and other related interdisciplinary themes. Through this network, nonprofits gain access to an unparalleled host of collaboration opportunities, media amplification, and logistical support by-students-for-students
Technology
The Technology team works on website and app development. Website development focuses on coding and creating the layout, design, and functionality of Simply Neuroscience's website. App development focuses on creating and designing the Simply Neuroscience app.
Jervis Fernandes
Bio coming soon!
(he/him)
Director
"The Synapse" Podcast
Our team has established series including the College Neuro Network, Every Kind of Mind, and Neuron Y Parle under The Synapse Podcast. Our teammates are involved in contacting guests, hosting speakers, editing, marketing, and transcript writing.
Sanya Saxena
Sanya is a 12th grade student from American Embassy School in New Delhi. Her favorite branches of neuroscience include Neurobiology, behavioural science, and Neuroanatomy. In her free time, Sanya enjoys Reading, listening to music and watching shows.