Jayalakshmi (Jaya) Viswanathan, PhD

Jayalakshmi (Jaya) Viswanathan, PhD, is a neuroscientist, author, and artist born and raised in India. She earned an engineering degree, a master’s in neuroscience, and a doctorate in cognitive neuroscience. After her postdoctoral fellowship, she deepened her neuroscientific expertise as a contractor at the National Institutes of Health. She is currently a research assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine working in translational neuroscience to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias. She illustrated and wrote the first of its kind children’s neuroscience book, Baby Senses: A Sensory Neuroscience Primer for All Ages to convey complex scientific concepts through art and whimsy in terms of sensory “superpowers.” She has been interviewed on written, audio/podcasts, and video platforms where she makes neuroscience accessible to lay audiences, and also hosts a podcast called “Know Brainer.”