Ajay S. Mathuru
Associate Professor Ajay S. Mathuru
Faculty & Department
Joint Appointments
Associate Professor, Physiology, N.1 Institute for Health
Associate Professor, Dean Of Faculty, Yale NUS College
Associate Professor, Physiology, Medicine
Associate Professor, N.1 Institute for Health, N.1 Institute for Health
Jt Appt - Associate Professor, N.1 Institute for Health, N.1 Institute for Health
Joint Principal Investigator, IMCB
Education
Doctor of Philosophy, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India
Bio
Associate Professor Ajay Mathuru received his Bachelor’ degree in Science (Genetics, Microbiology and Chemistry) from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India in 1996. In 1998, he was awarded the university gold medal and a Master’s degree in Life Sciences (Plant Sciences) at the University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India.During his Master’s programme, Assoc Prof Mathuru spent a summer studying olfactory conditioning and odour-evoked behaviours in Drosophila melanogaster larvae in the late Professor Obaid Siddiqi’s laboratory in Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India which culminated in a lifelong interest in neuroscience. During his PhD in neuroscience at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, India, he studied the coupling of biophysical and biochemical agents at the hippocampal synapses with Upi Bhalla.He developed an interest in addressing neuroethological questions using zebrafish and moved to Singapore in 2006, to work with Suresh Jesuthasan, first at Temasek Lifesciences Labs, then at Duke-NUS/A*STAR as a Research Fellow. Prior to joining Yale-NUS, he worked as a Senior Research Fellow at IMCB, A*STAR, where he continued to study neural mechanisms underlying natural behaviour.
Affiliated Scholarships
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Are you a curious mind, passionate about neuroscience?
Our lab is a vibrant hub where we explore the intersection of neuroscience, behavior, genetics, and technology. We’re building cutting-edge tools to understand how brains work and how to apply these insights to study disorders of the human brain.
What you’ll do:
- Conduct experiments to understand the neural mechanisms underlying reward processing, social behavior, and sensory perception.
- Learn and implement cutting-edge techniques in molecular biology, genetics, opto-physiology, and computational neuroscience.
- Use computational methods, machine learning, and AI to extract insights from experimental data, including EEG and behavioral data.
- Work alongside neuroscientists, engineers, and data scientists.
- Share your knowledge and skills with other lab members.
What you’ll need:
- A strong interest in neuroscience and animal behavior.
- A background in one of the following will certainly help: neuroscience, computer science, molecular biology, microscopy, genetics, or data analytics.
- A passion for learning and a knack for problem-solving.
- Experience with using Python or R to apply for data analyses.
- A creative mind and a sense of humor
Areas of current interest:
- Neurogenetics of reward processing and neurodevelopment
- Neuroethology
- Applications of technology to improve mental health
Come join us and shape the research of the neurogenetics and neurobehavioral lab.
My laboratory is focused on understanding how neural circuits generate complex behaviors. We are particularly interested in the neural mechanisms underlying reward-seeking, avoidance, and social behaviors.
We utilize the zebrafish model to study these behaviors, which allows for precise genetic and optical manipulations. We develop innovative tools to quantify natural behaviors, such as preferences, social interactions, and responses to various stimuli. Recent work in our lab, such as our study on the role of chrna3 in alcohol response, and how the habenula-interpeduncular nucleus (IPN) circuit modulates vertebrate behavior highlights the power of this approach.
By applying these insights, we aim to model human brain disorders, including addiction, anxiety disorders, depression, epilepsy, neurodegeneration, and social behavioral disorders.