Bio
I am a computational neuroscientist and currently focus on understanding brain dynamics at rest as well as during learning. The overarching goal of my research is to develop reliable computational methods that will allow for characterizing and modeling temporal dynamics of brain activity, without averaging data in either space or time. I firmly believe that the spatiotemporal richness in brain activity might hold the key to finding the person- and disorder-centric biomarkers. Funded by a career development award (K99/R00; NIMH) and a young investigator award (NARSAD; Brain & Behavior Foundation), I am currently developing methods to model the temporal dynamics of brain activity in individuals with fragile X syndrome and healthy controls. The application of computational modeling to neuroscience and psychiatry is nascent in its development but holds significant promise to affect public health positively. I have a strong interdisciplinary background in (1) computational sciences, (2) neuroscience as well as (3) psychiatry. Integrating neuroscience, psychiatry, and mathematical modeling represents the new frontier in applications and analysis of large neuroimaging datasets and has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of dynamical brain organization in healthy controls and individuals with psychiatric disorders.
Academic Appointments
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Assistant Professor (Research), Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research
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Member, Bio-X
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Member, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Honors & Awards
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Travel Fellowship Award, Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP) (2020)
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International Fellow, Institute for Scientific Interchange Foundation, Italy (2019-2022)
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Annual Chairman's Award for Advancing Science, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University (2019)
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NIH Director's New Innovator Award (DP2), National Institute of Health (2018-2023)
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NARSAD Young Investigator Grant, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (2016-2018)
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Innovator Grant, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University (2016)
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NIH Career Development Award (K99/R00), National Institute of Mental Health (2015-2020)
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Child Health Research Institute (CHRI) Postdoctoral Grant, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health (LPFCH) (2013-2014)
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Seed-grant Award, Stanford’s Center for Cognitive and Neurobiological Imaging (CNI). (2012-2013)
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Francisco J. Varela Memorial Grant Award, Mind and Life Institute (2006-2011)
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Merit Scholarship, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad (IIIT-A), India (2001-2005)
Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations
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Editorial Board Member, NeuroImage (Elsevier) (2020 - Present)
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Mentor, Organization of Human Brain Mapping Online Mentoring Program (2020 - Present)
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Editorial Board Member, Scientific Reports (Nature Research Journal) (2017 - Present)
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Executive Board Member, Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity (2017 - Present)
Professional Education
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Faculty Fellow, Stanford Byers Center for Bio Design, Bio Design (2017)
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Postdoctoral Fellowship, Stanford University School of Medicine, Psychiatry (2014)
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Doctor of Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin, Computer Science (2011)
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Master of Science, University of Texas at Austin, Computer Science (2009)
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Bachelors in Technology, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Information Technology (2005)
Patents
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Manish Saggar. "United States Patent 16/171,255 Systems and Methods for Mapping Neuronal Circuitry and Clinical Applications Thereof", Leland Stanford Junior University, Jan 1, 2019