Upinder Singh Bhalla (born 1963) is an Indian

computational neuroscientist Computational neuroscience (also known as theoretical neuroscience or mathematical neuroscience) is a branch of neuroscience which employs mathematical models, computer simulations, theoretical analysis and abstractions of the brain to u ...

, academic and a professor at

National Centre for Biological Sciences National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore, Karnataka, is a research centre specialising in biological research. It is a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) under the Department of Atomic Energy of the Go ...

of the

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a public deemed research university located in Mumbai, India that is dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the D ...

. He is known for his studies on neuronal and synaptic signalling in memory and

olfactory The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste. In humans, it ...

coding using computational and experimental methods and is an elected fellow of the

Indian Academy of Sciences The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore was founded by Indian Physicist and Nobel Laureate C. V. Raman, and was registered as a society on 24 April 1934. Inaugurated on 31 July 1934, it began with 65 founding fellows. The first general meet ...

and the

Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi for Indian scientists in all branches of science and technology. In August 2019, Dr. Chandrima Shaha was appointed as the president of Indian National Science Academ ...

. The

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (IAST: ''vaigyanik tathā audyogik anusandhāna pariṣada''), abbreviated as CSIR, was established by the Government of India in September 1942 as an autonomous body that has emerged as the l ...

, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (SSB) is a science award in India given annually by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for notable and outstanding research, Applied science, applied or Fundamenta ...

, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2007, for his contributions to biological sciences. The Infosys Science Foundation awarded him the Infosys Prize 2017 in Life Sciences for his pioneering contributions to the understanding of the brain's computational machinery.

Biography

Upinder S. Bhalla, born in the Indian capital of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

to an academic couple who were professors at

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...

, enrolled himself at the

Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) Hindi: भारतीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान कानपुर) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was ...

for an integrated master's program but discontinued his studies at IITK after one year to join

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

from where he graduated in natural sciences. Subsequently, he secured a PhD under the guidance of

James M. Bower James Mason Bower (born February 17, 1954 in Northampton, Massachusetts) is an American neuroscientist and CEO and chairman of the Board of Numedeon Inc., creator of the Whyville.net educational virtual world. He graduated from McQuaid Jesuit Hi ...

from

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in 1993 and did his post doctoral studies at the laboratory of

Ravi Iyengar Ravi Iyengar, is a principal investigator at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. Trained as a biochemist, Iyengar studies cellular signaling networks using both experiments and computer simulations. His laboratory focuses on how cell signals are rout ...

Mount Sinai School of Medicine The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS or Mount Sinai), formerly the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a private medical school in New York City. It is the academic teaching arm of the Mount Sinai Health System, which manages eigh ...

. Returning to India, he joined

, a

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

-based biological research centre of

where he became an assistant professor in 2002 and an associate professor in 2003, before becoming a professor in 2012. He heads a laboratory at NCBS where he hosts a number of research associates, post-doctoral fellows and doctoral students who are involved in the research on Memory and

Plasticity Plasticity may refer to: Science * Plasticity (physics), in engineering and physics, the propensity of a solid material to undergo permanent deformation under load * Neuroplasticity, in neuroscience, how entire brain structures, and the brain it ...

through computational and experimental methods.

Legacy

Bhalla's research has widened our understanding of memory functioning and he has contributed to understanding the

neural coding Neural coding (or Neural representation) is a neuroscience field concerned with characterising the hypothetical relationship between the stimulus and the individual or ensemble neuronal responses and the relationship among the electrical activity o ...

of olfactory information. His team at NCBS uses

optogenetic Optogenetics is a biological technique to control the activity of neurons or other cell types with light. This is achieved by expression of light-sensitive ion channels, pumps or enzymes specifically in the target cells. On the level of individ ...

techniques for monitoring brain cell activity and uses light to stimulate the activity. Bhalla and his colleagues developed ''MOOSE'' (Multiscale Object-Oriented Simulation Environment), a simulation tool which helps build computer models of molecules and molecular networks. He has mentored several research scholars in their doctoral and post-doctoral studies and is a member of the council of the Indian National Science Academy.

Awards and honours

Bhalla received the

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (SSB) is a science award in India given annually by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for notable and outstanding research, Applied science, applied or Fundamenta ...

of the

in 2007 for his contributions to Biological Sciences. The same year, the

elected him as their fellow. Three years later, he also became an elected fellow of the

. In 2017, he received the

Infosys Prize The Infosys Prize is an annual award given to scientists, researchers, engineers and social scientists of Indian origin (not necessarily born in India) by the Infosys Science Foundation and ranks among the highest monetary awards in India to re ...

in Life Sciences for the excellent work he has been doing for the last two decades which is now not only nationally but internationally recognised as one of the fundamental ways of how we study the role of olfaction in behaviour.

Selected bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhalla, Upinder Singh Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Biological Science 1963 births Living people Scientists from Delhi IIT Kanpur alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge California Institute of Technology alumni Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai alumni Academic staff of the National Centre for Biological Sciences Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy Indian neuroscientists Indian scientific authors 20th-century Indian biologists