Ramesh Rajan

Professor Ramesh Rajan is a distinguished faculty member in the Physiology Department at Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University. His research focuses on sensory processing in the brain and how brain disorders affect our perception of the world. He studies models of traumatic brain injury and sensory information processing, particularly examining how conditions like Huntington's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Parkinson's Disease impact speech understanding in noisy environments.

Professor Rajan's research centers on understanding how our brains extract relevant information from noisy, complex environments. His work investigates the neural mechanisms underlying sensory processing deficits in various neurological conditions, with particular emphasis on speech processing in multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury. He explores how the brain selects what to attend to and what to suppress, and how memory and experience guide perception. His research combines neurophysiological studies with behavioral approaches to understand sensory processing at multiple levels.

His recent research output demonstrates a strong focus on sensory processing in neurological disorders, particularly examining speech discrimination in multiple sclerosis and neural responses in traumatic brain injury models. His work spans from basic neurophysiology in rodent models to clinical applications in human neurological conditions, showing a consistent theme of understanding how sensory processing is altered in brain disorders.

• Dean's Award for Excellence in Education - Innovation in Learning and Teaching (2023)
• Vice-Chancellor's Excellence Award For Innovation in Learning and Teaching (2023)

Professor Rajan has been actively involved in numerous research projects, particularly those funded by the NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council). His current active project "NHMRC 1995 Project - Irvine/Rajan" continues to investigate neural circuits. He has supervised numerous PhD students and has been accepting new PhD candidates for research on "Speech processing in altered brain conditions" and "Traumatic brain injury models and brain processing of sensory input."

His laboratory work focuses on sensory processing in both healthy and injured brains, utilizing rodent models to study whisker deflection processing and cortical responses. His research team collaborates extensively with other neuroscience researchers at Monash University and beyond, particularly in the areas of traumatic brain injury and multiple sclerosis research.