Pankaj Sah

Professor Pankaj Sah is Director of the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) and Centre Director of The Asia-Pacific Centre for Neuromodulation at The University of Queensland. He holds academic leadership roles in neuroscience and neurotechnology, with expertise in neural circuitry, synaptic plasticity, and anxiety-related disorders. Trained in medicine at UNSW (Australia) and with a PhD from ANU, he has held faculty positions at the University of Newcastle and ANU before co-founding QBI in 2003. His research integrates electrophysiology, molecular biology, and behavioral studies to unravel amygdala function in learning and fear.

• Education: MBBS (UNSW), PhD (ANU)
• Affiliations: Editor-in-Chief of npj Science of Learning, member of Asia-Pacific Centre for Neuromodulation

Research focuses on amygdala circuits mediating fear learning and extinction, with clinical applications in anxiety disorders and deep brain stimulation (DBS). His lab collaborates with DBS patients to study neural mechanisms in Parkinson’s, Tourette’s, and essential tremor. He pioneered studies on synaptic plasticity in amygdala networks, linking molecular mechanisms to behavior.

His work bridges neuroscience and education, co-authoring the Higher Education Learning Framework. Recent innovations include optogenetic tools and organic photodetectors for neural activity monitoring. Awards include editorial leadership roles and over 110 peer-reviewed publications.