People
Abhilasha Joshi, PhD
T
Simons Aging Brain Fellows to Faculty Awardee
Assistant Professor - Reader F
National Center for Biological Sciences
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Bengaluru, India


Google Scholar  Twitter
Member
This could be you!
Curious
Alumni
No items found.
Philosophy
Code of Conduct for Lab Members
We aspire to abide by the following code of conduct to ensure our commitment to scientific excellence and each other’s well-being. Please reach out to Abhilasha if something is unclear.
Collaborative work environment
We expect everyone in the lab to support each other’s science and our collective quest to answer fundamental scientific questions relevant to society. That means being available to learn from and train each other. At any given time, we will be a mix of people with different levels of knowledge. Please approach each other with an attitude of humility. There is always something we can learn.
Professional setting
We are in a professional environment. In addition to this lab code of conduct, we must all abide by the institutional code of conduct. If you are facing a violation of this code of conduct (including but not limited to bullying, harassment, casteism, sexual harassment, colorism, sexism, ageism, ableism, etc.), there are resources on campus; please reach out. If you feel comfortable, you can also contact me, and I will act promptly within my professional capacity.
Integrity and excellence
We are here to solve challenging scientific problems, hoping that our efforts will help the human condition. Data integrity and review are paramount. We will follow an internal review and share data, analysis, and code early with collaborators for external review. Be open to and generous in feedback. All research work will be posted on bioRxiv along with data/code to replicate the analysis.
Commitment to learning
Lab meetings will be a weekly chance to display our commitment to learning and each other’s growth. We will meet in two formats: roundtable agenda-driven meetings and long-form presentation meetings. Bring interesting observations, questions that bother you, and things you figured out to these meetings. Each meeting will abide by a meeting code of conduct outlined below.
Planning
Our time is precious. Planning can help avoid unfair expectations from each other. Organize your schedules reasonably for the upcoming weeks and months. For collaborative projects, discuss timelines in every meeting. 
Life-Work harmony
Please take vacations and time off. Add it to the calendar, communicate with people who depend on your work, give advance notice, and ensure you don’t have any undelegated responsibilities (e.g., animal care). If you could not plan the time off (e.g. personal emergency), call a senior member of the lab or Abhilasha, and inform them of outstanding tasks and responsibilities.
Value each other
Please review the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity statement at NCBS-TIFR. I expect us as a group to be aware of how our actions (implicit bias) or lack of them (passive bystander) can harm others and develop the courage to step up as active bystanders. We should extend this care to each member of the NCBS community.
Science for community
Science does not happen in a vacuum. Disparities in scientific access and practice have been widely reported nationally and internationally. We will commit to contributing toward bridging these gaps through individual and group actions. 
Code of Conduct for Meetings
We will follow the following code of conduct in lab meetings and journal clubs to aspire toward a respectful, inclusive, and productive environment for all participants. 
  • Questions are encouraged. Please raise your hand to speak.
  • If someone is speaking and you disagree or would like to contribute, please raise your hand, wait for the person to finish, and then engage in respectful dialogue. This may slow the discussion down but also give more people a chance to catch up and participate.
  • If you are new to the subject, consider spending at least one hour on the paper/topic being discussed in preparation for a journal club or lab meeting. We hope to have in-depth discussions and learn from each other's knowledge and perspectives. Our time is valuable—the better we prepare, the better we use our time together, and the more we appreciate the time the presenter(s) invested in preparing the session.
  • Acknowledge that we are in different places in our scientific journeys. Some of us will have information or explanations to share, and some of us may have very basic questions. All of these are encouraged.
  • Be aware of the space you take up in a conversation.
  • Consider how much you are speaking versus listening and learning from others. How much are you asking versus telling? Do not speak over others unless you are a moderator or presenting and must keep track of time.
  • Consider intersectionality and our DEI commitments when participating. We all have multiple identities.
  • Approach the journal club with a learning mindset and acknowledge that the authors invested effort and time in this research and that the presenter volunteered to prepare this paper for a fruitful discussion.
Code of Conduct for Lab Members
I expect each lab member to uphold the institutional and lab codes of conduct in every professional setting. You don't need to join the lab with prior skills, but I expect you to care deeply about our scientific goals, ask questions when things don't make sense, and spend time understanding the rationale behind each experiment and data analysis.
For PhD Students
I expect you to work closely with me to identify a gap in the literature, explain why it is important to address the gap, and determine a clear experimental plan about how to achieve that. Once a research question is identified, I expect you to be consistent and focused in conducting experiments, observing the data, and developing analysis to answer the question through to publication (ask Abhilasha for the lab publication policy!). This entire arc can take years; Initially, I expect you to work with me and chunk the scientific goals into smaller benchmarks so we can be assured that you are progressing toward your goals and intervene in case we need to take a different approach.
For Project Associates
In this role you can be expected to support ongoing research projects and work with me or other senior members of the lab. I expect you to be integrated within the lab ecosystem as important contributors to our science. This position is typically for students exploring a research career in systems neuroscience, but we are also open to hiring senior project associates.
For Postdocs
I expect you to be an expert in a related field and interested in our lab's key research directions. You will work with me to identify an independent research project and develop it through to publication. In this position, I expect you to develop advanced mentoring, grant writing, and presentation skills.
Expectations from Abhilasha
I will uphold the institutional and lab codes of conduct and work to ensure that each team member is on a path toward fulfilling their individual and team goals. You can expect me to provide training in experimental and analytical methods required for research in systems neuroscience. I will give constructive and transparent feedback on your work, identifying key areas of improvement where needed. In the lab, you will receive training in experimental techniques for monitoring neurophysiological signals at a fast temporal resolution and analytical methods to analyze large-scale datasets and derive data-driven conclusions. These skills are essential for a research career in academia or industry. You can expect me to train you in data presentation, and connect you with relevant scientific networks nationally and internationally. I will respect your career choices and support you in your career after your time in the lab. You can expect me to be transparent in our usage of research funds. You can expect me to act promptly if you experience a violation of the code of conduct.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5
Heading 6

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

Block quote

Ordered list

  1. Item 1
  2. Item 2
  3. Item 3

Unordered list

  • Item A
  • Item B
  • Item C

Text link

Bold text

Emphasis

Superscript

Subscript