DR. RATNAVALLI ELLAJOSYULA – Head Neurologist
Dr. Ratnavalli, a senior consultant neurologist, received her medical and neurological training in New Delhi. She served as faculty at NIMHANS, Bangalore, where she initiated the behavioural neurology clinic. She holds a Cognitive Neurology fellowship from the University of Cambridge, UK, and was a research fellow at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Currently, she leads the Memory Clinic at Manipal Hospital with over a decade of experience in cognitive neurology and neuropsychology. Her clinical interests include stroke, neuroinfections, and dementia, while her research focuses on multilingualism and dementia, memory breakdown, and neural substrates of language. She is involved in multiple research projects and has publications in stroke and cognitive neurology.
Email: ratnavallie@gmail.com
JWALA NARAYAN – Chief Neuropsychologist
Jwala holds a Master’s in Clinical Psychology from India and a specialization in Neuropsychology from the University of Glasgow, UK. Her focus is on memory disorders and neuropsychological rehabilitation. She was awarded the Neuropsychology International Fellowship in 2012, which partly funded her to visit various neuropsychology centres in the U.K.
Email: jwala.narayanan@gmail.com
SANDHYA SIVAKUMAR – Trainee Neuropsychologist
Sandhya completed her MSc in Neuropsychology from Christ University, Bangalore. Her clinical focus is on dementia, epilepsy, and TBI, while her research interests encompass executive functioning and spatial navigation. She received the Best Poster Award at the ‘Biennial Conference on Cognitive and Clinical Neuropsychology-2022’ for her master’s thesis.
Email: sandhyasiva.j@gmail.com
AKSHATA SHETH – Trainee Neuropsychologist
Akshata completed her MSc in Neuropsychology from Christ University, Bangalore, and her BA in Psychology from Sophia College, Mumbai. Her research focuses on investigating the effectiveness of positive neuropsychological interventions in neurodegenerative conditions. She is also interested in virtual reality-based cognitive assessment and rehabilitation. She was awarded the 2023 travel fellowship to present her research at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Email: akshatavsheth@gmail.com
NIDHI DEV – Consultant Neuropsychologist
Nidhi is qualified with a B.Sc and Post-graduate diploma in Psychology from UWS in Sydney, Australia, along with an M.Sc in Clinical Psychology from Christ College, Bangalore. She also has an M.Phil in Clinical Psychology from KMC, Manipal University. Her core research emphasis has been on epilepsy, dementia and children with neurological disorders in children and in adults.
Email: nidhidev@gmail.com
APOORVA SHIVARAM
Apoorva has completed her B.A. in Psychology Honours from Christ University, Bangalore. She is passionate about neuroscience and aims to become a researcher in the field of cognitive neuroscience, particularly in relation to the areas of learning and memory. She seeks to combine her knowledge and love for dancing with her future research. She completed a research paper titled “Dance/Movement Therapy on Social Skills among Children with Autism” during the period of her undergraduate degree.
Email: apoorvashivaram@gmail.com
SIDDHARTH RAMANAN – Neuropsychologist and Research Associate
Siddharth completed his M.Sc. in Cognitive Neuropsychology from the University of Edinburgh, U.K., following which he worked on an experimental psychology project at NIMHANS, Bangalore. He is interested in experimental and clinical and focuses on better understanding semantic and episodic memory in dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment.
Email:ramanan.siddharth@gmail.com
Dr. SWATHY CHANDRASHEKHAR – Clinical Research Associate
Swathy completed her MBBS at JJM Medical College, Davangere and Observerships at the University of South Florida, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and University of Texas Southwestern. She thinks cognitive neurology is unique as it is an attempt by the brain to understand its own function and existence. She finds the diversity of clinical conditions in neurology fascinating and is interested in pursuing a residency in the same.
PRERANA SABNIS – Neuropsychologist
Prerana completed her M.Sc in Cognitive Neuropsychology from the University of Edinburgh. She also works as a Senior Research Fellow for an ICMR-funded project that aims at developing a battery to detect Vascular Cognitive Impairment. Her research focuses on bilingual aphasia, language acquisition and the role of memory in language acquisition.
TANYA D’SOUZA
Tanya completed her M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology at Christ University, Bangalore. While pursuing her postgraduate degree, she became interested in the work happening at the CNC and worked here for a year. Her interests revolved around cognitive functions in frontotemporal dementia and Parkinson’s disease, and varying patterns of deterioration of cognitive functions in different dementias.
SHIVANI MALIK
Shivani completed her M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology at Christ University, Bangalore and worked with rehabilitation of cognitive functions in stroke and dementia. She specialized in conducting home visits and planning out rehabilitative strategies for patients. She was a part of the CNC team for two years.
DR. SHIVIKA CHANDRA