Portrait of a smiling woman with short dark hair, wearing a blue denim-textured top and small earrings.

Kanaka Rajan, PhD

Associate Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School

Kanaka Rajan, PhD – People Feature

Associate Professor of Neurobiology in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School.

If you prefer, you can view the visual layout directly on Canva by Neuro Coordinator.

Contact

Email: kanaka_rajan@hms.harvard.edu

Rajan Lab website: www.rajanlab.com

The Aim

The Rajan Lab studies how the brain performs essential functions by using neuroscience data to build advanced AI models.

The Impact

Combining biological data with AI tools brings us closer to understanding how different brain regions communicate. For example, we now have a better grasp on what makes multitasking possible and how we learn from just a few experiences. These insights into essential functions could lead to new treatments for disorders affecting memory and learning.

A Closer Look

The Transmitter — March 2025: How neuroscience comics add KA-POW! to the field: Q&A with Kanaka Rajan

This feature shares Kanaka Rajan’s personal and professional insights into how collaborating with artists on comics has helped her convey complex concepts without diluting the science. This approach has allowed her research to reach a larger audience and inspired other researchers to use similar methods.

Harvard Medical School — August 2026: AI Framework Decodes How Brain Regions Talk to One Another

A new AI framework called CURBD reveals how brain regions communicate and influence one another, offering fresh insights into cognition and potential treatments for disorders such as depression, memory loss, and movement disorders.

Publications View
Task-Dependent Changes in the Large-Scale Dynamics and Necessity of Cortical Regions.
Authors: Authors: Pinto L, Rajan K, DePasquale B, Thiberge SY, Tank DW, Brody CD.
Neuron
View full abstract on Pubmed
How to study the neural mechanisms of multiple tasks.
Authors: Authors: Yang GR, Cole MW, Rajan K.
Curr Opin Behav Sci
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Neuronal Dynamics Regulating Brain and Behavioral State Transitions.
Authors: Authors: Andalman AS, Burns VM, Lovett-Barron M, Broxton M, Poole B, Yang SJ, Grosenick L, Lerner TN, Chen R, Benster T, Mourrain P, Levoy M, Rajan K, Deisseroth K.
Cell
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Spike-timing-dependent ensemble encoding by non-classically responsive cortical neurons.
Authors: Authors: Insanally MN, Carcea I, Field RE, Rodgers CC, DePasquale B, Rajan K, DeWeese MR, Albanna BF, Froemke RC.
Elife
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full-FORCE: A target-based method for training recurrent networks.
Authors: Authors: DePasquale B, Cueva CJ, Rajan K, Escola GS, Abbott LF.
PLoS One
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Recurrent Network Models of Sequence Generation and Memory.
Authors: Authors: Rajan K, Harvey CD, Tank DW.
Neuron
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Learning quadratic receptive fields from neural responses to natural stimuli.
Authors: Authors: Rajan K, Marre O, Tkacik G.
Neural Comput
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Maximally informative "stimulus energies" in the analysis of neural responses to natural signals.
Authors: Authors: Rajan K, Bialek W.
PLoS One
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Stimulus-dependent suppression of chaos in recurrent neural networks.
Authors: Authors: Rajan K, Abbott LF, Sompolinsky H.
Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys
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Temperature-compensated chemical reactions.
Authors: Authors: Rajan K, Abbott LF.
Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys
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