BIO*FICTION: Science.Art.Film Festival

This past week we were privileged to welcome Siddharth Ramakrishnan, a fellow and former instructor of UCLA SCI ART Institute and a current neuroscientist at University of Puget Sound, as a visiting lecturer at the UCLA ArtSci Center. His research interests span the field of developmental biology, neuroendocrinology and sensory-motor integration. As a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA (2006-2009) he studied the development and physiology of reproductive neurons in the zebrafish brain. His previous research addressed pattern-generating networks in snails and how they were modulated to elicit various behaviors. As a respondent to Aaron Blaisdell's lecture at the LASER event on April 24th in the CNSI Presentation Room, Siddharth Ramakrishnan provided an array of questions and ideas for Professor Blaisdell's research on "Pigeon Art."

Siddharth Ramakrishnan, PhD., a Neuroscientist, is an Assistant Professor of Biology and the Jennie M. Caruthers Chair in Neuroscience at the University of Puget Sound. Ramakrishnan was awarded his Ph.D. in neuroscience and a Master of Science degree in computer sciences from University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to that he received a bachelor’s degree in computer sciences from the Biria Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India. Ramakrishnan’s expertise spans electrophysiology, small animal models, neural cultures, bio-electronic devices, and cellular membranes. His teaching has included basic biology; cellular neuroscience laboratory; the neural foundations of animal behavior; neuroendocrinology; and the intersection of art, science, and technology. A Fellow of the UCLA Art/Sci center, his collaborations with artists have led to exhibitions and documentaries that blend the worlds of art and science highlighting topics like Hox genes, animal umwelts and biomimicry. Recent exhibits have been at the Microwave New Media festival (2011) and at Art Environment Action at the New School of Design (2012). He is developing an Art+Science collective in his current position.

MORE INFO
https://www.pugetsound.edu/directory/siddharth-ramakrishnan

“Pigeon Art Studio”
April 24 - May 2, 2024 at the ArtSci Gallery on the CNSI 5th floor.
To view the exhibit please email: artscicenter@gmail.com

Pigeons have provided a power house of knowledge on learning, memory, and cognition. Now, they also paint! The Blaisdell lab at UCLA has been studying pigeons making digital art using a touchscreen. The goal is to understand the "why" and the "how" of why pigeons make art. What can this tell us about human art? This exhibit features two collections from our pigeon artists. Step into the pigeon artist studio and see what they've been up to!

Dr. Blaisdell is a Psychology Professor and Chair of the Behavioral Neuroscience area at UCLA, overseeing the Comparative Cognition Lab and the Pigeon Art Project. As a member of the UCLA Brain Research Institute, the UCLA Integrative Center for Learning & Memory, and the UCLA Evolutionary Medicine program, Dr. Blaisdell has an extensive academic background with a BA in Anthropology from SUNY Stony Brook, an MS in Anthropology from Kent State University, a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from SUNY Binghamton, and two years of NIH-funded postdoctoral training at Tufts University.

Featured speaker: Aaron Blaisdell
Responder: Siddharth Ramakrishnan
Chaired by Victoria Vesna
This LASER is connected to the exhibition opening at the UCLA ArtSci gallery at CNSI – developed by Professor Aaron Blaisdell with his research students at the Comparative Cognition Lab at UCLA.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION: https://artsci.ucla.edu/node/1710
Guest responder is Siddharth Ramakrishnan, a neuroscientist at the University of Puget Sound and a UCLA post-doctoral researcher (2006-2009).

About LASER Talks:
Leonardo/ISAST LASER Talks is a program of international gatherings that bring artists, scientists, humanists and technologists together for informal presentations, performances and conversations with the wider public. The mission of LASER is to encourage contribution to the cultural environment of a region by fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and opportunities for community building to over 50 cities and 5 continents worldwide.
MORE INFO https://leonardo.info/laser-talks\

https://www.psych.ucla.edu/faculty-page/aaron-blaisdell/
Dr. Blaisdell is a Psychology Professor and Chair of the Behavioral Neuroscience area at UCLA, overseeing the Comparative Cognition Lab and the Pigeon Art Project. As a member of the UCLA Brain Research Institute, the UCLA Integrative Center for Learning & Memory, and the UCLA Evolutionary Medicine program, Dr. Blaisdell has an extensive academic background with a BA in Anthropology from SUNY Stony Brook, an MS in Anthropology from Kent State University, a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from SUNY Binghamton, and two years of NIH-funded postdoctoral training at Tufts University.

https://www.pugetsound.edu/directory/siddharth-ramakrishnan
Siddharth Ramakrishnan, PhD., a Neuroscientist, is an Assistant Professor of Biology and the Jennie M. Caruthers Chair in Neuroscience at the University of Puget Sound. His research interests span the field of developmental biology, neuroendocrinology and sensory-motor integration. He is a recent recipient of the NSF CAREER award for early career scientists to explore modulation of the reproductive axis in the brain by endocrine disruptors. As a research scientist at Columbia University, he designed microchips to record from brain cells and used proteins to create bio-batteries and biosensors. As a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA (2006-2009) he studied the development and physiology of reproductive neurons in the zebrafish brain. His previous research addressed pattern-generating networks in snails and how they were modulated to elicit various behaviors.

https://pigeonrat.psych.ucla.edu/blaisdell-lab/
MORE INFO about the Blaisell lab.