Dr Srikanth Ramaswamy is delighted to receive the accolade from The Physiological Society for his work focusing on the interface of biological and artificial neural networks.

It is the first time anyone at Newcastle University has won the distinguished R Jean Banister Prize for Early Career Physiologists.

’Deeply honoured’

Dr Ramaswamy, who is Marie Curie Fellow, Lister Prize Fellow and Assistant Professor in computational neuroscience, said: “I am absolutely delighted and deeply honoured to receive the award.

“As the first computational neuroscientist to receive this prestigious award, I hope this signals a new era where computational modelling and traditional physiology converge to tackle the complexity of brain function and disorders.

“This recognition validates our interdisciplinary approach to understanding how neuromodulatory systems regulate neural network physiology, with implications for both advancing neuroscience and developing brain-inspired artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

“I am excited that this award comes at a time when the field increasingly embraces computational methods, and I hope it encourages more young scientists to pursue research at the intersection of physiology, neuroscience, and AI, where transformative discoveries await us.”

The prize is awarded by the Physiological Society, the largest network of physiologists in Europe and which is at the forefront of life sciences, with academic journals of global reach. 

The society brings together more than 4,000 scientists from over 60 countries and its members have made significant contributions to the knowledge of biological systems and treatment of disease.

’Outstanding contributions to research’

In presenting the honour, The Physiological Society said: “We are delighted that Dr Srikanth Ramaswamy has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 R Jean Banister Prize Lecture for Early Career Physiologists.

“This is in recognition of his outstanding contributions to research which bridges the interface of neurophysiology and artificial intelligence (AI), focusing on how brain signalling chemicals – neuromodulators – regulate the physiology of neural networks”.

Dr Ramaswamy joined Newcastle in 2021 as part of the Newcastle University’s NUAcT fellowship scheme and leads the Neural Circuits Laboratory in the Faculty of Medical Sciences.