Our Team

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Founder and Principal Investigator

Kohinoor holds a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from Bangor University, UK, and has previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Glasgow (Glasgow, UK), Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia), and University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA, USA). Through her research, she investigates the cognitive and neural mechanisms that underlie our interactions in the social world and our engagement with art. Kohinoor is also a trained Indian classical dancer (Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi) and likes to integrate her background in the arts with her interest in neuroscience in both her research and choreographic endeavours. Outside of the research lab, she enjoys social interactions with fictional characters in novels and underwater aesthetic experiences when scuba diving.

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Associate Director and Community Outreach Manager

Sanjana is the Community Outreach Manager at ARISA. Along with working as a counsellor, Sanjana also has extensive experience working with adolescents from marginalised communities in group settings. Before joining ARISA, Sanjana worked as a counselor at Bharatiya Samaj Seva Kendra (BSSK), a leading not-for-profit organisation in the field of adoption. She guided parents for pre-adoption preparation as well as helped families with post adoption challenges. She likes to have an eclectic approach and uses different mediums like art, drama, and other experiential activities in her practice. She strives to live by her core values of inclusiveness, respect and non-judgement.

An animal lover, Sanjana will try to pet all street dogs, an occasional cat if allowed, and sometimes animals she mistakes as a cat (ref- mongoose under a car at night). Growing up she wanted to become a detective or a ghost hunter. She says she has grown out of it but her Netflix history says otherwise.

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Research Assistant and Social Media Manager

Tanvi has a Master’s degree in Clinical Neuropsychology from Bangor University, UK and a triple major Bachelor’s degree in Communication and media studies, English Literature, and Psychology from CHRIST (Deemed to be University),  Bangalore.  As an early-stage researcher, she wants to build an academic career focused on sex and gender differences in diagnoses and theoretical frameworks within neuroscience. Her interest in the same stems from being a neurodivergent individual who is passionate about her identity as a feminist and an environmentalist. As a patron of the arts, Tanvi is a classical dancer with a flair for literary discourse and an appreciation for poetry. She advocates for a multidisciplinary approach to research which will aid the culmination of scientific research with the metaphysics of the arts. She tries to use every space she occupies to be a safe space for those struggling against the binaries of the world. She wants to work towards dismantling them through her research and influencing policymaking in the future. She spends the rest of her time creating art through crocheting and dealing with the highs and lows of being a football enthusiast. 

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Senior Program Coordinator

Madhura holds a BA in Economics from Fergusson College, Pune and is currently in the last semester of MA Dance (Bharatanatyam). She is passionate about arts, languages and culture and has been working at the intersection of arts and education for 7 years now. She strongly believes that we need to bring in a multidisciplinary approach to the arts to facilitate access to the arts and to create opportunities for artists. Madhura is also a trained classical dancer and has completed C2 in French.

When not working, she spends time enjoying films, music, travelling and motorcycle rides. 

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Research Assistant

Shriya recently completed her post-graduation in Interdisciplinary Studies & Research and holds a BA in Psychology with a minor in Human Resource Management from FLAME University. She is carving her career through her love for the social sciences while integrating the brain sciences of cognitive science and neuropsychology. She has worked in the domains of stress and cognition and designing interventions for improving cognitive performance in students. She is passionate about learning both the advances and limitations of the human brain. As a budding researcher, she aims to create meaningful and ethical research that can bridge the translational gap between research and application. Beyond work, she enjoys singing, drawing and reading anything related to the mind. 

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Design Intern

Shradha recently completed their graduation in BA Psychology Honours from Dr. Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University, Kothrud, Pune. They are motivated by the vast scope of accessible, inclusive and comprehensive mental health services in dealing with distress and enabling human flourishing and have a particular interest in the field of expressive arts therapy. They have always had a fascination for all forms of artistic expression and love collecting skill sets related to the same such as multimedia fine art, graphic design, photography, handicrafts, crochet, classical dance, music, etc. which has contributed to their unwavering identity as “the art kid”. They are an avid enthusiast of artistic & slice-of-life films, queer literature and gender studies, sitcom shows, filter coffee & desi dark academia and love to spend their time outdoors in greenery picking up cool rocks and petting local cats.

Interested in joining our team?

ARISA Foundation welcomes researchers and collaborators from around the world to join our mission to create a more interconnected and inclusive society, and work at the intersection of the arts and sciences.