Ajay Halai

Biography

I am a Principal Investigator (MRC Career Development Award 2021-2026) and Senior Research Associate.

My research group is focused on understanding diagnosis and prognosis in stroke aphasia using a multi-modal approach (behavioural, neuroimaging, non-invasive brain stimulation, computational modelling and machine learning).

The research is important and it spans basic scientific discover through to clinical translation, which can impact: 1) our theoretical understanding of how cognitive processes recovery after brain injury, 2) predictive value for prognosis, both for the patients and clinical rehabilitation, and 3) the implementation of novel individualised therapeutics.

Biography

I completed a BSc and MSc at the University of York (psychology and cognitive neuroscience, respectively), followed by a cross discipline PhD (MRC Capacity-Building) at the University of Manchester, combining psychology with neuroimaging. I then moved toward applied research under the mentorship of Prof Matthew Lambon Ralph at the University of Manchester and MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit. I started my own lab in 2021 but I continue to collaborate with a multidisciplinary team, where I use convergent methods to investigate recovery and/or decline following brain disorder.