Chirag Mehra

Chirag is a PhD Candidate the Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, at the IoPPN. Prior to his PhD, Chirag worked as a Paediatric Doctor in South London, focusing his clinical efforts on paediatric neurology and neonatology. He completed both his medical studies and his Masters in Cognitive Neuroscience at King’s College London.

Chirag’s PhD research focuses on how the co-occurrence of autism spectrum conditions and epilepsy affects the brain. Particularly, he studies the development of large-scale brain-networks using EEG, synaptic density using positron emission topography, and is also interested in the balance of excitation and inhibition in the brain. Chirag is part of the AIMS-2-TRIALS LEAP-Epilepsy study.

Research Interests

• Neurobiology of autism spectrum conditions
• Co-occurrence of autism and epilepsy
• Brain development

Expertise and Public Engagement

• Panel member at New Scientist Live, ‘The Future of Healthcare’, careers in science discussion
• Produced podcast on Childhood Disintegrative Disorder publication: https://dmcn.podbean.com/e/dmcn-childhood-disintegrative-disorder-and-autism-spectrum-disorder-a-systematic-review/
• Gives multiple talks to secondary school students on ‘The Amazing Brain’