Ms. Aswini Madhira, Ph.D. student at the Centre for Neural and Cognitive Sciences under the supervision of Prof. Ramesh Mishra, Dean, School of Medical Sciences, was awarded the National Science Foundation (NSF) student bursary to attend the South Asian Forum on the Acquisition and Processing of Language (SAFAL-2025), held at the University of Colorado, Boulder, from 17th – 19th November 2025, a conference that brings together researchers working on South Asian languages to exchange ideas in the domains of language acquisition, processing, multilingualism, and literacy development.
Prof. Mishra was invited as a Keynote Speaker at SAFAL-2025, where he delivered an address on “The diversity mindset hypothesis – a model to examine the interface of cognition and language in Indian multilinguals,”. His keynote lecture at Boulder was received with considerable interest, generating substantive scientific discussion. His visit included a series of meetings with faculty members from multiple universities to explore the scope of ongoing and future research collaborations in cognitive science and allied fields.
Aswini also presented her research at the 66th Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society, where she showcased her poster titled “Constraints of Visual Statistical Learning: An Eye-Tracking Study,” based on her doctoral work examining the interaction of attentional engagement and statistical learning in visual search. Her presentation was well received and generated constructive feedback from faculty and researchers. She also held discussions with Ph.D. students from premier international labs, gaining exposure to the latest research developments in cognitive psychology.
As a Fellow of the Psychonomic Society, Prof. Mishra also delivered his lecture at the Society’s 66th Annual Meeting in Denver, titled “Biliteracy Training Induces Sustained Cross-Linguistic Orthography Activation in Adult Illiterates,” which was well received by the international cognitive science community.
A notable highlight of their participation at Psychonomics was their interaction with Prof. Jeremy Wolfe, Professor of Ophthalmology and Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School, and a leading figure in the field of visual search and attention research, whose insights contributed meaningfully to the refinement of the ongoing research. Across both events, the academic visibility of the school was significantly enhanced, and the engagements helped strengthen research networks, identify directions for future collaborative work, and create new opportunities for scholarly exchange. The visit thus proved to be highly productive and impactful for both the faculty and student participants, contributing substantively to the international academic profile of the Centre and the School.