Deblina Sarkar, PhD is an Assistant Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and AT&T Career Development Chair Professor at the MIT Media Lab. She heads the Nano-Cybernetic Biotrek research group and carries out trans-disciplinary research fusing engineering, applied physics, and biology to develop disruptive technologies for nanoelectronic devices and create new paradigms for life-machine symbiosis. Her inventions include, among others, a six-atom thick channel quantum-mechanical transistor overcoming fundamental power limitations, an ultra-sensitive label-free biosensor, technology for nanoscale deciphering of biological building blocks of brain, and ultra-miniaturized antennae that can work wirelessly from inside a living cell. Her PhD dissertation was honored as one of the top three dissertations throughout USA and Canada in the field of mathematics, physical sciences, and all departments of engineering.

The MIND Prize was created with the belief that we need fresh, big, and bold ideas in the neuroscience space, and that philanthropy could embolden investigators earlier in their careers to be daring and push the limits of what we currently know. Dr. Sarkar aligns with this mission perfectly. Her multidisciplinary project, which started in the summer of 2023, brings together nanoelectronics, applied physics, bioengineering, and neuroscience. She and her lab aim to develop wireless nanoelectronic brain stimulators as novel therapeutics to slow down and even prevent Alzheimer’s Disease development.

The proposed technology is a radical departure from all existing bioelectronic interfaces and could modify the course of the disease—going beyond symptomatic benefits to potentially reverse the process of aging. While only a year in at the time of writing, the Sarkar lab is busy building and optimizing the various properties of materials to maximize electricity output in devices as small as ten micrometers in diameter, comparable to the size of a cell. Overall, this research sets the foundation for advanced, non-invasive brain stimulation therapies that could define patient treatment plans. Dr. Sarkar and her lab stretch the limits of what can be achieved by using technology to transform human health.

The Sarkar lab’s mission is to build bold and radically new technologies for transformative impact. In addition to the MIND Prize, Dr. Sarkar is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions. These include: the Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35 from India, NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, the IEEE Early Career Award in Nanotechnology, Innovative Young Engineer Recognition from National Academy of Engineers, the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award with the highest and rarely achieved impact score, the Science News “10 Scientists to Watch”, the Sontag Foundation’s Distinguished Scientist Award, the Nanomaterials Young Investigator Award and the NSF CAREER Award. Her work has led to more than 40 publications to date, which have appeared in Nature, Nature Communications, Nature Biomedical Engineering, and more. Her cutting-edge technologies are already being utilized by researchers around the globe, and we look forward to seeing what’s next for Dr. Sarkar in the coming years.

• S. N. Kajale, T. Nguyen, M. Li and D. Sarkar (2024). “Deterministic and non-volatile switching of all-van der Waals spin-orbit torque system above room temperature without external magnetic fields” Science Advances, Vol. 10, Issue 11.

• S. N. Kajale, T. Nguyen, C. A. Chao, D. C. Bono, A. Boonkird, M. Li and D. Sarkar (2024). “Current-induced switching of a van der Waals ferromagnet at room temperature” Nature Communications, Vol 19, 1485.

• B. Joy and D. Sarkar (2023). “An Intracellular Antenna for Wireless Probing and Augmentation Of Living Cells”, American Physical Society Conference.

• B. Joy and D. Sarkar (2023). “An antenna for radio communication in 3D biological systems”, IEEE AP-S Conference.

• D. Sarkar (2023). “From Green Electronics to Gray Matter and Cyborg Cells”, IEEE Nanotechnology Magazine, 1932-4510, pp. 1-4.