A Kashmir Scientist at the Center of Global Brain Research

Raised in Kashmir, trained globally, Dr. Durafshan Syed explains how complex movement emerges from simple brain circuits, a core question in neuroscience.

- Aashiq Hussain Andrabi

From a classroom in Kashmir to neuroscience labs in California, Dr. Durafshan Sakeena Syed's journey shows how far curiosity can travel.

Trained at the University of Kashmir and now based at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Durafshan works on a question most of us never think about: how the brain tells the body what to do, and how one movement leads to the next.

Durafshan is an Assistant Project Scientist in the Simpson Lab at UCSB, where she studies how neural circuits control coordinated movement.

Using the fruit fly as a model, she looks at how different parts of the brain work together to move legs, switch actions, and manage more than one task at a time.

Her research has uncovered inhibitory circuits that control rhythmic leg movement during grooming and identified brain pathways that start specific motor actions.

Her scientific roots are firmly in the valley. She completed her Master's degree in Biotechnology at the University of Kashmir before moving to Bengaluru for her PhD at the National Centre for Biological Sciences.

There, she studied how motor neurons connect to muscles in precise patterns that make walking possible.

That work helped link how the nervous system develops with how it functions later in life.

After moving to the United States,

At a time when more students from Kashmir are looking beyond borders for science and research, Durafshan’s work offers a clear example of how training in the valley can lead to meaningful work on the global stage.

In this interview with Kashmir Observer, Dr. Durafshan talks about her journey, her research on the brain and movement, and what it takes to build a career in science across continents.

I was always curious about life. Biology fascinated me early on. At one point, I had to choose between mathematics and biology. I chose biology, even though I enjoyed math.