Our lab is founded on principles of respecting lab and community members and maintaining high standards of scientific integrity. As a lab, we value and are committed to pushing on scientific and societal directions that we - individually and jointly - hold in high regard. We seek to merge science with societal impact. We carefully consider how to conduct research and present results in a manner that upholds our shared values and that is mindful of the effect of our work in the world.

In the pursuit of these goals, we strive to welcome all individuals to join this scientific and societal quest. We value diversity of backgrounds and identities in our scientific endeavors. Diversity betters our lab and our scientific pursuits, adds critical perspectives, enriches our understanding of the brain and human mind, helps to fulfull our societal mission, and allows for the pursuit of more meaningful work. We strive to foster a welcoming attitude, in part because many of us have personally benefited from welcoming communities.

We are consciously committed to equity and justice because there is a longstanding and ongoing legacy of exclusion and injustice, especially in academia and other fields that contribute to shaping societal narratives about the nature of humanity. This history continues to exclude worthy individuals from the generation of knowledge and from participation at every level of education. We believe that in order to reach its full potential, the scientific community should grapple with this history, and should acknowledge and address the ways in which we have perpetuated, and continue to perpetuate, these injustices. To tolerate injustice and exclusion while enjoying the fruits of academia would undermine not only the societal mission but also the integrity of our community, and would sever a connection with an important part of ourselves. 

We strive to create a lab culture that embodies compassion, creativity, innovation, exploration, curiosity, asking questions, and learning from one other regardless of “status” and experience level. 

We have put these values into practice:

• Several members of our lab are actively involved in anti-racism and other efforts to promote equity in our community.

• Pawan serves on the BCS and School of Science Diversity Committees.

• Our lab’s representative in the BCS-level DEIJ Community of Practice initiative keeps us informed about DEIJ programs and opportunities within BCS and the wider MIT community, and facilitates conversations on DEIJ topics within our lab.

• We host undergraduate students through such initiatives as the BU Rise program, Amgen Scholars, MSRP, etc.

• Several members of our lab are involved in the development of assistive technology in collaboration with individuals with disabilities such as visual impairment.

• We engage with our local communities in Cambridge and New Delhi, and with the communities that we are attempting to scientifically characterize and welcome them to share their perspectives, engage in dialogue, and collaborate with us.

• Our Autism project team is made up of colleagues with diverse backgrounds ranging  from clinical (speech language pathology, education, assessment and diagnosis, and early intervention) to computational (signal processing, computer science, mathematics, neuroscience). 

• Project Prakash: Our initiative in India is driven by the desire to address healthcare inequities that prevent numerous children from reaching their full potential. For the past 15 years, we have worked towards identifying, treating and rehabilitating children who have experienced severe visual impairments and financial hardships.

• Our lab implements various outreach programs in the community, from the UnrulyArt program in Boston area schools, to giving talks to community groups, to providing vision care services and job opportunities in underserved populations in rural India. 

• We do not tolerate discrimination in any form. [link to and reference BCS and MIT DEIJ statements here.]  We expect lab members to adhere to the MIT code of conduct, and continue to learn skills and knowledge about DEIJ while working to uphold our community’s DEIJ values.