IIIT Hyderabad Launches BrainLab Facility for Advanced Human Brain Research

The International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIIT-H) launched BrainLab on 5 October 2026, establishing an advanced human electroencephalography (EEG) research facility in Hyderabad. The centre has been set up to study how the human brain processes information, attention, perception, and behaviour.

The facility was established with support from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under its Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (DST-FIST) programme. This national funding initiative backed the institute's plan to expand its high-end experimental neuroimaging infrastructure.

IIIT-H's Cognitive Science Lab (CSL) secured the grant in 2024 under the Life Sciences FIST (FIST-LS) programme. The grant-winning team of researchers comprises Prof. Bapi Raju, Dr Vishnu Sreekumar, Dr Bhaktee Dongaonkar, Dr Vinoo Alluri, Dr Priyanka Srivastava, and Dr Kavita Vemuri.

BrainLab is outfitted with specialised diagnostic and monitoring hardware, including a 128-channel high-density EEG system and a 32-channel mobile EEG system. The facility also houses a digitiser designed for the precise tracking of electrode positions on participants.

In addition to the EEG arrays, an advanced research-grade eye-tracking system has been integrated into the setup. This dual configuration allows researchers to synchronise brain activity with gaze patterns and pupil-based measures of attention during experimental trials.

The newly deployed infrastructure will allow investigators at IIIT-H to carry out controlled cognitive neuroscience experiments involving participants drawn from Indian populations. Through these studies, the laboratory will produce original datasets, reducing local scientific reliance on neuroscientific data collected elsewhere.