Assistant Professor(RTDa)

Dr. Pawan Faris is Assistant Professor (RTDa) at the Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Italy (March 2023-to date). She obtained her PhD in Molecular Physiology in 2019. Awarded a MAECI fellowship from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she later held a research fellowship (2019-2022) at the University of Pavia and worked as a researcher at Istituto Auxologico in Milan (2022-2023). Her current research explores cerebellar circuit activity in physiological and neurological disorders like schizophrenia and ataxia mouse models, utilizing high-density multielectrode arrays (HD-MEA) and two-photon microscopy within the MNESYS project framework. She holds the Italian National Scientific Qualification (ASN) for an associate professor in 05/D1 – Physiology sector (2024-2035). She has contributed as a researcher to multiple European and international projects, including HORIZON 2020 (LION HEARTED) and MNESYS (PNRR), and collaborates (senior) with the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project at the University of Washington. Dr. Faris received the NARSAD 2025 Award of Young Investigator Grant (Brain and Behaviour Research Foundation (BBRF)). She has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles and actively mentors’ students and early-career researchers. She teaches LABORATORY OF NEURAL SIGNALS AND BRAIN-INSPIRED SYSTEMS at undergraduate (bechalor in Aritificial intelligence) and promotes international research capacity building through collaborations and training initiatives, also serving as President of the Kurdistan-Italy Friendship Association.