Stanford University

(© 2025 Stanford University. Stanford, California 94305.)

Harsh H. Khilawala

(He/Him/His)
Harsh Khilawala

Short bio - about me!

I am a recent CS Graduate with research focus on computational neuroscience and neuroinformatics. My recent work involves studying the behavior and spiking properties of biological neuronal network models using simulation technologies such as PyNN. I graduated with MS in Computer Science from Pace University, New York, United States in May 2025 while I completed my undergraduate with B.TECH. in Computer Science and Engineering in May 2023 from Charotar University of Science and Technology (CHARUSAT), India.

Introduction

Since 2022, my academic and research journey has been driven by a deep curiosity about the human brain — its computational elegance, its adaptability, and its mysteries. During my under undergraduate studies, I got an opportunity to attend the NeuroPSI lab, CNRS - French National Centre for Scientific Research to work on a neuroinformatics project focused on simulating the spiking behavior of biological neuronal network models which at first I got too frustrated to it but with time, I discovered the immense potential of computational methods to unravel the principles of neural function. This experience marked the beginning of my passion for computational neuroscience, where biology and technology converge to help us understand the very foundation of cognition and consciousness.

One of my ultimate career goals is to contribute to the global effort to understand and combat Alzheimer’s disease. (© 2024 Springer Nature Limited. All rights reserved.) Despite being unfamiliar with the fact what actually Alzheimer’s disease is, I know of one thing for sure - This disease has taken away the lives of innumerable people across the globe but this is not the only thing it did, this same disease was responsible to break hell upon people living in their worst nightmare. Beyond its devastating medical effects, Alzheimer’s robs individuals of their memories, identities, and relationships, inflicting profound emotional pain on families and communities. This in itself is like to live with a curse. Even the smallest contribution toward alleviating this suffering would, to me, represent a meaningful step toward serving humanity through science.

Personal Details

Research

Research is something that excites me the most when it comes to developing a solution/product tackling the challenges in the industry/academia. To this, I would like to pursue Doctoral/PhD in Computer Science with research interests in Computational Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics at top programs (Stanford University being my top choice!) and hence would be applying for PhD Admissions for Fall 2026 intake cycle to a list of few universities where I would be able to pursue my ambitions.

My research interests are but not limited to Computational Neuroscience, Neuroinformatics, Neuroimaging, Bio-informatics, Simulation Technologies, Computer Vision, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Medical Imaging.

Ultimate End-Goal/Target/Destination with Research?

  1. WHY did I choose to work upon Alzheimer’s Disease as my ultimate research goal?

  2. WHAT makes this disease one of the MOST DEVASTATING DISEASE of current times?

  3. WHY it has become MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER to work on this?



  • Nearly 7 Million Americans of age 65 and above are currently living with Alzheimer’s Disease.
  • If we fail to act on time, the above number is expected to grow from 7 Million to 13 Million by 2050.
  • 1 in 3 senior citizens die with Alzheimer's disease or another Dementia.
  • Alzheimer’s disease is now the 7th leading cause of death in US!
  • With a staggering growth rate of 145% in the years between 2000 to 2019.
  • In 2019, Dementia care costed the global economy over $1 TRILLION!. In just 3 years in year 2022.(Its PAST!), costs rose to more than combined profits of Apple, Microsoft and Amazon!
  • With this, Alzheimer's Disease is projected to cripple America's healthcare system soon enough!
  • Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease could save America as much as  $7 TRILLION! in health and long term care costs.

(Source: BrightFocus Foundation and The Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation)



Don't you think that need for cure to this disease is more urgent than ever?

Leo Tolstoy

Research Project - PyNN  image

As part of my personal research project to extend my contributions to PyNN, I am still working on a solution to answer the issue of a Neuro-informatics simulator’s compatibility with other widely adopted simulators out there. I have been working on PyNN (https://neuralensemble.org/PyNN/) Package starting summer of 2024 which is aimed to eliminate the need of its user to have knowledge in programming which obstructs widespread adaptation among scientific and academic community. PyNN was developed with a purpose to eradicate the same dependency issue which earlier required to learn simulating neuronal network models towards mainly 4 Major simulators i.e. NEURON, NEST, Brian 2 and Arbor. Simulators as all the 4 simulators mentioned above require their users to have proficiency to write computer programs with their programming paradigm.

Towards the above challenge, I planned out my approach to develop PyNN (GUI) with compatibility support to be able to allow users to run any model developed with majority simulators (+ compatibility of PyNN to run models which are listed on ModelDB - a Database to Support Computational Neuroscience Models).

The above solution would benefit the scientific community my many folds. How?

  1. Widespread adaptation among scientific and academic communities allowing MILLIONS of users from all across different backgrounds to be able to run and simulate neuronal network models which would open new doors of opportunities for next generation. This would be achieved by GUI as it eradicates the need of learning programming which would result in allowing Millions of users (including academic institutions) to simulate neuronal network models without any hassle to learn programming.
  2. Unlocking new capabilities to allow users to simulate the models ON-THE-GO on their mobile devices anywhere through Cloud Integration.
  3. Would open doors of opportunities to develop innovative commercial products by major companies and agile startups.

All the above can be achieved at a minimal cost without any need of high infrastructure and its (minimal) maintenance.

Project/Research Mentor: Andrew P. Davison

Education

Graduate - Masters Degree
Pace University

(© 2025 Pace University.)

Master of Science (MS) - Computer Science

Sep 2023 - May 2025

Pace University

New York, NY, USA

Academic Records - Quick View
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Academic Courses

  • Term: Fall 2023
    Level Instructor Course Grade Credits
    Graduate Baik, Doosan Algorithms and Computing Theory A 3.00
    Graduate Shan, Juan Computer Vision A 3.00
    Graduate Chaudhari, Pratik R. Database Management Systems A 3.00
    Term Credits 9.00
    GPA 4.0
  • Term: Spring 2024
    Level Instructor Course Grade Credits
    Graduate Baik, Doosan Concepts and Structures in Internet Computing A 3.00
    Doctoral / Graduate Mosteiro, Miguel A. Advanced Algorithms B 3.00
    Doctoral / Graduate Shan, Juan Advanced Computer Vision A- 3.00
    Term Credits 9.00
    GPA 3.57
  • Term: Fall 2024
    Level Instructor Course Grade Credits
    Graduate Turbe, Nancy A. Introduction to Parallel Computing A 3.00
    Graduate Amirian, Soheyla Artificial Intelligence B+ 3.00
    Graduate Shan, Juan Thesis I A- 3.00
    Term Credits 9.00
    GPA 3.67
  • Term: Spring 2025
    Level Instructor Course Grade Credits
    Graduate Shan, Juan Thesis II A- 3.00
    Term Credits 3.00
    GPA 3.70
  • Overall
    • Cumulative GPA: 3.74/4.00
    • Total Credits: 30.00
  • Download Official Transcript:  PDF 
  • Download Degree Certificate:  PDF 

Undergraduate - Bachelors Degree

CHARUSAT University

(© 2025 CHARUSAT.)

Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) - Computer Science & Engineering

Aug 2019 - May 2023

Charotar University of Science and Technology (CHARUSAT)

Anand, Gujarat, India

Academic Records - Quick View
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Academic Courses

  • First Semester
    Course Code Course Type Credits Grade
    CE143 COMPUTER CONCEPTS & PROGRAMMING TH 3.00 AA
    PR 2.00 AA
    CL142.01 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES PR 2.00 AA
    EE145 BASICS OF ELECTRONICS & ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING TH 3.00 AA
    PR 1.00 AA
    HS105.01 A LIBERAL ARTS - MEDIA AND GRAPHIC DESIGN PR 2.00 AA
    IT144 ICT WORKSHOP PR 1.00 AB
    MA143 ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS-I TH 4.00 AA
    Term Credits 18.00
    GPA 9.94
  • Second Semester
    Course Code Course Type Credits Grade
    CE144 OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMING WITH C++ TH 3.00 AA
    PR 2.00 AB
    HS126.01 A COMMUNICATION SKILLS - 1 TH 2.00 AB
    MA144 ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS-II TH 4.00 AA
    ME145 ELEMENTS OF ENGINEERING TH 3.00 AA
    PR 1.00 AA
    PY141.01 ENGINEERING PHYSICS TH 3.00 AB
    PR 1.00 AA
    Term Credits 19.00
    GPA 9.63
  • Third Semester
    Course Code Course Type Credits Grade
    BM231 BANKING & INSURANCE PR 2.00 AA
    CE244 SOFTWARE GROUP PROJECT-I PR 2.00 AA
    CE251 JAVA PROGRAMMING TH 3.00 BB
    PR 2.00 AB
    CE252 DIGITAL ELECTRONICS TH 3.00 AA
    PR 1.00 AA
    CE257 DATA COMMUNICATION & NETWORKING TH 4.00 AA
    PR 1.00 AA
    HS121.02 A CREATIVITY, PROBLEM SOLVING AND INNOVATION PR 2.00 AA
    MA253 DISCRETE MATHEMATICS AND ALGEBRA TH 4.00 AA
    Term Credits 24.00
    GPA 9.67
  • Fourth Semester
    Course Code Course Type Credits Grade
    BM241 HEALTH CARE MANAGEMENT PR 2.00 AA
    CE245 DATA STRUCTURES & ALGORITHMS TH 3.00 AB
    PR 1.00 AA
    CE246 DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TH 4.00 BB
    PR 2.00 AB
    CE255 SOFTWARE GROUP PROJECT-II PR 2.00 AB
    CE258 MICROPROCESSOR AND COMPUTER ORGANIZATION TH 4.00 AA
    PR 1.00 AA
    CE259 PROGRAMMING IN PYTHON PR 1.00 AA
    HS111.02 A HUMAN VALUES AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS PR 2.00 AA
    Term Credits 22.00
    GPA 9.32
  • Fifth Semester
    Course Code Course Type Credits Grade
    CS341 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TH 3.00 AB
    PR 1.00 AA
    CS343 SUMMER INTERNSHIP-I PR 3.00 AA
    CS348 SOFTWARE GROUP PROJECT - III PR 1.00 AA
    CS350 OPERATING SYSTEM TH 3.00 AB
    PR 1.00 BB
    CS351 DESIGN & ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHMS TH 3.00 AB
    PR 1.00 AA
    CS352 COMPUTER NETWORKS TH 3.00 AB
    PR 1.00 BB
    CS372 ADVANCED WEB TECHNOLOGY TH 2.00 BB
    PR 2.00 AB
    HS131.02 A COMMUNICATION AND SOFT SKILLS PR 2.00 BB
    Term Credits 26.00
    GPA 9.00
  • Sixth Semester
    Course Code Course Type Credits Grade
    CS344 MACHINE LEARNING TH 3.00 BB
    PR 1.00 AA
    CS345 CRYPTOGRAPHY & NETWORK SECURITY* TH 4.00 CC
    PR 1.00 BB
    CS346 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING TH 3.00 CD
    PR 1.00 AA
    CS353 THEORY OF COMPUTATION TH 3.00 DD
    CS357 SOFTWARE GROUP PROJECT-IV PR 1.00 AB
    CS378 VIRTUAL & AUGMENTED REALITY TH 3.00 DD
    PR 1.00 BB
    HS132.02 A CONTRIBUTORY PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT PR 2.00 BB
    Term Credits 23.00
    GPA 6.43
  • Seventh Semester
    Course Code Course Type Credits Grade
    CS442 DATA SCIENCE & ANALYTICS TH 3.00 BC
    PR 2.00 AB
    CS446 SUMMER INTERNSHIP - II PR 3.00 AA
    CS449 INTERNET OF THINGS TH 3.00 BB
    PR 1.00 AB
    CS450 DESIGN OF LANGUAGE PROCESSOR TH 3.00 AB
    PR 1.00 BB
    CS451 ADVANCE COMPUTING TH 3.00 BB
    PR 1.00 AA
    CS452 SOFTWARE GROUP PROJECT - V PR 1.00 AB
    CS474 IMAGE PROCESSING AND COMPUTER VISION TH 4.00 BC
    PR 1.00 AB
    Term Credits 26.00
    GPA 8.35
  • Eighth Semester
    Course Code Course Type Credits Grade
    CS453 SOFTWARE PROJECT MAJOR PR 18.00 AA
    Term Credits 18.00
    GPA 10.00
  • Totals
    • Cumulative GPA:8.97/10.00
    • Total Credits:176.00
  • Download Official Transcript:  PDF 
  • Download Degree Certificate:  PDF 

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Acknowledgement

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