Leadership
Dr. Johana Carolina M. Vega Leonel
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer
Ph.D. in Neuroengineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with postdoctoral training in Neurosurgery at Stanford University. Dr. Vega brings 15+ years of experience spanning neuroimaging, AI applications in neuroscience, biomaterials, brain-machine interfaces, and translational research. Her expertise bridges fundamental neuroscience and clinical application, the core of SynapSeek's mission.
Aryan Durrani
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Technology entrepreneur with 15+ years leading large-scale AI, robotics, and enterprise transformation projects. Aryan has built and exited ventures, raised multimillion-dollar funding, and delivered $500M+ in product revenues and $100M+ in cost savings. At SynapSeek, he brings proven expertise in scaling complex technologies and building strategic partnerships to make mapping brain circuitry for precision diagnostics a reality.
Varun Turlapati
Chief Business Officer
Engineering leader turned venture capitalist with experience at Roblox and Walmart. As Managing Director of Chaanakya Capital, a NeuroTech-focused venture firm, Varun brings deep expertise in business development, commercialization strategy, and neurotech market dynamics. He serves on multiple boards and advises technology startups on scaling and market entry.
Kevin Li
Lead Engineer
B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University, specializing in both Visual Computing and AI. Kevin has co-authored peer-reviewed publications and brings extensive experience in computer vision, deep learning, and reinforcement learning. His technical expertise drives SynapSeek's platform development and neural network infrastructure.
Scientific Advisors
Dr. Zinia Mohanta
Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering
MRI scientist at Johns Hopkins specializing in designing contrast agents, developing reporter genes, and applying machine learning to pulse sequence development for quantitative, translational imaging. Dr. Mohanta's work enables next-generation imaging of liver, kidney, and brain disease with direct relevance to SynapSeek's circuit mapping framework.
Dr. Sadakatali Gori
Ph.D. in Chemistry
Scientific innovator and consultant with experience in neurotherapeutic drug discovery at Johns Hopkins and clinical research at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Dr. Gori has led multimillion-dollar projects and brings expertise in bridging laboratory science and clinical impact, essential for SynapSeek's partnerships and therapeutic applications.
Dr. Madhavi Tripathi
Ph.D. in Materials Engineering
Imaging scientist at Johns Hopkins developing AI-driven photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging platforms. Dr. Tripathi's work focuses on biomaterial strategies and algorithms for early detection of cancer biomarkers and diagnostic imaging. Her expertise in imaging-based biomarker discovery directly informs SynapSeek's computational approach.
Proven Scientific Track Record
42+
Peer-Reviewed Publications
across neuroscience, imaging, medtech, and AI
17
Combined Research Grants
for NIH, NSF, and international funding
$8M+
Of Grant Funding Secured
for past research projects
4
Continents with Partnerships
spanning NA, the EU, Asia, and Australia
Our team combines deep scientific expertise with proven ability to execute complex, multidisciplinary projects.