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Indian-origin student finalist at NYU’s Ph.D. Live!
Dev’s work focuses on the connection between the gastrointestinal system and brain function, specifically how it impacts sleep.
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Malvika Choudhary - Thu, 08, May 2025
- 16:32 EDT
- 56
Devjoy Dev / NYU
An Indian-origin biomedical engineering student has won the audience-favorite award at New York University’s research communication competition, Ph.D. Live!.
Devjoy Dev, a doctorate candidate at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Tandon, was recognized for his compelling three-minute presentation on how the gut and brain interact to influence sleep.
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His talk, which earned enthusiastic applause from the audience, focused on a swallowable device that could modulate sleep by stimulating gut neurons — a breakthrough with potential applications both on Earth and in space.
“Whether you’re orbiting the Earth or at home safe in your bed, everyone wants to get a good night’s sleep,” Dev said during the presentation.
His work focuses on the connection between the gastrointestinal system and brain function, specifically how it impacts sleep. “We all have to sleep, and many of us have problems in that area,” he noted.
Dev’s advisor, Khalil Ramadi, director of the Laboratory for Advanced Neuroengineering and Translational Medicine at NYU Abu Dhabi, highlighted the broader relevance: “Poor sleep is believed to be a contributing factor in many inflammatory diseases, so Dev’s work asks a foundational question — how might we tweak sleep?”
The research extends to space health, with Dev exploring how astronauts — who often suffer from sleep disruption — could benefit from gut-based sleep modulation. He leads the Sleep Medicine Working Group at the International Centre for Astronautical Development (ICAD).
“Astronauts are now spending increasingly long periods in space, and for them, feeling alert and rested is a literal matter of life and death,” he said.
Ph.D. Live! brings together doctoral students from across NYU’s global campuses to present their research in an accessible format. Often likened to an academic game show, the event encourages students to explain complex topics to a general audience.
While Luana de Brito Anton won first place, Dev was voted the crowd favorite.
Born in the UK to a Malaysian mother and Indian father, Dev describes himself as a global citizen with roots in South and Southeast Asia.
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