Shammi More: From India to Forschungszentrum Jülich

Shammi More grew up in India, where she studied Biomedical and Instrumentation engineering. After five years of research at the National Brain Research Centre in Haryana, she decided to venture abroad and applied for a doctoral position at Forschungszentrum Jülich. She has since settled in Germany: her husband also moved to the country, and her son was born here. Shammi More has been working at Fraunhofer SCAI since May 2024.

Ms. More, after completing your studies, you spent five years conducting research at the National Brain Research Centre in Haryana. What led to your decision to move to Germany?

After finishing my studies, I accepted the position at the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC) because the job profile was interesting and aligned with my interests. Even during my bachelor’s degree, I had many friends who moved to other Indian states for their master’s programs. However, my grandparents were strictly opposed to me leaving – my grandfather, in particular, was a very dominant figure. While he didn’t discriminate between boys and girls—so I always had access to education—moving to a different city for my master’s was already a completely new and exciting experience for me. When I started working at National Brain Research center I was strongly influenced by people who were enthusiastic about pursuing PhDs abroad. The idea had long been at the back of my mind, and suddenly I was surrounded by people who were actually making it happen. All of this gave me a major push: I wanted to go out into the world and discover new things.

How exactly did you end up at Forschungszentrum Jülich?

The research center made a very good impression—I found the research projects in the INM-7 group (Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine) particularly exciting. They combined neuroimaging brain scans with machine learning—an unbeatable combination for me personally. I was absolutely thrilled when I got the offer! Prof. Dr. Simon Eickhoff, the Director of the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, is outstanding at what he does; it is truly inspiring to work with someone like him.

How did you find your time at Forschungszentrum Jülich?

It was fantastic; I really miss my time there. My direct supervisor, Dr. Kaustubh Patil—head of the "Applied Machine Learning" research group—is also great; he knows how to motivate and guide students. The work culture at the center is fantastic, too. What I particularly liked was the international atmosphere of our institute: we had numerous international students, and English was spoken everywhere, which created a very inclusive environment. It was a great combination of subject matter, supervisors, an international outlook, and the openness of the students. I also made some really good friends.

What was your doctoral research about?

The goal was to make predictions about specific demographic characteristics based on brain images—for instance, determining a patient's age from brain imaging data, since a 20-year-old’s brain looks different from an 80-year-old’s. The relevance of this research lies in the fact that, with certain diseases like Alzheimer’s, the brain can appear significantly older than the person actually is, which can provide valuable diagnostic clues. The machine learning group was just forming at the time, and I was one of its first doctoral students. So, the work involved two things: gaining a better understanding of the human brain and developing the right data processing and machine learning pipelines for these kind of analysis.

You have been working at Fraunhofer SCAI since May 2024. How did you end up there?

After submitting my dissertation, I started looking for postdoc positions. Although there was an opening in my supervisor's group, I wanted to try something new and move closer to the industry sector. What particularly appealed to me about Fraunhofer SCAI was the opportunity to conduct industry projects and collaborate closely with the industry—something I found very exciting. The variety of real-world medical data and the increased use of AI were also very attractive to me.

You went on maternity leave on June 20, 2025. How difficult did you find it to balance child and career?

I was on maternity and parental leave for a total of ten months. My boss at Fraunhofer SCAI was very supportive of this. At first, I needed some time to understand the process and the associated paperwork, but once I got up to speed, everything ran smoothly. Originally, I was supposed to return to work in February, but I decided to extend my parental leave by another two months. All I had to do was notify my supervisor two months in advance. This allowed me to return to work without any issues in April 2026. I chose to return full-time, though there was also the option to start back part-time or with reduced hours. Although we are generally expected to come into the office twice a week, I am currently working entirely from home because my baby is still small. However, I was assigned to a different project. All in all, I’ve had a very positive experience.

What differences do you see between Fraunhofer SCAI and Forschungszentrum Jülich? Is there anything specific you particularly liked about the research center?

The research center has a very international outlook, while Fraunhofer SCAI has a somewhat more distinctly German working culture. However, what I particularly value about both institutions is their strong collaborative atmosphere and the opportunity to work with highly motivated and supportive colleagues. At Forschungszentrum Jülich, for example, I always felt comfortable reaching out to fellow researchers, project managers, or team leaders whenever I needed advice or support. This open and accessible environment also gave me the opportunity to speak with Institute Director Simon Eickhoff about possible career paths after completing my PhD. Even though it was an informal conversation, he shared many valuable insights that I found very helpful.

Another aspect I particularly appreciated at Forschungszentrum Jülich was the strong encouragement to engage with the international research community. I had the opportunity to regularly attend conferences and, in 2022, to present my work at the annual meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM), one of the leading international conferences in neuroimaging and brain research, which attracts around 3,000 researchers each year. Meeting researchers whose work I had previously read, exchanging ideas about research, and building both professional and personal connections were among the most inspiring experiences of my career. Being able to present my own work and gain visibility on such an international stage was also incredibly rewarding.

At the same time, I have found Fraunhofer SCAI to offer its own strengths, particularly its application-oriented research culture and close connection between scientific work and real-world challenges. I value the opportunity to work in an environment where interdisciplinary expertise is brought together to develop practical solutions. So, while the two institutions have somewhat different cultures and orientations, I have had very positive experiences at both, and I appreciate the different perspectives and opportunities that each has given me.

Do you want to stay in Germany, or do you plan to return to India at some point?

Initially, the plan was to go back. Now, however, I think: We have a baby with a German passport. In short, we don't know how life will turn out for us. The only problem is the language barrier. Otherwise, we really like the work-life balance in Germany.