Shubha Tole — a Mumbai scientist who has helped decipher genetic mechanisms underlying brain structures that control emotions, language and memory — is set to become the next president of the International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO), a global association of neuroscience societies.

The IBRO governing council, representing 69 scientific societies from 57 countries, has elected Tole — a professor in the biological sciences department of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai — as the IBRO president, the association announced on Tuesday.

Tole will join the IBRO advisory board with an elect status for one year on January 1, 2025, and assume her role as president from January 1, 2026, until December 31, 2028. The other newly elected officers are Joao Relvas from Portugal as secretary-general and David Belin as treasurer.

Across the neuroscience community and in broader science circles, Tole is recognised for both her research achievements and her efforts at mentoring young scientists and faculty, promoting diversity and inclusion, and articulating concerns about key issues important for Indian science to thrive.

She has pushed funding agencies to provide technical support for pregnant post-doctoral researchers during their year of maternity leave, raised awareness about sexual harassment in Indian science, and written about how Indian societal norms constrain women in science and technology fields.

“As IBRO’s first president-elect from the developing world, I look forward to furthering IBRO’s efforts towards diversity, equity and inclusion. My experience of running a neuroscience research lab in a developing country for 25 years, interacting with colleagues, students, and post-doctoral researchers, facing challenges and addressing problems gives me a perspective that I will bring to this position,” Tole told The Telegraph on Tuesday.