Vilayanur S. Ramachandran
Neuroscientist; Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at UC San Diego; author of Phantoms in the Brain and The Tell-Tale Brain
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran — Neuroscientist; Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at UC San Diego; author of Phantoms in the Brain and The Tell-Tale Brain — is named in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein files. DOJ-released Epstein files, reported by KPBS public media and the UCSD Guardian, document that Ramachandran — director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego, and known for his popular books Phantoms in the Brain (1998) and The Tell-Tale Brain (2011) and multiple TED talks — began receiving research funding from Epstein's private foundation, Gratitude America Ltd., as early as 2010; a funding request addressed to Epstein from the Center for Brain and Cognition is documented in the DOJ-released files from that year. Epstein directed his accountant Richard Kahn to transfer $50,000 from his foundation to the University of California Board of Regents to support research investigating whether autistic children possessed telepathic abilities, which Ramachandran's lab was conducting. The connection deepened through wellness author Deepak Chopra: following Chopra's arrival at UCSD in 2016, all three — Epstein, Ramachandran, and Chopra — attended a San Diego conference in mid-2017, bringing them into direct contact. Chopra regularly forwarded Ramachandran's research updates to Epstein, and the files show Epstein remained regularly informed about research progress. UCSD stated it was "aware of this issue and reviewing the matter." No wrongdoing is alleged against Ramachandran. This profile is auto-generated from public reporting and is pending editorial review; inclusion does not imply guilt or wrongdoing.
Auto-generated profile pending review. This entry was compiled from public reporting because Vilayanur S. Ramachandran is named in connection with the Epstein files. It has not yet been editorially expanded.
Is Vilayanur S. Ramachandran in the Epstein files?
Yes. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran (Neuroscientist; Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at UC San Diego; author of Phantoms in the Brain and The Tell-Tale Brain) is named in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein files. DOJ-released Epstein files, reported by KPBS public media and the UCSD Guardian, document that Ramachandran — director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego, and known for his popular books Phantoms in the Brain (1998) and The Tell-Tale Brain (2011) and multiple TED talks — began receiving research funding from Epstein’s private foundation, Gratitude America Ltd., as early as 2010; a funding request addressed to Epstein from the Center for Brain and Cognition is documented in the DOJ-released files from that year. Epstein directed his accountant Richard Kahn to transfer $50,000 from his foundation to the University of California Board of Regents to support research investigating whether autistic children possessed telepathic abilities, which Ramachandran’s lab was conducting. The connection deepened through wellness author Deepak Chopra: following Chopra’s arrival at UCSD in 2016, all three — Epstein, Ramachandran, and Chopra — attended a San Diego conference in mid-2017, bringing them into direct contact. Chopra regularly forwarded Ramachandran’s research updates to Epstein, and the files show Epstein remained regularly informed about research progress. UCSD stated it was “aware of this issue and reviewing the matter.” No wrongdoing is alleged against Ramachandran.
Being named in the files is not evidence of any crime or wrongdoing. People appear in these documents in many contexts — correspondence, flight logs, contact books, scheduling, photographs, or passing references. See the sources below for the specific, documented context, and the note at the bottom of this page.
Connections
View in network →People most often named alongside Vilayanur S. Ramachandran in coverage, plus documented connections. Counts reflect shared articles, not verified relationships.