Trisha Gongalore
Claremont, CA| Grant Category: | Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Program |
| Project Title: | Assessment of Exosome Drug Delivery Vehicle in Midbrain Organoids from Sporadic PD iPSCs |
| Field of Study: | Neuroscience |
| Home Institution: | Pomona College, Claremont, CA |
| Host Institution: | National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, Karnataka |
| Grant Start Month: | September 2025 |
| Duration of Grant: | Nine months |
Brief Bio:
Trisha Gongalore is a dedicated multidisciplinary scholar who recently completed her BA in neuroscience from Pomona College, where she engaged deeply with coursework spanning neurobiology, biochemistry, genetics, and public health. Her academic and research interests lie at the intersection of molecular neuroscience, neurodegeneration, and health equity, with a specific focus on Parkinson’s Disease (PD). She has conducted research across five laboratories, mastering techniques such as electrophysiology, immunohistochemistry, and molecular cloning. Notably, she has investigated alpha-synuclein aggregation in fruit flies, heteroplasmy in mouse myoblasts, and cholinergic signaling in C. elegans. Her work has been shared at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders and the Genetics Society of America’s 66th Drosophila Research Conference. A paper that she co-authored is currently under review to be published in peer-reviewed journals like Developmental Biology.
Trisha’s commitment to health equity is embodied by her leadership in the student-run organization, Health Bridges, at the Draper Center for Community Partnerships in Pomona College, where she organized health fairs and gathered and analyzed uniquely disaggregated data for the Tongan American populations in the Inland Empire. She has also studied abroad in Argentina, where she learned about public health issues on an international scale and worked with dementia patients to explore the benefits of community-based, non-pharmaceutical interventions.
Trisha’s Fulbright-Nehru research at NIMHANS under Dr. Indrani Datta is investigating the mechanism behind exosome-mediated delivery of a neuroprotective drug to midbrain organoids derived from sporadic PD patients in India. Addressing the limitations of current PD therapies, the treatment aims to reduce oxidative stress and support neuronal regeneration using mesenchymal stromal cell-derived exosomes that cross the blood-brain barrier. Leveraging NIMHANS’ expertise in the LRRK2-I1371V mutation, more common in the Eastern Hemisphere PD populations, Trisha is evaluating treatment efficacy through advanced imaging, electrophysiology, and biochemical assays. The study aims to develop more effective, non-invasive therapeutic approaches tailored for the PD population in India.