Alumna Shikha Nangia seeks to understand blood-brain barrier

Alumna Shikha Nangia, who earned her doctorate at the University of Minnesota working with Regents Professor Donald Truhlar, published and article in Scientia, The Blood-Brain Barrier: More than just a Barrier. 

This highly selective envelope protects the brain from harmful substances, but also prevents drugs from reaching the brain when needed in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Professor Nangia is focusing her research on understanding the molecular structure of this complex interface to ultimately facilitate the transport of drugs across the blood-brain barrier. She is progressively unravelling the secrets of blood-brain barrier permeability using advanced computational techniques. She hopes to identify novel strategies to facilitate the transport of drug molecules into the brain.

Shikha Nangia is an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University.

Information for this article was taken from the published article in Scientia.