Student Profiles

Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, Aditi attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. There, she majored in chemistry and minored in math. During her undergraduate studies, she joined the lab of Dr. Jessica Sarver, studying the differential lipid binding properties of alpha synuclein, the basis of Lewy bodies in Parkinson’s disease.

After graduating from Swarthmore in 2017, she joined the lab of Dr. Sandra Maday at the University of Pennsylvania. She studied the regulation of autophagy in neurons and astrocytes, showing that astrocytes are able to more robustly activate autophagy compared to neurons. These findings raised new questions about intercellular coordination within the brain to maintain homeostasis and resulted in a first- author publication in the journal Autophagy.

Aditi entered the University of Minnesota Medical School in 2020, where she joined the lab of Dr. Andrew Venteicher, a neurosurgeon MD PhD. There, she studied the molecular subgroups of the developing notochord in relation to chordoma, a rare skull-based cancer thought to originate from notochord remnant. Along with the exposure to new techniques, this experience helped Aditi to solidify her goal of becoming a physician-scientist. After completing her first two years of medical school, Aditi joined the NIH OxCam program for her PhD. She is mentored by Dr. Zuhang Sheng (NINDS) and Dr. Andras Lakatos (Cambridge).

After completing her PhD, Aditi will complete her MD at the University of Minnesota. Outside of the lab, Aditi enjoys attempting new recipes, running, and knitting.