Columbia BME Senior Named Fulbright Research Scholar

Gitika Gorthi, a graduating biomedical engineering senior, has recently been named a Fulbright Research Scholar. 

Gitika has focused extensively on scientific research and medical experience. She conducted intestinal organoid research at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center, earning a grant from the American Gastroenterological Association for an independent project. She also completed internships at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and 34 Lives, and served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Undergraduate Medical Review.

Funded by the Netherland-America Foundation, Gitika will perform a novel 9-month independent research study in the Surgical Research Laboratory at the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands. She will be working with renowned transplant surgeon and researcher Dr. Henri Leuvenink in the country’s largest transplantation center.

“I am ecstatic to experience a new culture, foster a deeper understanding of the world around me, and form a greater awareness of my own identity while representing the United States abroad,” says Gorthi. “I am deeply grateful to Columbia BME’s faculty for shaping me into the passionate researcher I am today and for equipping me with the skills to make a global impact as a Fulbright Scholar and beyond.”

Gitika’s research focuses on improving transplantable organs, an area which has been under a crisis shortage for years. Her research will specifically investigate whether targeted mitochondrial-protective strategies during cold and warm perfusion can improve mitochondrial function and graft viability post-transplant. This is an innovative and timely research question, as no pre-transplant interventions currently exist to reverse mitochondrial injury, despite its critical role in post-transplant performance.

Looking ahead, Gitika plans to leverage microgravity to advance 3D bioprinting and organoid technologies to help address the organ shortage, all while pursuing medical school and a career in transplant medicine.