Studying the Blood-Brain Barrier to Devise Treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

About this episode

This episode discusses the challenges posed by the blood-brain barrier in developing treatments for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, featuring research from Shikha Nangia.

The blood-brain barrier is a tightly locked network of cells that protects and defends the brain from harmful substances and pathogens that could cause damage. While this barrier serves to protect our brains, in the case of finding cures for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, the blood-brain barrier has been a big obstacle. Enter research from Shikha Nangia , the Milton and Anne Stevenson endowed professor of biomedical and chemical engineering and department chair in the College of Engineering and Computer Science . Working with undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral students, the Nangia Research Lab uses theoretical and computational techniques to determine how to best enable the transport of drug molecules across the blood-brain barrier. Nangia’s research led to the creation of the first molecular model depicting what the blood-brain barrier looks like, which has proven helpful in identifying what can and what cannot pass through the narrow tunnel into the brain. Understanding that Alzheimer’s and cancer treatments are too large to pass through the blood-brain tunnel, Nangia’s group is advancing research to find a cure for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. On this episode…

People in this episode

Guest: Shikha Nangia

Topics covered

• blood-brain barrier
• Alzheimer's
• Parkinson's
• biomedical engineering
• drug transport

Keywords

• research
• Nangia Research Lab
• molecular model
• drug molecules

More episodes of 'Cuse Conversations

• The Science of Black Holes: Secrets of the Cosmos With Eric Coughlin · November 30, 2025 · 37 min
• Why Our Students Love Giving Back to Their Community · October 21, 2025 · 27 min
• The State of Artificial Intelligence and Tips for Incorporating AI Into Our Daily Lives · September 30, 2025 · 32 min
• Falk College of Sport Is Driving Innovation and Excellence in Sport-Related Industries · August 25, 2025 · 37 min
• Erika Mahoney’s ’12 Father Was Killed in a Mass Shooting. Her New Podcast Is Helping Her Heal · July 24, 2025 · 21 min
• Ian '90 and Noah Eagle '19 Share a Love of Sportscasting and Storytelling · June 4, 2025 · 42 min