Arushi Mundergi

Experience

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  American High School Bioengineering Club

  Jun 2023 - now

  Founder

  • I recruited a team of nine executives and officers and currently lead a team of 27 students in the club. • I created the Love Animals project, and with the support of my execs, successfully establish a community give-back effort centered around working with a local wildlife rehabilitation center to create 3D printed avian splints, biomimetic feeders for injured and orphaned hummingbirds, and miniature perches for adolescent raptors.

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  Columbia University

  Sept 2023 - now

  Student Researcher

  • Working with a psychologist from Columbia University, I researched the impact of maternal epigenetic changes on executive function during fetal development • I identified genetic markers associated with executive function as well as crucial patterns between maternal diet and developmental programming • Using neuroscience databases such as BMC, MPFI, and BBR, I discovered that folate is linked to suppression of gene expression that is vital to postnatal cognitive development.• Our paper is scheduled to be published in the Journal of Emerging Investigators and Curieux. Show less

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  Alameda County Science and Engineering Fair

  Oct 2023 - Feb 2024

  Independent Researcher

  • Motivated to find a solution to the ongoing, global clean water crisis, I worked on an independent project to make a solar-powered electro-catalytic water disinfection system. • After researching conditions of rural wells and common problems in the water table, I decided to build my disinfection system around targeting coliform population overgrowth in village fresh water sources. • After four months of prototyping, I engineered a system using the principles of electrochemistry, yielding a 99.99% success rate, and eliminating all coliform bacteria present across multiple samples from four different freshwater bodies. I met all my goals; this system was low-cost, powered by a renewable energy source, and easily reproducible. • I was awarded second place for research and prototyping in the Alameda County Science and Engineering Fair. To rank in this category, students must place within the top 2 in their science discipline division. Twenty out of 800 students receive this award. Show less