Jaskeerat Gujral, a fourth-year student in the College of Arts and Sciences studying neuroscience with a minor in chemistry, and sub-matriculating in the bioengineering master's program in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, has been selected for a ThinkSwiss Research Scholarship. ThinkSwiss is a scholarship program managed by the Science Office at the Embassy of Switzerland in Washington, D.C. The program is funded by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and is supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Ottawa, Canada. The program aims to promote research opportunities in Switzerland for American and Canadian students and to foster exchange between Swiss, U.S., and Canadian universities and research institutions.
Gujral, from Long Island, New York, has conducted research spanning neurodegenerative diseases and motor disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and spinal disorders. He conducts Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis research under the mentorship of Dr. Virginia Lee at the Center of Neurodegenerative Disease Research (CNDR). As a Sharpe Research Scholar, Jaskeerat also collaborates closely with Penn Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Radiology and has co-authored more than 15+ peer-reviewed manuscripts and presented at both national and international conferences. At Penn, Gujral is the co-founder of Parkinson’s Pals, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering intergenerational connections between students and Parkinson’s patients. He has expanded the organization to 8+ universities and is conducting an IRB-approved study in collaboration with Penn Neurology and Palliative Care Clinic to assess its clinical impact. Additionally, he served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Penn Healthcare Review, Project lead for Penn Undergraduate Biotech Society, and director of events for the Penn Sikh Organization. As a ThinkSwiss Research Scholar, Gujral will be conducting Parkinson’s disease research at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). He aims to attend medical school and practice medicine as a physician-scientist, translating research into clinical advancements in neuroscience.
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