Rhythmi Sandagiri is a Research Assistant in Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience.

She graduated with a degree in Neuroscience from the University of Leicester in 2020, where her research focused on neurodegenerative diseases. For her project, she investigated the role of the Mitochondrial Matrix Peptidase CLPP in Parkinson’s Disease. Alongside her studies, she worked as a Research Assistant during a summer internship, where she focused on Huntington’s Disease, specifically looking at how silencing the mutant HTT gene would impact disease development and progression.

Her career in Biological Sciences began in Covid testing, where she got hands-on experience in techniques such as RNA/DNA extraction, PCR, and NGS. From there, she moved into biotechnology, where she broadened her skills with techniques such as Recombinase Polymerase Amplification, formulation development, spectroscopy, lyophilization, and thermogravimetric analysis. Following this, in a Quality Control role, she picked up further techniques, including qPCR, cell culture and infectious titre, ELISA, Gyrolab Immunoassays, sub-visible particle testing, and sample processing.

She achieved a Diploma in Psychology and Mental Health from King’s College London in 2023.

Research interests

• Long-read sequencing
• Neurodegenerative Disease (Parkinsons Disease)
• Genomics
• Behavioural Neuroscience