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Siblings Bhavya and Lohith Chatragadda graduated from Lincoln High School in consecutive years—both as valedictorian. Their success led them to URI and to the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program. The result: both students have been accepted to Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School.
“My brother and I have been going to the same school since pre-school,” said Bhavya, who is 10 months older than her brother. “I’m grateful that we’ve experienced this journey together, which will continue in medical school. The odds of that happening are crazy.”
Exemplary students, the siblings each received a URI Presidential Scholarship, while Lohith received a Think Big RI Scholarship and Bhavya earned a Rhode Island Science and Engineering Fair Scholarship.
“I’ve wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember,” said Bhavya. “When I was applying to colleges, I was drawn to microbiology in URI’s Cell and Molecular Biology program, which would allow me to explore the human body from a cellular level and gain a strong understanding of microorganisms, many of which cause human disease.”
Lohith’s interest in learning about the human body, especially the brain, stemmed from a middle school biology class. “I was fascinated with how the human body is composed of tiny machines called cells that nearly autonomously perform precise operations,” he said. “The human body is the ultimate machine that cannot be emulated by artificial engineering–at least not yet. This led to my interest in how the brain works. Our entire body, and even our perception of ourselves, is controlled by a soft mass in our heads. It seems impossible.”
Lisa Weyandt, URI professor of psychology and director of the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, is grateful to have both siblings in the program.“Bhavya and Lohith are highly successful students and great representatives of the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program,” said Weyandt. “I’m proud that they chose to pursue their neuroscience degrees at URI.”
The Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, launched in 2020, brings together a wide range of disciplines and offers three tracks enabling students to reach their professional goals: molecular neuroscience, offered through the College of the Environment and Life Sciences; clinical neuroscience, offered through the College of Health Sciences; an neuropharmacology, offered through the College of Pharmacy. Students work with an interdisciplinary neuroscience adviser and have access to faculty expertise from across five colleges at URI, as well as researchers at the George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience.
Lohith and Bhavya selected the molecular neuroscience track and also enrolled in URI’s Honors Program. The siblings also study microbiology as a second major.
“The classes in the neuroscience department are the best I’ve taken at URI,” said Lohith. “The professors make a point of connecting the material to clinical applications. That has taught me to view everything through a clinical lens, which will be important in med school. I believe that perspective shined through in my medical school interviews and helped me get accepted.”
One of the most important aspects of the program is the opportunity to participate in hands-on research.
“We value the research component of our program,” said Weyandt. “All neuroscience students are required to complete NEU 410: Experimental Neuroscience, which helps them gain research skills and achieve personal, professional, and academic competencies. Students engage in a wide variety of research labs within the program, ranging from bench work to studies involving human participants.”
With an interest in aging and neurodegenerative diseases, Bhavya joined Assistant Professor Claudia Fallini’s laboratory as a freshman, which enabled her to study the relationship between cytoskeletal changes and neurodegenerative disease in cellular models. After shadowing a graduate student in Fallini’s lab in her first semester, Bhavya quickly developed her confidence and research skills.
“Bhavya has learned several advanced techniques, including stem cell culture and differentiation, microscopy, and image analysis, and can work mostly independently with the supervision of a graduate student,” said Fallini. “She is very dedicated to her research and not afraid to take on new challenges.”
For the past couple of semesters, Bhavya has worked on a project in Fallini’s lab in which she has explored the neuroprotective effects of cannabinoids on stroke induced human cortical neurons in a cellular model. Funded through two URI^2 Undergraduate Research Grants, Bhavya presented her research at the 2024 NEURON Conference.
“My time in the lab has been foundational to my experience at URI,” said Bhavya. “I’ve familiarized myself with common cell culture practices, cell maintenance, and other lab protocols, as well as more general skills, such as grant writing and data presentation, designing my own protocols, interpreting novel data, and sharing my results at national and international conferences.”
Lohith has been conducting research in the College of Engineering’s Wearable Biosensing Laboratory since 2022. Under the tutelage of biomedical engineering professors Kunal Mankodiya and Dhaval Solanki, and kinesiology professor Matthew Delmonico, Lohith has led an interdisciplinary team of computer science students and peers from the College of Health Sciences in the development of a smart textile-based wristband for in-home grip rehabilitation.
“We built an e-textile forearm band that can detect hand gestures to control a custom computer game,” Lohith said. “We’re developing technological solutions to medical problems, which I think is the future.”
“Lohith has a bright future in the healthcare domain,” said Solanki. “He has successfully translated research into real-world healthcare solutions. His ability to bridge technology and medicine, along with his leadership and innovation, make him well-prepared for medical school.”
But among the many benefits of attending URI that have helped prepare them, the siblings count the ability to lean on one another.
“Taking classes with my brother has been like having a built-in study buddy 24/7,” said Bhavya. “We’ve always been close, so it’s been great seeing him on campus and experiencing URI together.”
“Having my sister with me at URI has been a huge source of support,” added Lohith.
—Neil Nachbar
Which ‘Real Housewives of Rhode Island’ stars want to do Season 2?
Reporter Paul Edward Parker asks cast members of the “Real Housewives of Rhode Island” if they’re up for another season of the Bravo TV show.
Paul Edward Parker
Enjoying “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island” so far? Buckle up – it’s about to get even juicier.
On Friday, May 1, Bravo posted a mid-season preview to YouTube, giving fans a glimpse at the drama still to come during the franchise’s first season in the Ocean State. As expected, the season will continue to follow major developing plotlines, including the fallout from Rulla Pontarelli’s reported husband’s affair and the strained relationship between Rosie DiMare and Kelsey Swanson.
However, the trailer also hints that the season will take some unexpected twists and turns, with new arguments rising between friendly cast members and personal issues coming to a head for many of the women.
Here’s a sneak peek at the rest of Season 1 of “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island.”
According to the mid-season preview, the rest of “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island” Season 1 will include many more fights between the cast members. Swanson and DiMare’s screaming matches will continue, with the trailer showing DiMare telling Swanson “Everyone in f***ing Rhode Island knows you f*** married men.”
Surprisingly, disagreements will also rise between LizMcGraw and Alicia Carmody, as well as McGraw and Jo-Ellen Tiberi. McGraw is shown telling Tiberi to get out of her face, with Tiberi storming after her yelling “what did I do?”
Meanwhile, Ashley Iaconetti will continue to struggle under the financial and emotional burden of Audrey’s, with her and husband Jared Haibon discussing their decision to renew the lease or not. After her breakup, Swanson will have to decide if her new man is worth giving up her financial comfort, while Tiberi will finally have a tough conversation with her mother.
As for Pontarelli, it seems that Tiberi will make good on her episode five promise of finding concrete proof of Brian Pontarelli’s reported affair, with multiple housewives discussing video proof in the trailer. After Pontarelli reveals to the group that Brian was arrested for tracking her, the trailer ends with the question looming over everyone’s heads: “Rulla, what are you gonna do?”.
Want to see how all the drama unfolds? “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island” will air every Sunday at 9 p.m. on Bravo.
Watch ‘The Real Housewives of Rhode Island’ on Peacock
Episodes will be available for next-day streaming each Monday on Peacock.
Local News
Police in Rhode Island say they’ve confirmed that videos of a person walking around a town in a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood were part of a hoax for social media, not the work of an organized group.
Social media videos appeared to show the person walking around West Warwick while dressed in white robes and a pointed hood. The incident happened on Main Street at around 2 a.m. Monday, according to West Warwick police.
Detectives have since learned that the event was a stunt orchestrated by two brothers “to generate attention on social media and in the news,” police said on Facebook. The perpetrators admitted their involvement to police and “provided conclusive evidence” that they were the only ones responsible for the hoax.
The individuals “explicitly denounced” affiliation with hate groups, and police said that the investigation has yielded “no evidence to suggest otherwise.” For now, the investigation has been closed.
“The West Warwick Police Department would like to thank members of the community who came forward with information,” police said. “Thorough investigations such as this often rely on community involvement, and we appreciate the public’s cooperation and assistance.”
Video captured by Ryan Fitzgerald showed the hooded figure wandering around the Arctic Gazebo before heading down the street. Fitzgerald told The Boston Globe that he thought the person was “just messing around” but noted that it was indicative of broader issues.
“There’s a lot of undisclosed racism that goes on here. I hear about it all the time,” Fitzgerald told the Globe. “So it wouldn’t be shocking to me if it wasn’t a prank, and it wasn’t a hoax, and it was really somebody that really was about that kind of life.”
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Rhode Island House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi visited Newport on April 27 as the keynote speaker at a panel discussion about the need to develop more housing on Aquidneck Island.
Shekarchi was joined by Middletown Town Administrator Shawn Brown, Raytheon government relations and site executive Tim DelGuidice, and NOAA relocation project manager Matthew Hill.
On an island where the largest employers are Naval Station Newport and the U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and over 20,000 people work in defense-related jobs, the need for workforce housing is a particularly acute component of the crisis. A report published by the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce said Newport and the surrounding region need to build 6,000 to 9,000 housing units to keep up with workforce demand.
NOAA broke ground in 2024 at the future home of its Marine Operations Center-Atlantic base on a five-acre site on Naval Station Newport, and the $150 million project is scheduled to be completed in 2027. Hill said upwards of 250 federal employees and their families will be relocating to Rhode Island after their current base in Norfolk, Virginia, is closed and NOAA’s new facility at Naval Station Newport is completed.
“That provides justification for these developers to go out and secure funds,” said Hill. “You have 250 people coming here for certain, with stable incomes, so these developments can start to move forward.”
Shekarchi spoke about the adaptive reuse bill signed into law by the state legislature three years ago, which was intended to make it easier for municipalities to convert old hospitals, factories and schools into housing.
“There’s a lot of municipal land, a lot of municipal buildings that could be converted into housing, that for whatever reason has been resisted by local communities,” he said.
The Oliphant and Green End proposals voted down by the Middletown Town Council in 2024 would have been such adaptive reuse projects. Shekarchi did not explicitly mention those proposals, but he suggested the Newport Jai Alai site, which he described as “desolate” in its current state, could be ideal for mixed-use commercial and residential development.
“There is so much opposition in all of our communities,” Rep. Michelle McGaw told Newport This Week. “I don’t think people recognize that it’s their children, it’s their grandchildren, people who grew up here and want to stay here and raise their families here but cannot afford to do so.”
“We’re not only looking at people at 80 percent of Area Median Income (AMI); there is a huge gap between what people are earning and what they can afford.”
Rhode Island AMI is approximately $112,000. So, a one-person household earning about $65,000, 80 precent AMI, would qualify for affordable housing.
DelGuidice said Raytheon’s workforce, especially its younger employees, would benefit from new development on the island.
“In five years, I’d love to see that we’ve closed that gap of 9,000 units, and we’ve got more of our employees able to live closer to work and not have a 45-minute or hour-long commute,” he said.
Stressing Aquidneck Island’s need for housing across all income levels, Brown highlighted Middletown’s approach of purchasing 6.2 acres of land in order to develop 36 middle-income housing units across the street from town hall. However, he said 36 planned new homes is a fraction of the island’s collective need, and he highlighted the importance of the island’s municipalities, the Navy, and private industry cooperatively maintaining and improving the island’s infrastructure in order to be able to build new housing developments.
He pointed to Middletown and Newport’s cooperative efforts on wastewater management as an example of the unseen infrastructure work necessary to maintain and expand the island’s housing supply. He cited shared island infrastructure as a critical area where state support is necessary in order to create new housing stock.
“We’re land-restricted, and we have a lot of conservation easements on Aquidneck Island, which is another challenge,” Brown said. “It is going to be these areas that are either infilled or redeveloped. That is where additional housing is going to come from, and we are going to need that wastewater management capacity in order to do a lot of these developments.”
“The speakers today were very strong on the fact that we need all kinds of housing, not just higher income or middle income,” Rep. Lauren Carson told Newport This Week following the meeting. “We really need to address the broader issues here. I have confidence that policymakers, myself, the speaker and city leaders across the island know what has to happen.”
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