Aishwarya Bhusal

My research examines how chronic exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP), especially ultrafine particles, contributes to neuroinflammation and Alzheimer’s disease-relevant pathology. I use in vivo models of Alzheimer’s disease to study how inhaled particles may enter the brain and target vulnerable regions, and in vitro models to tease apart the role of microglia in driving pollutant-induced neurotoxicity.

Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) is increasingly recognized as an environmental risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but the mechanisms linking inhaled pollutants to early brain pathology remain poorly understood. AD is characterized by progressive neuropathological changes, including neuroinflammation, glial activation, and protein abnormalities. Growing evidence suggests that environmental exposures such as TRAP may worsen these processes. A major unanswered question is whether inhaled air pollution particles, particularly ultrafine particles (less than 100nm), can access the brain directly and contribute to early injury. My work focuses on the olfactory bulb because it is uniquely positioned at the interface between the external environment and the central nervous system, making it a plausible route of particle entry through the olfactory pathway and a vulnerable early target in disease. Using an AD-relevant rat model, I evaluate particle burden in the olfactory bulb after chronic TRAP exposure and assess associated neuropathological changes, including glial responses and AD-relevant markers, across exposure groups and sex.