Ondrea Sajini Amandhi Mathews

Biography

Ondrea S. Amandhi Mathews investigates how neuro-glial systems coordinate cellular degradation to support the development of early neural circuits. Using zebrafish as a model organism, her research combines developmental biology, molecular genetics, and advanced imaging to uncover fundamental mechanisms of neuro-glial coordination.

She has been recognized with multiple honors, including the Hiller Family Fellowship, the Graduate Justice Fellowship, and the Science and Religion Fellowship at the University of Notre Dame. Her awards include the 2024 Shaheen 3MT Peoples Choice Award, 2025 BIOS Graduate Student Leader Award and awards for oral presentations at ND symposiums. She is also the Founder of Beauty of Understanding, an initiative aimed at Integrating reflections of Beauty from Catholic Social Teaching and interdisciplinary engagement into Graduate STEM education at Notre Dame. This initiative fosters interdisciplinary dialogue in STEM by inviting researchers to engage with the aesthetic, ethical, and philosophical dimensions of scientific inquiry.

Mathews aims to continue working in neurodevelopment with a focus on glial biology. She aspires to be a STEM educator aiming to lead research that not only advances our understanding of neural development and repair, but also integrates interdisciplinary perspectives to make science more ethically grounded, socially responsive, and globally accessible.