Dr. Shashirekha Mundhra is an Associate Program Officer for the Helmsley Charitable Trust’s Crohn’s Disease Program. In this role, Shashirekha assists with the disease management grants portfolio, which focuses on the identification and evaluation of new initiatives aimed at improving access to care; educating healthcare professionals; and monitoring technologies for disease progression, all with the goal of improving the quality of life for patients.

Before joining Helmsley, Shashirekha was a medical writer at medical communications agencies, working across various therapeutic areas, including rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, and breast cancer.

Shashirekha earned a Ph.D. in immunology and microbial pathogenesis from Weill Cornell Medicine in NYC, where she studied host-directed therapy in tuberculosis. She graduated in India, with a Bachelor of Science in microbiology from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, followed by a Master of Science in virology from the National Institute of Virology, Pune.

A certified yoga and meditation teacher, Shashirekha is passionate about healing patients using her scientific knowledge and holistic methods of yoga and meditation. She is an active volunteer at Self-Realization Fellowship, a nonprofit spiritual organization. Her hobbies include hiking in national parks, dancing, reading, trying new restaurants, and spending time with loved ones.