I’m Dr. Sydney Sunna, a former Ruth L. Kirschstein Fellow at Emory University. In my doctorate, I used Mass Spectrometry to understand how proteins within neurons and microglia change in response to an acute inflammatory stimulus. These investigations are critical to the development of novel therapeutic targets and diagnostic biomarkers for inflammation-related diseases including Alzheimer’s disease. My doctorate was the best 5 years of my life so far. I am deeply grateful to my supportive mentors and colleagues, for fostering an atmosphere of safety, ethics, equity, and rigor that allowed me to grow as a scientist and a person. The training and opportunities afforded to me by my mentors and institution tremendously impacted my professional development. I hope to one day provide the rigorous, thoughtful, empathetic mentorship to others which I received at Emory.

I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have spent a decade conducting scientific research in a variety of wet-labs. I am passionate about making science and scientific careers accessible to everyone. To this end, I use my personal blog to communicate existing professional barriers faced by under-represented demographics in science, lending insight on navigating higher education, and sharing my love and passion of science.

Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, CA in 2022.

As a member of the Emory Biotechnology Consulting Club (EBCC), and the Nucleate Activator Program I have 1.5 years of experience consulting clients on getting their technology to market or through the regulatory process. This photo was taken at the Spring EBCC Gala competition in 2022, where my team and I presented our team recommendations to the Atlanta biotech community (image intentionally censored to protect the intellectual property of our client).

The contents of this blog represent my independent thoughts.