Resume

Sydney N. Sunna

Life-science Consultant. Neuroscientist. Writer. Amateur Chess enthusiast.
Sydney Sunna earned their Ph.D. from Emory University in Biomedical Sciences with a focus on Neuroscience. Click here for more about me.

Professional Experience

Nucleate Activator Program / CellCue Bio
Business Development Specialist
11.22 – 5.23

  • Working with an industry veteran and mentor 7 months, I conducted market sizing estimates for my client, CellCue Bio. These estimates are still being used in their non-confidential pitchdeck after my departure.
  • I received hands-on formal training in pitch-deck building, storytelling, presentation, and pitching.  
  • I received training in systematically implementing Justice Diversity Equity & Inclusion (JEDI) principles in business frameworks.
  • I participated in drafting Cellcue Bio’s diversity statement.
  • Through guidance of industry mentors affiliated with Nucleate, I gained exposure to diverse regulatory strategies, fundraising strategy, technical de-risking, & market risk identification.
  • I gave a competitive pitch to an audience of world-renowned venture-capital judges at Pillar VC, Harvard and MIT academics and industry veterans.

Emory Biotech Consulting
Pro bono Consultant *NDA
8.22-12.22

  • Our client invented a class II MedTech device and sought consulting on a comprehensive go to market strategy, value analysis, and funding acquisition strategy.
  • Working within a team, I conducted market analysis to compare the volume, growth, sales price, and market size for several possible indications for their device.
  • Based on my market analysis, I nominated the most economically and clinically valuable indication for use by my client’s devide.
  • I strategized regulatory and financial opportunities for our client. I identified clinical precedence for legacy devices pursuing the 510K pathway. My market analyses identified private equity financing as most strategic for their specific device.
  • Working in a team, I gave a competitive pitch to the Atlanta biotech community on behalf of our client.

Emory Biotech Consulting
Pro bono Consultant *NDA
1.22-5.22

  • I consulted a clinician on bringing their combination drug-device to market.
  • I worked with a patent lawyer to evaluate the freedom to operate with their device, as well as nominating the most competitive regulatory pathway through the FDA.
  • I identified and communicated market and technical risks pertinent to our client.
  • I nominated that our client pursue the Investigational New Drug (IND) pathway for their combination drug-device. This nomination cut the total application costs in half.

Emory University, Graduate Neuroscience Program
Teaching Assistant
8.19-12.19

  • I assisted with organizing, communicating with, and coordinating the guest lecturers and senior faculty.
  • I reviewed, graded, and communicated with Y1 Neuroscience graduate students on the development of their Curriculum Vitae.
  • I taught a 1-hour long lecture on how to use reference management software and a brief lecture on giving elevator pitches.

Education

Ph.D. in Biological and Biomedical Science, Fall 2023
Emory University (GPA=3.9)
Atlanta, GA

B.Sc. in Neuroscience & Cognitive Sciences and Molecular & Cellular Biology, Spring 2017
University of Arizona (Mjr. GPA=3.8)
Tucson, AZ

Awards

National Research Service Award Fellowship. NIH
Awarded $ 47,694 per year for three years to support my doctoral stipend and training expenditures. In addition to internal professional development awards, my successful award applications earned > $ 145,000.

Dean’s List Award. University of Arizona
In recognition of outstanding academic acheivement (>3.5 GPA; > 15 course units) by the Dean of the College of Science.

Pitch Events

Nucleate Activator Program Gala, 2023
Pillar Venture Capital
Atlanta, GA

Emory Biotechnology Consulting Gala, Winter 2022
Emory University & Georgia Tech
Atlanta, GA

Emory Biotech Consulting Gala, Spring 2022
Emory University & Georgia Tech
Atlanta, GA

Research Publications

Dissertations

Proteomic profiling of neuronal and microglial cells using TurboID in inflammatory and homeostatic states for extension into in vivo systems.
Doctoral Thesis
Emory University. 2023

Investigating Short-term Memory in Ants Using Classical Conditioning with Novomessor cockerelli and Myrmecocystus mendax.
Undergraduate Thesis
University of Arizona. 2017

Freelance Articles

Help us Patch the Pipeline
The Xylom. 2019

The Women Who Inspired Me
The Xylom. 2019

GRE Scores Don’t Correlate With Graduate School Success.
Synaptic Sketch. 2019

10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Selecting a Graduate Program
Synaptic Sketch. 2019

Common Good Atlanta
Emory Division of Biological and Biomedial Sciences Alumni Newsletter. 2019

Emory GIVE partners with Trees Atlanta to Protect Urban Forestry
Emory Division of Biological and Biomedial Sciences Alumni Newsletter. 2018

Professional Conferences

Emory Neuroscience Candidates’ Ongoing REsearch (Encore)

Comparative Proteomics of LPS-induced inflammation in different brain cell types captured by TurboID proximity labeling.
Society for Neuroscience. Poster Presentation. 2022
San Diego, CA

Cellular proteomic profiling using proximity labeling by TurboID in microglial and neuronal cell lines.
Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. Poster Presentation. 2021

Cellular proteomic profiling using proximity labeling by TurboID in microglial and neuronal cell lines.
Society for Neuroscience. Poster Presentation. 2021

In vivo proximity labeling for Cell-Type Specific Proteomics.
American Society for Mass Spectrometry. Poster Presentation. 2020

In vivo proximity labeling for Cell-Type Specific Proteomics.
Southeast Regional Clinical & Translational Science. Conference. Callaway Resorts and Gardens. Poster Presentation. 2021
Atlanta, GA

In vivo proximity labeling for Cell-Type Specific Proteomics.
Division Student Advisory Counsil Student Research Symposium. Emory University. Poster Presentation. 2020
Atlanta, GA

Classical Conditioning in Novomessor cockerelli and Myrmecocystus mendax.
Neuroscience & Cognitive Science Honors Thesis Poster Forum. University of Arizona. 2017
Tucson, AZ