Sydney Floryanzia, a chemical engineering Ph.D. student, and Elizabeth Nance, an associate professor of bioengineering and chemical engineering, have been recognized as a 2024 HHMI Gilliam Fellowship student-advisor pair. This fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) supports innovative research and diversity in STEM by providing $53,000 annually to students for up to three years.
As an advisor, Nance will receive specialized training around the best practices for implementing culturally responsive mentorship and creating inclusive lab environments that promote joy and discovery in trainees.
Nance began her collaboration with Floryanzia in 2014. They connected through a shared mentor, Lisa Bullard, a professor at NC State, when Floryanzia was in high school. Nance, then a postdoc at Johns Hopkins University, introduced Floryanzia to her research on nanotechnology-based therapies for cerebral palsy, sparking a mentor-mentee relationship that influenced Floryanzia’s career path.
Floryanzia later joined the Nance Lab at UW for her Ph.D., focusing on developing a microfluidic blood-brain barrier model using primary brain cells. This research aims to enhance therapeutic delivery to the brain, crucial for treating brain diseases. With the HHMI Gilliam Fellowship’s support, Nance and Floryanzia will study how the developing brain responds to stimuli mimicking brain injuries, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Their work seeks to advance treatment options for neurological diseases and fill a critical knowledge gap in technology development.
To learn more about Nance, Floryanzia and their research, read the full article written by Ro Stasny for UW chemical engineering.