Sydney Olivia Shuster

Yale University · Advisor: Caitlin Davis, Ph.D.

• Developed live-cell super-resolution infrared microscopy to probe cellular metabolism and neurodegeneration.
• Designed Python-based analytical pipelines for hyperspectral imaging datasets, extracting quantitative biological insight from complex, high-dimensional data.
• Contributed to more than $1M in competitive grant funding (NIH R35, NSF CAREER, Beckman Young Investigators) through preliminary data, feasibility assessments, and technical writing.
• Authored 5 peer-reviewed publications (3 first-author) synthesizing findings across chemistry, biology, and physics.

National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD · Advisor: Jennifer Lee, Ph.D.

• Pioneered protocols for expression, purification, and characterization of TDP-43, a protein implicated in ALS — building core BSL-relevant laboratory and biosafety skills.
• Investigated amyloid formation and aggregate structure, contributing to the understanding of protein misfolding under cellular stress.
• Authored 2 first-author publications while operating independently within a federal research institution, gaining direct experience with NIH intramural governance and compliance.

Middlebury College · Advisor: Sunhee Choi, Ph.D.

• Characterized glycation and oxidative stress mechanisms in Alzheimer's-associated amyloid-β, in collaboration with KAIST, South Korea.
• Mastered LC-MS and absorbance spectroscopy; authored 2 publications and a high-honors thesis.

Yale University / Local 33, UNITE HERE

• Partnered with Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Ranking Member, House Appropriations Committee) to collect hundreds of researcher testimonies on the impact of federal funding cuts to university science.
• Authored an op-ed in the Albany Times Union, reaching tens of thousands of readers, translating the public-health and scientific consequences of research defunding for a lay audience.
• Engaged legislators at local, state, and federal levels; led union documentation of researcher impacts, gaining direct experience translating scientific risk into policy-relevant language.

• Panelist, GRAPHS Science Advocacy Day (2026); Panelist, "Academic Repression in STEM and How We Can Resist It" (2025).
• Organized a federal comment campaign against the proposed "Duration of Status" rule change for international researchers (2025), mobilizing the scientific community around a federal policy threat.

Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning

• Provide one-on-one writing mentorship to graduate students; design and lead workshop series on scientific writing, peer review, and communication.

New Haven Public Schools

• Redesigned the ninth-grade science curriculum; mentored a student to national/international science fair titles and a full-ride scholarship.

Yale Pathways

• Designed and led a week-long, hands-on science workshop for high-school students, translating biological resilience research into accessible public education.

Yale University · GPA 3.90 — NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, NIH Biophysics Training Grant, Yale Kirkwood Fellowship

Middlebury College · Minor: Mathematics · GPA 3.87 — High Honors Thesis, Buick Achievers Scholar, ACS Chapter President & Founder