MILFORD, CT —Jonathan Law High School Class of 2019 graduate Sydney Rossi

Rossi graduated from Southern Connecticut State University with a degree in biology and is now pursuing a Master of Science in biology; she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in microbiology in the future. Her passion for biology and studying infectious disease was inspired, in part, by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When I began my college career, I was eager to dig deeper into the concepts I was learning about in general biology classes, especially microbiology,” Rossi said. “This eagerness and curiosity led me to enter the research lab at Southern. The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on my community further inspired my goals to pursue infectious disease research to potentially help mitigate the damage caused by pathogens like SARS-CoV-2.”

Rossi was able to complete a series of boot camps in industry-sought skills thanks to funding from CTNext through the BioPath program, which is a partnership between the City of New Haven and SCSU. The program aims to prepare graduates with cutting-edge skills for the 21st century workforce.

She interned at Atlas Xomics over the summer, where she contributed to lap procedures and experimental protocols.

“Sydney arrived with excellent communication and organizational skills, displayed rapid technical growth, and took a creative approach to an image analysis project. Her solution has become the basis for our fluorescence image analysis,” said Dr. Joe Gennaro, Rossi’s supervisor at Atlas Xomics. “The leadership and hard work she displayed while growing over a matter of weeks from new arrival to key contributor are exactly what growing companies are looking for in biotech as well as other industries.”