Episode 15 - Kaela Singleton

My guest today is Dr. Kaela Singleton, a developmental neuroscientist, currently completing her postdoctoral training at Emory University. Interested in understanding how the brain forms in normal and pathological conditions, she’s currently investigating mitochondria integrity and localization in Menkes Disease, a rare neurodegenerative disorder that affects the development of children. She’s a Black, Samoan, and Queer woman, grew up in Grayson, Georgia, got her Bachelor of Science from Agnes Scott College, majoring in Neuroscience and Classical History and Culture, and got her PhD in Neuroscience from Georgetown University. Currently, she’s also an adjunct professor at Agnes Scott College, a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Postdoctoral Enrichment fellow as well as co-founder and President-Elect of Black In Neuro.

We talk about her current work on Menkes Disease, her motivation to understand what makes a person a person, her passion for science accessibility, but also her search for a community within neuroscience, and the importance of sharing with others in academia not only when things are rough, but also when things are working out. 

You can follow her on Twitter, @kss_phd.

Our music is “float-and-fly” by goldguardtele.