Graduate Student Spotlight: Patlapa Sompolpong

Patlapa Sompolpong is a second year graduate student in the Stress and Neuromodulation Lab led by Dr. Sanne van Rooij, where she is currently studying the application of transcranial magnetic stimulation as a novel neuromodulatory intervention for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She is broadly interested in the neurobiological underpinnings of psychiatric disorders and how we can use this understanding to advance precision medicine.

Patlapa has played an influential role in fostering a welcoming and supportive community that celebrates the many different backgrounds and perspectives at Emory. She serves as the Co-Chair of the AXON (Advancing eXperiences and Opportunities in NGP) Committee, a new committee comprising of students and faculty in the Neuroscience Graduate Program (NGP) sharing a deep commitment to strengthening access and fair opportunity for success of all NGP members. Under AXON, she runs and co-hosts the recently launched NeuroChATs podcast– an initiative to humanize scientists and the science they do in light of increased public mistrust of science and misinformation. Patlapa additionally advocates for student voices through her roles as the Graduates in Neuroscience (GiN) Executive Committee Student Representative, Central Sulcus Editor, and Neurobuddy Peer Mentor. Here is Patlapa in her own words telling us more about her graduate experience as a team member at Grady Trauma Project (GTP).

Why did you want to be a part of GTP?

I actually came to Emory specifically for the Grady Trauma Project. I previously was studying neural circuits important for fear and anxiety-related behaviors in rodent models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with Dr. Zachary Pennington in the lab of Dr. Denise Cai at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. I loved the research I was in, but wanted to move towards more translational work and make more of a direct contribution to change the lives of people currently suffering from the debilitating symptoms of PTSD. As I started preparing graduate school applications, Zach heavily advocated for me whenever he went to conferences to present our work. Through him I came to learn about the amazing work being done by Dr. Jennifer Stevens and Dr. Sanne van Rooij, which perfectly aligned with my passion. I had the opportunity to speak with Jenni and Sanne while I was interviewing for Emory, as well as Dr. Katelyn Oliver (she was a graduate student in Jenni’s lab at the time). I thought (and still do think) they were so cool and felt like they appreciated and valued me as a person. I knew that GTP would be the perfect place for me to thrive in.

What has been your favorite experience as a graduate student? What are you most proud of so far?

My experience thus far as a graduate student has been so amazing, so it is really hard for me to pick what my favorite experience is. But if I had to pick one it would definitely be working with and being mentored by Sanne. During my first rotation with Sanne, I realized I had found my perfect mentor just from how much I would look forward to our weekly meetings to talk about science with her. I feel like she shares the same drive and passion as me, and our conversations always sparked a thousand different research questions and ideas that excited me. I started writing a commentary/letter to the editor to summarize the current state of the field of transcranial magnetic stimulation for PTSD as my rotation project, and continued to work on it throughout the rest of my first year (and throughout my other rotations). My hard work resulted in my first-author article “Advancing TMS for PTSD – From networks to individuals” being published in the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Journal at the end of my first year, which I am most proud about.

What are your career goals?

My long-term goal is to work alongside other researchers, healthcare providers, and companies to advance precision psychiatry for improved therapeutic outcomes using non-invasive brain stimulation technologies to treat psychiatric disorders and symptoms. In addition, I aspire to lead collaborative work in the field of neuroarts towards a long-term goal of health and wellbeing equity.

If people want to learn more about your work, where can they find you online?

My personal accounts are:

X/Twitter: @patlapa_s

Bluesky: @patlapa.bsky.social

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/patlapa-sompolpong

AXON Committee social media handles:

X/Twitter: @EmoryAXON

Instagram: @emory.axon

The NeuroChATs podcast can be found on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Central Sulcus link:

https://biomed.emory.edu/PROGRAM_SITES/NS/news-events/newsletter.html

Patlapa's cat, Neji, won our team-wide pet photo contest :)