Mia Trupiano, a Biomedical Sciences doctoral student at the Florida State University College of Medicine, has earned a prestigious 2025 Trainee Professional Development Award from the Society for Neuroscience.

“This award is a highly competitive national honor and Mia is highly deserving,” said Professor Pradeep Bhide, Ph.D., Trupiano’s major professor and the Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers Eminent Scholar Chair of Developmental Neuroscience. “It recognizes exceptional early-career scientists for their outstanding contributions to neuroscience. I am very proud of Mia’s work and her achievements.”

Trupiano, who is on schedule to graduate in Summer 2026, studies how environmental exposures during critical periods of development shape brain function and behavior across the lifespan. 

“Mia has made novel discoveries about the long-term effects of exposure to nicotine on the development of the brain, both before and soon after birth,” Bhide said. 

Her goal is to uncover how exposure to nicotine alters specific groups of neurons, producing long-term emotional and behavioral outcomes, including psychiatric and substance-use disorders.

The award includes complimentary registration to Neuroscience 2025, the Society’s annual conference that will be held in November in San Diego, a $1,000 stipend to offset travel costs to attend, and one year of access to Neuronline, the Society’s collection of professional development and training resources for neuroscientists at all career stages.

Trupiano said the award is both an honor – recognizing the merit and rigor of her research – and a steppingstone for her growth as a scientist.

“The Neuroscience 2025 meeting is an unparalleled opportunity to engage with leading researchers and learn about the most cutting-edge work in the field,” she said. “It also opens doors to unique opportunities such as a dedicated poster session for award recipients, professional development workshops and yearlong networking opportunities.

“Together, these experiences will help me strengthen my scientific skills, expand my professional network and position me for continued contributions to Society for Neuroscience community,” she said.

Trupiano worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the Bhide Lab while earning her bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences at FSU. After graduation, she worked as a   research technician in the Neuroscience Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine for two years before returning to Tallahassee and starting her doctoral program.

“Her work addresses a critical and understudied area of neuroscience,” Bhide said, “and its recognition by the Society for Neuroscience reflects the high caliber of Mia’s research and our graduate program.”

Contact Audrey Post at Audrey.Post@med.fsu.edu.

Spotlight photo on home page and photo at top right: 

Doctoral student Mia Trupiano discusses her research findings with her mentor, Professor Pradeep Bhide, Ph.D., in the Bhide Lab.

Photos by Eduardo Miyar, College of Medicine Creative Services Team