{"682136":{"#nid":"682136","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Gianna Fiduccia Follows in Her Family\u0027s Footsteps","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGianna Fiduccia didn\u2019t know much about Georgia Tech when deciding where to go to college, but with an affinity for STEM and two generations of chemical engineers in her family, she instantly felt a connection to the Institute during her first visit in 2021.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFiduccia\u2019s grandmother, Edita Asuncion, immigrated to the United States 50 years ago from the Philippines before becoming one of the few female chemical engineering students at her university and entering the field as a large-scale manufacturer of chemical products. Fiduccia\u2019s mother, Deanna, also became an engineer, specializing in the production of commercial cosmetic products. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe watched as her role models made their mark in a male-dominated field and wanted to follow in their footsteps. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThey paved the way for me and other women. A lot of young adults choose their career paths based on influence, and so, having two amazing female chemical engineers in my life showed me that the doors were wide open for any opportunity I wanted to pursue. I recognized how special and unique that privilege was and decided to pursue a challenging, meaningful career path because of it,\u201d Fiduccia said. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn high school, she became interested in pharmaceutical research before choosing to study chemical and biomolecular engineering at Georgia Tech. As a student and while completing internships with Moderna and Merck, Fiduccia always felt she \u201chad a seat at the table\u201d because of women like her mother and grandmother. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEager to explore new biotechnology research on campus, she joined Mark Prausnitz\u2019s lab to assist with developing an mRNA-lipid nanoparticle microneedle patch for vaccine delivery. The project, which could assist in the ease of drug delivery and accessibility, is one that Fiduccia says led her to pursue a Ph.D.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy time at Georgia Tech has shown me how creative science can be and how to take something you\u2019re curious about, like a new drug-delivery system, and explore it without limitation. I decided to do a Ph.D. because of this freedom of exploration and a deep understanding that early-stage research could one day influence the future of healthcare,\u201d she said. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFiduccia will attend the University of Pennsylvania for her doctorate, but having attended a small, all-girls high school in her hometown of Yardley, Pennsylvania, she said that meeting people from all over the world has been among the most rewarding aspects of her Georgia Tech experience. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOutside of the classroom, she was a member of Miracle, a student-run nonprofit raising funds for Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith her family as her guide, Fiduccia identified a goal to become an engineer. As she completes her undergraduate degree here, she\u2019ll mark a major milestone on her path toward using her dream \u201cfor the betterment of society.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"After watching her mother and grandmother pave the way, Gianna Fiduccia is carrying on the tradition of chemical engineers in her family. "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAfter watching her mother and grandmother pave the way,\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003EGianna Fiduccia is carrying on the tradition of chemical engineers in her family.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"After watching her mother and grandmother pave the way, Gianna Fiduccia is carrying on the tradition of chemical engineers in her family. "}],"uid":"36418","created_gmt":"2025-04-30 20:38:53","changed_gmt":"2025-05-01 12:30:03","author":"sgagliano3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-05-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-05-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677007":{"id":"677007","type":"image","title":"Gianna Fiduccia ","body":null,"created":"1746045596","gmt_created":"2025-04-30 20:39:56","changed":"1746045596","gmt_changed":"2025-04-30 20:39:56","alt":"Gianna Fiduccia ","file":{"fid":"260865","name":"250417p-gianna---sean-150.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/30\/250417p-gianna---sean-150.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/30\/250417p-gianna---sean-150.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4124531,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/04\/30\/250417p-gianna---sean-150.jpg?itok=zvuRXQLb"}}},"media_ids":["677007"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"167101","name":"Spring Commencement"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:steven.gagliano@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESteven Gagliano\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 Institute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}