Biography · Dr. Nella C. Delva, PhD
A scientist who teaches, writes and reads the data.
I am a neuroscientist with 10+ years of research in cancer biology, neuroscience and stem-cell models, a U.S. Fulbright Fellow, and a first-generation scholar from Haiti. I have done the work I now help others with: running the experiments, analysing the data, publishing it through peer review and mentoring the next scientists.
10+ yearsof research, from the bench to the data
4 paperspeer-reviewed, 100+ citations
15+ studentsmentored from first question to finished project
100+graduate students in the mentorship program I chaired
FulbrightFellow, Max Delbrück Center, Berlin
What I bring to your team
Three ways I work
Mentoring & tutoring
for mentorship and tutoring companies
- Research mentor at Polygence since 2020. 15+ high-school and undergraduate students guided through original projects in neuroscience, molecular and cancer biology, with a 5-star mentor rating.
- Student projects led to publications, symposium talks and science-competition entries.
- Chair of FSU's Mentorship for Success program (2021 – 2024) for 100+ graduate students; mentor to 4+ undergraduate researchers.
- Adjunct Professor of Biology at Hillsborough Community College: lectures, labs, assessments and one-on-one support.
- Milestones, session notes and progress tracking for every student, and the ideas and words stay theirs.
Research & science writing
for publishers, media and science-journalism teams
- Four peer-reviewed papers, cited 100+ times, including a first-author review on dopamine and depression.
- A doctoral dissertation and a co-first-author manuscript in preparation; years of drafting, peer review and replies to reviewers.
- Competitive applications written and won: Fulbright and McKnight fellowships.
- 16 essays for the public on my writing page, from organoids to personalised medicine.
- Every claim checked against primary sources, then written for the reader in front of me.
Data analysis & interpretation
for biotech and life-science companies
- I know how the data is made. Gene-expression and in vivo work at Moffitt Cancer Center; iPSC-derived neurons and quantitative imaging at the Max Delbrück Center.
- NeuroPenetrance: a six-gene whole-blood RNA signature, trained on one cohort and tested unchanged on seven others (779 people). AUC 0.61, above chance in 8 of 8. Reported as it is, not as I wish it were.
- Python (pandas, scikit-learn), SQL and BigQuery, R, GraphPad Prism, ImageJ and QuPath; Plotly, Looker Studio and Power BI dashboards.
- Data Analytics bootcamp at Le Wagon Berlin (2026).
- Results explained to scientists and to decision-makers who are not.
Why clients trust the work
How I work
Accurate
Trained to judge study design, statistics and whether a conclusion follows from the data.
Honest
I report what the evidence shows, including the modest numbers.
Clear
One idea, explained for a student, a reader or a research team.
Reliable
Years of running several projects, mentees and clients at once, each on its own deadline.
Haiti → Florida → Berlin
Timeline
- 2025 – nowFounder & principal consultant, STEM-azing Scientific Consulting, Berlin. Writing, editing, mentoring and data analysis for researchers, students and life-science companies.
- 2025 – nowFounder, NeuroPenetrance: blood-based biomarkers for depression. EXIST application in preparation; selected for the Startup Incubator Berlin Lean Startup Sprint (2026).
- 2026Data Analytics bootcamp, Le Wagon Berlin.
- 2024 – 2025Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin: iPSC-derived neuronal models, imaging and analysis.
- 2020 – nowResearch mentor, Polygence (online).
- 2018 – 2025PhD, Biomedical Sciences (Neuroscience), Florida State University College of Medicine: dopamine D1 receptor signalling and mood. Chair of the graduate mentorship program, Deputy Speaker of Judicial Affairs in the Congress of Graduate Students, student representative on the College of Medicine's Council of Diversity and Inclusion.
- 2017 – 2018Adjunct Professor of Biology, Hillsborough Community College, Tampa.
- 2015 – 2018Research Associate II, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa: tumour biology, treatment response and targeted alpha-particle therapy.
- 2014 – 2015Graduate research assistant, University of South Carolina School of Medicine: HPV and cancer.
- BeforeHaiti, where curiosity began; then biology at Barry University, Florida.
Education
- PhD, Biomedical Sciences (Neuroscience), Florida State University, 2025
- MSc, Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, 2015
- BSc, Biology, Barry University, 2012
Fellowships & awards
- Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship, Germany (2024 – 2025)
- Germanistic Society of America Neuroscience Research Fellowship (2024)
- McKnight Doctoral Fellowship, Florida Education Fund (2023 – 2024)
- Academic Leadership Award, FSU College of Medicine (2023)
- Bryan Robinson Neuroscience Award (2022)
- Society for Neuroscience, Neuroscience Scholars Program Associate (2020)
Languages
- English, fluent: all client work
- French, native
- Haitian Creole, native
- German, basic
Peer-reviewed record
Publications
- Delva NC, Stanwood GD. Dysregulation of brain dopamine systems in major depressive disorder. Experimental Biology and Medicine 246(9):1084–1093, 2021. Read →
- Abboodi F, Delva NC, et al. Human papillomavirus-mediated carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Genome Instability & Disease 2:71–91, 2021. Read →
- Tafreshi NK, …, Delva NC, et al. Lipophilicity determines routes of uptake and clearance, and toxicity of an alpha-particle-emitting peptide receptor radiotherapy. ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science 4(2):953–965, 2021. Read →
- Tafreshi NK, …, Delva NC, et al. Melanocortin 1 receptor-targeted α-particle therapy for metastatic uveal melanoma. Journal of Nuclear Medicine 60(8):1124–1133, 2019. Read →
- Delva NC*, Graham DL*, Stanwood GD. Loss of dopamine D1 receptors from Nkx2.1-derived GABAergic neurons alters mood-related phenotypes. In preparation (*co-first authors).
Ready to work together?