Dr. Emma Gogarnoiu

Ph.D., New York University, 2026

B.Sc., Pennsylvania State University, 2019

Emma grew up just outside Philadelphia, and attended Lower Merion High School, the proud hometown of Kobe Bryant (RIP). She received her B.Sc. in Chemistry from Pennsylvania State University in 2019, where she conducted research characterizing novel metal-binding proteins under the mentorship of Prof. Joseph A. Cotruvo Jr. Following graduation, Emma joined the laboratory of Dr. Amy H. Newman in the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA)’s Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch as a post-baccalaureate NIH IRTA Fellow. During her time at NIDA, she synthesized novel bitopic dopamine D3/D2 antagonist/partial agonists toward the development of potential treatments for substance use disorders. Emma began her Ph.D. in Chemistry at New York University in 2021 under the supervision of Prof. Marvin Parasram, where she developed nitroarene-based photochemical methodologies. In September 2026, she made the move from Manhattan to the MacMillan Lab to begin her postdoctoral training. She hopes to bring together her past research experiences to develop new µMap technologies and discoveries. Outside of the lab, Emma spends her time chasing around her toddler twin boys and enjoying lots of snuggles with her youngest son. She also enjoys listening to and reading books of all genres, hiking, dancing, and painting.

Fun Facts

• Emma and her husband have driven across the country twice. Both trips were made in a car with no A/C and roll-down windows, which, surprisingly, only became unbearable while driving through the Midwest in August.
• Emma has dual Romanian-American citizenship and visited family in Romania every year for 23 years. Despite this, she is only now finally teaching herself Romanian.
• Emma’s favorite meal is all-you-can-eat sushi, where, by the end, it is unclear whether you’ll be able to swallow another bite.
• The closest Emma has gotten to fame so far is through her family. Her grandmother, Florina Tomescu, was a famous Romanian costume designer with her own Wikipedia page and IMDb profile.