E129: InvisiYouth Chat Sessions with four-time Paralympic Cross-Country Skiing gold medalist and PhD neuroscience student, Sydney Jo Peterson

Let’s go from the snowy mountains to the laboratory. Four-time Paralympic Cross-Country skier gold medalist and PhD neuroscience student, Sydney Jo Peterson began to experience symptoms of dystonia in her left arm. As time went on, Sydney went to be a skier in university and her dystonia ended up affecting her left arm and leg. Instead of leaving the sport, Sydney was encouraged to go into para cross-country skiing. She’d qualify for the 2022 Beijing Paralympics, and earn a hat trick: a gold, silver and bronze medal. And at the Milano-Cortina Paralympics she’d earn three more gold medals and a silver. Off the snow, Sydney is going for her PhD in neuroscience at University of Utah, working in a neurogenetics lab to research how existing drugs can be repurposed to treat rare neurodegenerative diseases. Here’s our Four Hot Takeaways:At 3:25 Sydney gives her superlatives of best skiing location, the summer Paralympic sport she’d try, what she’s most likely to listen to while training and the type of food she’d give a five-stars.At 10:33 Sydney and Dominique talk all things para cross-country skiing! Sydney talks about how she got into skiing, what the experience was like transitioning to para cross-country skiing and how she navigated a new version of a sport as her health changed both physically and mentally, what event she enjoys the most, and how she balances her full-time para cross-country skiing career with her full-time PhD work.INTERMISSION STORY TIME at 30:09 brings the levity as Sydney talks about one time she went training solo while in Montana and a series of events left her five miles from her car with a surprise twist saving the day.And the episode ends at 34:03 as we talk all things neuroscience. Sydney shares how she got into the science world for her studies and a career, what about her personal experience with dystonia has given her a different approach to her PhD research role, what’s her favorite thing about working in a rare disease-focused lab, the elements of going into the sciences that she feels people should know when they’re in their early college years, and how she feels her cross-country skiing background has sharpened her approach to her neuroscience research career.Please like, comment, subscribe and share this episode, follow Sydney @sydney.j.p! Please check out the InvisiYouth Charity Shop on www.etsy.com/shop/invisiyouthcharity with free shipping globally, and please support InvisiYouth Charity by donating, following and joining our programs and community @invisiyouth!Wanna support our nonprofit?Watch on YouTubeShopInstagramTwitterFacebookDonate