Health Transformer Spotlight: Meet Emily Mirro from SynchNeuro, Focused on Innovative Solutions for Individuals with Prediabetes
Get to know the President & Co-founder of SynchNeuro, a StartUp Health community member pioneering a novel brain signal-based wearable glucose monitor, a sensor worn comfortably behind the ear that interprets brain signals to read blood sugar levels. In our spotlight interview, Emily Mirro shares her journey to entrepreneurship and co-founding a company with the potential to transform the lives of millions, particularly those with diabetes.
Produced by Nicole Kinsey
SynchNeuro Will Help People with Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes Reverse Their Condition with a Simple, Affordable Tool – So They Feel Better Every Day
Emily Mirro, an experienced medical device company executive, and Casey Halpern, MD, a neurosurgeon at Penn Medicine, have teamed up to build SynchNeuro, which is creating the world’s first brain-based health wearable that synergizes brain signals and AI to improve metabolic health. The system includes a small bluetooth-enabled sensor that is placed behind the ear and companion app to provide relevant metabolic health information to users. It continuously analyzes brain signal data to provide wearers with personalized and actionable lifestyle advice. The company was founded in 2021 after a fundamental discovery that brain signal changes correlate with, and precede, blood glucose fluctuations. With three proof-of-concept studies complete, they are building a functional prototype before heading into clinical trials.
Meet Emily Mirro, President & Co-founder of SynchNeuro
Raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Emily initially pursued a degree in biology at Butler University, planning to follow her father’s path into medicine. However, a pivotal conversation shifted her focus to the startup world.
After gaining valuable experience at early-stage companies like Ventritex and NeuroPace, Emily played a key role in the development of a neurostimulation device for epilepsy at NeuroPace. Now, as a leader of SynchNeuro, Emily is using her technical expertise and business acumen to develop solutions aimed at improving the lives of prediabetes and diabetes patients.
We sat down with Emily to learn more about her career journey, her experiences at NeuroPace, and the exciting new venture with SynchNeuro.
Q: Can you share with us how your career journey began and how you ended up in the world of startups and science?
A: My father is a cardiologist. I wanted to follow his path for a while, and I enjoyed it, but medicine had obviously changed a lot in the prior decade. So his advice to me was , 'At least take a couple of years to go into industry, see what else is out there – you can always go to medical school later.' I moved out to Silicon Valley and caught the startup bug. I was drawn to how rapidly medical device innovations were evolving and creating improved outcomes for patients.
Q: Did you move to Silicon Valley with a job or just a hope and a dream?
A: Unpaid internship—so kind of a hope and a dream.
Q: What was it like being part of the startup, NeuroPace, as it grew from a small team to something much larger?
A: It was exciting—I started as employee number twenty, we all knew our numbers. I loved working on a small team of very smart people, working feverishly together towards the same goal. I am so proud of what we built (and they continue to build) at NeuroPace, it is an incredible product that is having a real positive impact for people living with epilepsy.
Q: During your early research days, you had a surprising encounter with a runaway sheep. Can you share what happened?
A: At NeuroPace, we had implanted our neurostimulation system in a group of sheep. I was with a colleague of mine that was programming one of the neurostimulators when another sheep broke loose and started running down the hallway. I had to jump on top of it to stop it. You need to wear a lot of hats at a startup.
Q: What’s something surprising about epilepsy and seizures that most people don’t know?
A: That epilepsy can happen for many reasons. For example, it can occur after a car accident or fall (head trauma), a stroke, an infection, tumor, or for no understood reason at all. Also, most people who think about seizures think of the big Hollywood seizures where a person falls down and convulses, but seizures come in many forms such as a loss of awareness or small motor movements. It all depends where in the brain the seizure starts and how far it spreads.
Q: What was the most rewarding moment during your time at NeuroPace?
A: It took us thirteen years to get FDA approval due to the novel nature of our responsive neurostimulation treatment. That is a long time to be in clinical trials! We had an FDA panel meeting to gain final approval and it was very intense. It was a three-month-long panel preparation process that culminated in us gaining unanimous approval by the panel, which was pretty remarkable.
That was one of the hardest/best days of my career to-date. It was so validating of our many years of hard work.
Q: What do you consider your superpower in your professional life?
A: My ability to talk to anyone. I love making connections, learning from others and figuring out how to partner with people.
Q: How does your scientific background combine with your ability to network in your work?
A: I have always loved trying to tackle hard problems. Towards the end of my time at NeuroPace, I was frequently talking (“networking”) with neurologists and surgeons about their most difficult patients and discussing how it might be possible to use the NeuroPace system to treat those patients. Then we would publish the findings so others could learn from those approaches.
In my new startup life at SynchNeuro, I spend my days networking with the diabetes and startup business communities. We have so much to learn from both so I just ask a lot of questions when I meet new people at meetings. I have met some incredible people that are very generous with their time and advice. I am so thankful for that.
Q: What was the most valuable thing you learned from your MBA experience?
A: I had these amazing entrepreneurship professors who made me feel like I could build anything with some knowledge and really hard work. I just had to be willing to leap.
Q: What excites you most about SynchNeuro over the next 12 months?
A: I am most excited about the product we are going to be able to offer to prediabetes and noninsulin-treated Type 2 diabetes patients very soon! We are completely focused on solving patients’ largest concerns with blood glucose monitoring today and offer a solution that helps them take control of their metabolic health in a very convenient, comfortable and user-friendly way.
Connect with SynchNeuro via email
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Published: Aug 7, 2025
