There is a year at 糖心vlog that Diandre (Dida) Slusarek credits for the growth she needed as a scientist to reach for a prestigious doctoral program.
Her research project seemed beyond her capacities, and her trusted mentor was available only through Zoom. But that mentor, Assistant Professor Dr. Anne McCabe (above, right), saw that Slusarek and lab partner Aysha Mills (above, center) had the capacity to handle the work largely on their own. It was Dr. McCabe鈥檚 confidence that spurred them to succeed聽and showed Slusarek what she was capable of.
Now Slusarek, a first-generation college student, is headed to Atlanta鈥檚 renowned Emory University to pursue her passions 鈥� immunology, host pathogenesis, the microbiome.
鈥淚 want to understand how we as humans live with diseases and live with these bacteria,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel like I haven鈥檛 learned enough yet to be in the science field.鈥�
Yet she has come a long way toward her goal since her days at a large high school in Sarasota, Fla., where she was driven to prove herself. She comes from an immigrant family 鈥� her mother is from Slovakia and her father from Poland 鈥� and she鈥檚 trilingual. That put her in what she called the school鈥檚 鈥渘ot smart enough鈥� camp, relegated to classes in English as a second language and educational remediation. The result? 鈥淚t definitely pushed me harder.鈥�
By senior year, she was excelling in advanced science classes and had secured a pharmacy internship. She applied to pharmacy schools and chose ACPHS because of its strong national reputation, a solid financial-aid package and the close-knit community so many students extol.
She had a one-year postponement in getting to campus, as she worked remotely at State College of Florida on basic science and humanities classes in her first year, beginning in Fall 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. By the time she arrived as a transfer student in her sophomore year, she had learned from her pharmacy internship that pharmacy was not for her. At SCF, she also learned she liked biology more than chemistry.
Biology 鈥渨as everything under a microscope; I had to identify everything,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I learned I am really good at this.鈥�
She was still committed to ACPHS. But she switched gears to pursue a bachelor鈥檚 in microbiology and later a master鈥檚 in molecular biosciences, adding a minor in public health. It was rigorous coursework, and she has never regretted the decision.
Since then, her academic life has been virtually 鈥� and blissfully 鈥� all science, science, science.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I also liked about ACPHS, that it was very science-heavy,鈥� Slusarek said. 鈥淓veryone here is from different science backgrounds, and there鈥檚 just so many avenues you can follow.鈥�
She asked about working in the lab at the end of Dr. McCabe鈥檚 first semester at 糖心vlog and has been working on the antibiotic resistance project since the beginning.
鈥淒ida jumped into research at 糖心vlog with both feet,鈥� Dr. McCabe said.
Now, for that academic year that accelerated what by then was already an upward trajectory. It was Spring 2024, and Dr. McCabe was on maternity leave. Checking in regularly via Zoom, she saw that Slusarek and Mills were ready to take charge of much of the work on their own.
Still, despite her mentor鈥檚 confidence, Slusarek said the challenge was daunting 鈥� even as driven and independent as she is.
鈥淚t was the hardest part of our research,鈥� Slusarek said.
That research focuses on antibiotic-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. For that semester’s聽investigation, they had to conduct plasmid transformations and delete genes to analyze mutations.
鈥淭hat was a very hard process 鈥� to figure out how to do this protocol, because it’s not a typical protocol,鈥� Slusarek said. But in the end, she said, her attitude was: 鈥淚 like troubleshooting and, okay, let’s figure this out.
鈥淎nd Dr. McCabe was like, 鈥榦kay, I think you guys are smart enough to do this on your own,鈥� she continued. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 awesome and intimidating. But I have to say, that gave me an incredible feeling.鈥�
That experience gave her the confidence to apply for an all-expenses-paid summer internship at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center. It was there that she studied the microbiome, the relationship between the gut and women鈥檚 reproductive organs, and developed a passion for research into women鈥檚 health.
That experience also honed Slusarek鈥檚 interest in an area of science where she wants to dig further 鈥� no longer pursuing a multitude of different avenues.
Slusarek is clearly much accomplished as a graduating master鈥檚 student — far from her high school days of needing to prove herself.
Emory, in Georgia, will also be closer to family in Florida. The world she will be engaged in 鈥� academia 鈥� is one that her parents do not know. Yet Slusarek said she is bolstered by their support.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e so proud of me,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y mom doesn鈥檛 even understand what I鈥檓 doing. And she just brags about it all the time.鈥�
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