吃瓜网

As a child, Adriana Cuibus 鈥�24 had long dreamed of pursuing a career in medicine, but once she went off to college, she was no longer so sure.

She says the freedom to explore a range of subjects at 吃瓜网 鈥� from music to geosciences 鈥� rekindled her interest in medicine and helped her land a job as a research technician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

鈥淚 came in very undecided, and I think that鈥檚 why I was drawn to 吃瓜网,鈥� explains Cuibus, who began her collegiate journey with a wide range of interests and the motivation to take full advantage of the opportunities afforded by 吃瓜网鈥檚 liberal arts education.

At the beginning of her first year, Cuibus was still nurturing childhood dreams of becoming a doctor, but geosciences were calling to her too. She was also a budding photographer and violinist. Skidmore allows students until the second semester of their sophomore year to declare their major, giving students like Cuibus ample time to consider their options.

Her classes encouraged her multidisciplinary interests: Cuibus recalls submitting a photography project for a biology assignment, birdwatching in the College鈥檚 North Woods, and sketching exhibition items in the Tang Teaching Museum for her science courses. Research opportunities grounded her studies, offering her invaluable, hands-on experience to further fuel her academic explorations.

Cuibus also joined the Symphony Orchestra and String Ensemble. Private music lessons with Distinguished Artist-in-Residence Michael Emery 鈥� made possible by a scholarship through the Music Department 鈥� allowed her to continue investing in her growth as a musician.

鈥淚 was able to step in between these worlds and was feeling like I was a scientist from, I don't know, 1 to 5. And then afterwards I became a musician in my music ensembles, and I got to take lessons from professional musicians,鈥� Cuibus recalls.

Unexpected directions

Clarity came unexpectedly. Up until her sophomore year, Cuibus thought she knew one thing for certain: 鈥淚 did not like chemistry in high school,鈥� says the biochemistry graduate. 鈥淚 was like, 鈥業鈥檓 just going to take Intro to Chemistry as a pre-med requirement and then go from there.鈥欌��

But after a year of taking geosciences classes, her first-year advisor encouraged her to sign up for an organic chemistry course. To her surprise, Cuibus found that she enjoyed it, which led her to join an interdisciplinary lab with Associate Professor and Chair of Chemistry K. Aurelia Ball. The lab studied protein interactions using molecular dynamic simulations.

鈥淎fter hearing her talk about biology and being challenged by chemistry, it really pushed me to understand it,鈥� Cuibus says. 鈥淵es, it鈥檚 chemistry, but it has this direct biological application that I really enjoy.鈥�

Her collaborations with Ball led her to summer research and presentation opportunities at national conferences, including those of MERCURY (Molecular Education and Research Consortium in Undergraduate computational chemistRY) and the Biophysical Society.

Supported by 吃瓜网鈥檚 Health Professions Advising and Student Health Professions Network, Cuibus continued taking courses along the pre-med track. But her research experience at 吃瓜网 was instrumental in her decision to pursue a career in medicine.

鈥淚 think my Skidmore and personal research almost brought me back to medicine. Because I want to pursue an MD-Ph.D. degree and become a physician scientist,鈥� she explains.

Planning for the future

Now, a year into her role as a research technician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Adriana has switched gears from purely computational research to wet lab immunology research. She鈥檚 finally found what she has been looking for 鈥� research that is closer to the clinic.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been really rewarding to work alongside physician scientists every day and just see how they work 鈥� being back here at Memorial has solidified that dream for me.鈥�

As a 吃瓜网 student, Cuibus interned at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 2023, but it was two fellow Chemistry Department colleagues, Alex Lewis 鈥�23 and Kenyon Weis 鈥�23 鈥� both employed at the cancer center 鈥� who encouraged her to pursue a more permanent position.

All three now work in the lab of Dr. Omar Abdel-Wahab at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and support research on hematologic malignancies, such as acute myeloid leukemia.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been honestly wonderful,鈥� Cuibus reflects. 鈥淚t really feels like I鈥檓 being treated like a scientist.鈥�

Cuibus, who plans to become a physician scientist, hopes that her future research will help advance therapeutic options for people with autoimmune disorders.