Jacqueline Dyszel
As a high school student, Jacqueline Dyszel struggled with chemistry,
earning some of the worst grades of her academic career. But something
about the subject kept her attention.
“It was more important to me to study something that would keep me
intrigued than something that came easily to me, even if it meant putting
in extra work to make sure I understood the material well enough to keep my
grades up,” she explained.
The work paid off, and when it came time to pick a college major, Dyszel
combined her love of math with her curiosity for chemistry and chose
chemical engineering. Now in her third year at Drexel, she has continued to
make the most of opportunities to face new challenges head-on.
Through Drexel’s cooperative education program, Dyszel has tested potential
career paths through three vastly different co-op experiences, first in new
product development and research at Crayola, then in process development
and kilo lab operations at Bristol Myers Squibb. Her latest position is as
a Cell Therapy Process Development team member at Carisma Therapeutics, a
clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company.
“We are working on optimizing the processes involved in Carisma’s CAR-M
immunotherapies, which modify blood cells to target certain cancers,” she
explained. “Specifically, I am working on developing an assay that provides
information about the health of our cells throughout our processes.”
Despite having little prior biology exposure, Dyszel dove into learning
about biologics and has picked up valuable experience.
“Every day brings new information to digest. After only 2 months, I learned
more about biology and the immune system than I thought I could in a year,”
she said. “I’ve also learned a lot of lab skills that will be useful to me
in my future courses and beyond.”
Through analyzing data, researching literature, and collaborating with her
team, Dyszel has developed knowledge that she will bring to her remaining
academic coursework. Though unsure which specific field she will enter
post-graduation, taking on the challenge of hands-on laboratory work at
Carisma Therapeutics has cemented Dyszel’s certainty about studying chemical
engineering.
“Every experience I’ve had — both in school and on the job — has affirmed
my choice of pursuing chemical engineering,” she said. “After these three
co-ops, I have more confidence that I will choose a job that I will enjoy.”