PhD. Postdoctoral fellowship. Faculty position. This is the typical career course for scientists working towards a career in academia. Asiya Gusa, a microbiologist at Duke University, also hit all these signposts, but with a small twist: a decade-long departure from research spent as a stay-at-home mother and a high school teacher. Gusa’s unconventional journey has helped shape who she is as a researcher, and she is using everything that she has learned to explore the growing health threats posed by fungal pathogens.
After a decade away from research, Asiya Gusa returned to academia to build a lab focused on the growing impact of fungal pathogens.
Kevin Seifert
Why was there such a gap between your doctoral studies and postdoctoral fellowship?
I had a child during graduate school, and I had another one soon after finishing my PhD. The academic route is very challenging when you have young children. My partner and I decided that I would take a year off, but one turned into five. After that, I transitioned back to work as a high school science teacher and did that for five or six years.
As the kids got older, I asked, “Would it be possible for me to return to a research career?” I really did not think it would be, but fortunately, I had very supportive people at Duke University that encouraged me to come back as a postdoctoral researcher.
What was it like to start a postdoctoral position with a decade of other experiences under your belt?
Instead of prioritizing the “top lab,” I looked for more supportive environments. I had a better idea of who I was, what I expected of myself, and what is reasonable to be asked of you, so I felt more empowered than I would have ten years earlier. I also had very clear goals, and I knew the best routes to pursue to move forward. There is a legitimate risk to taking time away, but you have to make the best choices for you and your family. My experiences taught me that there is always a path forward, but you need focus to figure out the best way to re-enter a field or gain needed skills.
Do not think that something is impossible. Instead, start asking people what is possible.
How did you become interested in fungi?
When I started my postdoctoral research at Duke University, I encountered many mycologists, including my mentor Sue Jinks-Robertson. She had a project focused on a pathogenic fungus that I had never heard of: Cryptococcus. I knew nothing about fungal diseases, but I had always been interested in microbial pathogenesis, and I recognized that this was a unique and understudied area.
What is Cryptococcus?
Cryptococcus is part of the critical priority group of the World Health Organization’s fungal priority pathogen list. It causes a significant number of deaths via fungal meningitis. We are studying a specific species of Cryptococcus called Cryptococcus neoformans. It can adapt very rapidly to grow at higher temperatures than normal, including at human body temperature. We want to see if that adaptation makes it more pathogenic, or if this increase in survivability comes with a trade-off decrease in pathogenicity.
Why are fungal diseases treated so differently than bacteria or viral diseases?
Fungi are historically understudied, undersurveilled, underresourced, and underdiagnosed. This is, I think, the biggest reason why fungal pathogenesis is a growing concern. We need to test, diagnose, and track fungal diseases.
I think fungal diseases are understudied because they primarily affect individuals with weakened immunity, which means they present less of a threat to the greater community. However, the number of people with weakened immunity is growing: people are living longer, they are taking immunosuppressive therapies, cancer cases are rising, and so on. We also think climate-related changes are causing an increase in fungal infections. We have seen emerging fungal diseases that have never occurred before in humans, and that is very concerning.
What is next for you?
I started the lab with a narrow focus on Cryptococcus heat adaptation, but I am branching out into looking at how severe storms and subsequent flooding impacts mold growth, and whether fungus-related illnesses are infections or respiratory problems caused by mycotoxins. I have also started collaborations to tackle some bigger questions, where we are looking at how fungi can be used for natural product discovery, to degrade microplastics, and so on.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
