Meet Dalia Cabrera

We were lucky to catch up with Dalia Cabrera recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dalia , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

In my family, we say we resemble a lotus flower, a symbol of overcoming adversity and resilience. I first had to understand this resemblance when I was only nine years old, during a conversation with my dad about the word “stroke” and how it was affecting my mother. Just two years later, I was confronted with the term “metastatic cancer” and the reality of saying goodbye to my grandmother in a few short months.

Life has not allowed me to be as fragile as a flower, although my family named me Dalia, which means “flower” in Mexico. The challenges I faced at such a young age forced me to mature abruptly. Given the difficulties my family was experiencing, I knew I had to remain strong, just like them, and focus on doing my part—at that time, that meant concentrating on school.

I come from a family where my grandmother was a single mother, raising my mom in every way possible. My mom became the first person in her family to earn a college degree. My father started selling candy at a young age while his family dealt with illnesses that took key members out of the picture. I come from generations of hard work, each one facing unanticipated adversity.

Resilience has grown in me through generations of knowledge. Understanding where I find myself on this journey makes me feel extremely blessed and privileged. I aim to use this privilege to continue growing personally and professionally, preparing myself to give back to a sector that suffers from inequality in technology and health support, much like what I experienced in my childhood.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am currently a practicing biotechnology engineer in the Department of Vaccines and Virology at Harvard Medical School. Here, I focus on studying immune responses in assays that confirm the efficacy of various vaccines for different diseases, primarily influenza. I work on projects aimed at enhancing efficiency in these studies. Additionally, I am leading a collaboration with the MIT School, focusing on biomaterial platform management to develop a pulse release option for HIV.

Being part of such prestigious laboratories allows me to continually learn and improve my techniques and scientific perspectives. This experience has fueled my interest in pursuing a PhD in bioengineering and being involved in the graduate departments of various universities.

Offering platforms for the improvement of diseases that affect low-income sectors is one of the main reasons for my personal and professional preparation.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

As I find myself where I am now, thanks to the support of many people throughout my journey and personal growth, I believe the following three insights are worth sharing:

1. It’s important to learn to accept “no” in life.
This lesson came from my dad when I was starting to look for a job while studying in college. While I was completely frustrated, he simply laughed, recognizing how new I was to life. He helped me understand that life doesn’t end when you receive a “no” as an answer. What matters most is what you do afterward: do you continue pursuing your goals, or do you give up due to feelings of “failure”? Learning to process the “no’s” that life has presented to me so far has helped me navigate decisions like the flow of water, understanding that perhaps a “no” happens for a reason that we may not grasp at that moment.

2. Everyone is fighting their own internal battles, just like you.
Understanding that the behaviors people show you are not personal is crucial. Everyone, just like you, has their own concerns that they may not necessarily share with others. I’m not saying that all behaviors should be justified by this, but having empathy for why people act a certain way can provide a great deal of peace and clarity regarding how we interpret others’ actions and what we take home to overthink.

3. The decisions we make are always fully ours.
The choices I’ve made have involved moments of self-reflection to honestly ask myself whether I want to take an action out of my own desire or due to pressure from family or friends. The “should” or “what they expect from me” must be set aside when making decisions that will shape our lives. That change of city, that new group of friends, that new project—only we will go through it. So, it’s best to be completely sure that it was an autonomous decision.

I’d also like to add that throughout this journey, I have been very open about mental health and have worked with an excellent therapist who has supported me during complex times in my life. Seeking help does not make us lesser individuals; in fact, I believe it’s the opposite, as being vulnerable is one of the most challenging actions for a human being.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

I believe that when I start to feel stressed, I have developed the important ability to recognize that I am feeling this way (sounds pretty easy, but sometimes is exactly the opposite).

Understanding that our emotions are in this state allows us to pause and acknowledge that our body and mind are not in the best place to respond or react to situations. Work, school, and our general environment often present challenges that can easily lead to stress.

However, knowing how to cope with these challenges has been the result of several years of attending therapy to identify my behaviors. Personally, the actions I take to alleviate that feeling involve interrupting this vicious cycle of stressful thoughts by allowing myself some alone time. This means spending a few hours walking outside of the environment that caused my stress. Additionally, talking with someone who can offer options from a place of care and support is often very comforting.

Reconnecting with ourselves and returning to the reason we are doing what we are doing helps us gain a different perspective on the situation and continue moving forward despite the adversities we will constantly face in our development.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cvvr.hms.harvard.edu/lab-member/dalia-cabrera-barragan/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daliacabrera__/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daliacabrera/