She earned her Ph.D. in Food Science from the University of Maryland, College Park as a Flagship Fellow, and her B.S. in Clinical Dietetics and Nutrition from the University of Pittsburgh. She performed her coordinated clinical nutrition internship in the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center system to become a Registered Dietitian. Before coming to Mason, Dr. Slavin also served as Visiting Assistant Professor in the Institute of Food and Nutraceutical Science at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China.