by Dennis St. Germaine

BRAVO/MIRT student Jesus Garcia presents research he performed in the Netherlands, during a "datablitz" at the home of biochemistry Professor Michael Wells. Photo by Diane Schmidt

Stazzone was a participant in the Undergraduate Biology Research Program (UBRP) when he heard Dr. Azza Gabr, a visitor to UA from the National Research Centre (NRC) in Egypt, speak about intestinal parasites among village children living in the Nile Delta. In listening to her remarks, Stazzone realized that his work fit nicely with that of the Egyptian pediatrician. “Many of the same infections occur here, but (mainly) among immunosuppressed patients,” he said. “I realized that some of the new methods I was using in the lab might complement the work being done at the NRC.” Stazzone decided to try to go to Egypt. He approached Carol Bender, UBRP director, to see what could be done.

“Although we had never sent a student abroad to do research, I was intrigued by Tony’s inquiry,” said Bender. “I knew that Dr. Ron Watson, his faculty sponsor, was impressed with his work, so it seemed within the realm of possibility.”

Through the efforts and contributions of several organizations, arrangements were made for Stazzone to work at the NRC for a summer. UBRP covered his plane fare from a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI); the Binational Fulbright Commission in Egypt allowed him to stay at no cost in one of their guest houses in Cairo; and Watson’s lab donated kits that were more sensitive in detecting parasites than the conventional staining methods Gabr was using. The Egyptian NRC provided samples from a study population in the Nile Delta and NAMRU 3, an American Naval Installation in Cairo, allowed him to use a fluorescent microscope to read his slides. Stazzone did an outstanding job and pleased everyone who contributed to making the plan work.

Stazzone’s experience is a natural extension of what the Undergraduate Biology Research Program (UBRP) can offer students. UBRP, a nationally recognized program to provide paid research experience to UA undergraduates, began in 1988. The program has expanded over eight years to support more than 130 students annually. Students can choose to affiliate with any of 200 faculty members representing 35 departments. Inexperienced students can enter the program as early as their freshman year and can do research through their senior year. As students gain experience, they become increasingly independent. Some produce publishable results and have presented papers at scientific conferences.

In 1992 and 1993, UBRP was able to send 11 students abroad to do research by piecing together funding for each student from a variety of sources. Word of these students’ experiences spread quickly via the undergraduate grapevine. “With increasing student interest, it was clear that we needed to formalize the program and find a more stable source of funding,” said Bender.

In the spring of 1993, the Fogarty Center at the National Institutes of Health announced their Minority International Research Training Program. UBRP applied and was successful in obtaining a grant from the Fogarty Center. "We now call the project BRAVO, which stands for Biomedical Research Abroad: Vistas Open!" Bender says. In addition to funds from the HHMI grant, this provides support for undergraduate students to do research abroad.

Many laboratories in which our students work have foreign collaborators who spend time at UA. A shared interest in science, coupled with the friendships that develop in lab groups, lead students to become interested in doing research abroad. Foreign visiting scholars also present seminars to our students focusing on their research and on the climate for science in their countries. As noted earlier, it was Gabr’s seminar that prompted Stazzone to want to apply his knowledge abroad.

Leslie Parkinson, a molecular and cellular biology major from Springerville, Ariz., entered college at age 26. In 1994, she was selected to work for a summer at University College in London, England. Her faculty sponsor, Dr. Mary Johnson, a UA pediatric neurologist, helped Parkinson link up with British scientists Dr. Rhona Mirsky and K.R. Jessen. Both labs study how the nervous system develops. In London, Parkinson studied glial cells, called Schwann cells, in the peripheral nervous system. Nerve cells have long processes called axons that transmit electrical signals as a mechanism for communicating information throughout the nervous system. While axons in the peripheral nervous system can be wrapped with an insulating material called myelin, not all axons are myelinated. The Schwann cells ensheathe all axons, but only some of them make myelin. During development, the Schwann cells differentiate to become myelinating or non-myelinating glial cells.

“My project in England involved looking at the regulation of a protein that determines whether a Schwann cell will produce myelin,” Parkinson said. Her work in London resulted in tentative identification of one known and one possibly unknown protein. “Because of what I learned in London, I will be able to use molecular techniques in my research in Dr. Johnson’s lab about how alcohol affects the nervous system,” Parkinson added.

Two other UBRP/BRAVO students, Charles Hoeffer and Alvin Yamamoto, wound up half a world away after they met Kozo Tsuchida who was working with UA biochemist Michael Wells. Tsuchida is a scientist from the Japanese National Institute of Health. The project Hoeffer and Yamamoto were assigned in Japan enabled them to apply molecular techniques they learned at UA. Hoeffer prepared for his international experience in Michael Hammer’s lab which studies the genetic relatedness of groups of humans, or “molecular anthropology” as Hoeffer explained it.

Yamamoto worked in David Galbraith’s plant molecular biology laboratory. Their project in Japan involved a comparative study of apolipophorin-III (ApoLp III) in the silkworms Bombyx mori (domesticated) and Bombyx mandarina (wildtype). ApoLp III is a type of exchangeable apolipophorin which is found in most insects. It functions as a translocator of lipids from fat bodies to flight muscle. It is thought to have other characteristics as well because it also is found in some flightless insects.

“Working in Tokyo was a fantastic learning experience,” said Hoeffer. “I discovered a lot about self reliance and at the same time, cooperation.” Since their return, both Hoeffer and Yamamoto have received bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry. They continue to do research in their respective labs. Both are applying to medical school.

Research universities are in an excellent position to offer international research experiences to their undergraduates. “Because of the work taking place at UA, undergraduates have a prime opportunity to become involved in research,” according to Bender. “Faculty members often have international contacts, making it possible for an undergraduate experienced in research to become his/her lab’s scientific ambassador to a lab abroad.”

Upon their return, students write an article for the UBRP newsletter and present their experimental results and cultural insights at a monthly meeting called a “datablitz.” Datablitzes, which occur over dinner featuring recipes from one of the host countries, give students who cannot travel a vicarious international experience. Because both developed and developing countries have been included as sites, those attending datablitzes learn about how science is conducted under the best, as well as under the most difficult, circumstances.

Study and travel abroad are not often considered an important part of a science major’s education, but many of today’s problems are global. Solutions frequently require that scientists of different nationalities collaborate. “We have found that an international research experience during a student’s undergraduate years can have a profound effect on his or her world view and self confidence,” asserted John Law, Regents Professor of Biological Sciences. “These are compelling reasons for us to continue to offer international research experience to our students.”