MIRT Program Sends Seven
CSUF Students Overseas
Students to conduct research in universities
in Oxford and York in England and Chiang Mai University in Thailand.
July 6, 2005 :: No. 1
Seven Cal State Fullerton students
are spending their summer oversees, conducting research as
part of the Minority International Research Training (MIRT)
program. The students are assisting scientists with projects
at the universities of Oxford and York in England and Chiang
Mai University in Thailand.
Seven students from four other Southern California
universities, including UCLA, Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State
L.A., also are participating in the program, which is designed
to increase the number of minority research scientists.
The CSUF student participants and their scholarly
pursuits are described below:
Monica Diaz of Pico Rivera,
Erica Sandoval of Anaheim and Laura
Sirikulvadhana of Whittier are working at Chang Mai’s
Department of Community Medicine.
Diaz, a National Honor Society member and senior
majoring in health science, is researching the prevalence
of breast cancer in Thai women, as well as the need for preventative
care and early detection programs.
Sandoval is working on a qualitative analysis
of pesticide exposure to residents of the Mae Wang district
of Chiang Mai. Sandoval, who graduated last year from UC San
Diego with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and cell
biology, is enrolled in courses through CSUF’s University
Extended Education program and aiming for a doctoral program
in health science.
Sirikulvadhana is researching HIV and AIDS
in sex workers in Ching Mai. She is a health science senior
and a McNair Scholar.
Paul Gerard of Fullerton is
conducting research in the laboratory of Christoph Baumann,
Department of Biology, University of York. Baumann’s
project focuses on cloning and understanding the DNA helicase
of the Escherichia coli gene. Gerard is a CSUF graduate, having
earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration
with a concentration in marketing in 1996, then returned in
2003 to pursue a second degree, and is now a senior biological
science major.
Diego Miranda of Anaheim is
also at York, working in the laboratory of Anne-Kathrin Duhme-Klair,
Department of Chemistry. Her research centers on the synthesis
of a new fluoroquinolone (a type of antibiotic) and drug delivery
system. Miranda, a senior biological science major, is a scholar
in the Minority Access to Research Careers program.
Jason Newmark of Tustin is
assisting David Sherratt, Department of Biochemistry at Oxford,
in researching the genetics of bacterial infections. Newmark
is a graduate student majoring in biology; he completed his
bachelor’s degree in biological science at CSUF in 2003.
Myesha Poland of Chino Hills
also is at Oxford, working in the laboratory of Kieran Clarke
of the Physiology Department. Clarke’s research focuses
on studying therapies for cardiac diseases. Poland is a senior
majoring in biological science.
MIRT mentors Marcelo E. Tolmasky, CSUF professor
of biological science; Vincent C. Merrill, CSUF assistant
professor of kinesiology and health science; and Maria Elena
Zavala, professor of biology at Cal State Northridge, are
overseeing the students during their assignments.
In their spare time, students will have the
chance to explore their host countries. Participants receive
stipends, travel and living expenses for the summer program.
“On a scale of 1-10, I’d say this
[experience] is an 11,” Newmark said. “It’ll
give me cultural diversity and perspective, and it’ll
look great on my Curriculum Vitae when I’m applying
for doctoral programs and can say I’ve studied at one
of the greatest universities in the world.”
The MIRT program — now in its 11th year
— has enabled more than 120 biomedical, science and
health science students to spend the summer studying with
top scientists in England, Israel, Mexico and Thailand. The
program has been supported by more than $2 million in grant
funding from the Fogarty International Center of the National
Institutes of Health.
The idea for the program was hatched at a 1993
lunch meeting between former MIRT director Bruce Weber, CSUF
emeritus professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and colleagues
from Southern California.
At the time, the group was in Atlanta, attending
a National Institute for General Medical Sciences Minority
Research Conference. They discussed ways to increase the number
of students, particularly minorities, pursuing biomedical
research. At the suggestion of a colleague from Cal State
Long Beach, Weber applied for a grant from the NIH, and the
program was born.
Weber served as MIRT director for nine years
before handing over the reins to Tolmasky in 2004.
“The students get to spend 10 weeks doing
research at prestigious universities and get to know what
it’s like in that kind of environment,” Tolmasky
said. “And they get to meet different people from different
cultures, so it’s a cultural and scientific experience.”
Media Contacts: |
Marcelo E. Tolmasky, professor of biological
science and MIRT director, at mtolmasky@fullerton.edu
Vincent C. Merrill, assistant professor
of kinesiology and health science, at vmerrill@fullerton.edu
Robby Nisenfeld, Public Affairs, 657-278-3798 or rnisenfeld@fullerton.edu |
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