CHS Expands Reach Across UTEP to Offer International Research Opportunity
Published August 21, 2023 By Darlene Muguiro UTEP College of Health Sciences
In late July, UTEP students Kimberly Villela (Biology major) and Flor Fabela (Neuroscience/Sculpture and Metals dual major) returned to El Paso from Panama after completing the first summer research abroad experience coordinated by the Virtual Center for Border and Global Engagement. The Center is a multi-unit initiative at UTEP which is administered by the College of Health Sciences. Staff coordinate short-term study abroad experiences during which students work with research faculty at partner sites on projects focusing on health disparities in the host country. Currently, the Center is working with INDICASAT (Institute of Scientific Research and High Technology Services) in Panama.
Villela said that upon hearing she had been selected to participate, she quickly moved into “panic mode,” about leaving her life in El Paso behind to take the extensive trip abroad – her first trip outside the United States. Fabela said she also felt a bit uneasy – and excited at the same time – not knowing what exactly to expect upon her arrival. However, once they both arrived in Panama, they were immediately impressed by both the sites and people they met.
“I was struck by the tall buildings,” Villela said. “Panama is so dense, so the buildings have nowhere to go except up.”
For their research experience, Fabela and Villela were assigned to the laboratory of Dr. Amador Goodridge in INDICASAT’s Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology of Diseases, where they assisted in a research project focused on the impact of vitamin D on tuberculosis among patients in the Province of Colon. The students were actively involved in all aspects of the project, shadowing Goodridge’s team members as they collected data from patients in the community hospital in Colon through to the actual extraction process in the lab, where blood samples were purified and analyzed. Both say the most impressive and memorable part of their experience was working with Goodridge’s students in the lab.
“They’re such hard-working people and care so much about what they do,” Fabela said.
Villela added that despite the significant age gap among the lab members, they worked well as a team, jumping in to assist one another as needed.
“We were with students finishing their bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees,” she said. “But whenever we spoke with them, you really saw no difference – if one had a question, another one had the answer. It was really impressive to see the development of their knowledge and the leadership that each one took to finish what they were researching.”
Fabela said that her experience has opened her mind to the use of data in her future profession as a neuroscientist.
“I was very interested in DNA extraction. While I don’t necessarily see myself in a lab setting, I am interested in seeing the data that comes out of these projects,” she said. “My interests are in cognitive psychology, addiction and drugs. I’m interested in how genetics may impact drug use and addiction.”
Villela, who is looking toward a future medical career, said that her experience interacting with patients at the hospital in Colon was both valuable and heart-wrenching.
“It was truly touching to see the conditions of the patients there,” she said. “The difference between the wealthy neighborhoods of Panama City and the poor neighborhoods in Colon, which is very close to the city, is very noticeable. In the future, I hope to travel to another country and use my specialty to help them.”
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Go Miners!
For more information about the Virtual Center for Border and Global Engagement, please email Carla Rosete, assistant director, at clrosete@utep.edu.
Photo courtesy of Kimberly Villela (pictured right; Flor Fabela pictured left)
