BIOMINDS Research Day

I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale.

-Marie Curie
French (Polish-born) chemist & physicist (1867 – 1934)

 

With these words, which come from one of the greatest scientists in the world, I describe my experience in the Biominds Program.  Biominds has given me the opportunity of investigating in the fields of life sciences, which has been in fact one of my goals in life.  It gives me great pleasure to see my dreams come true.  Three semesters have already passed and now it’s time to bid farewell.  The program has ended, but investigation only begins.  So after giving my poster presentation, I was given the assignment to evaluate some of the posters of the participating students.  I was very thrilled with this idea, because I really learned a lot from their projects and their contribution to the world. 

The first poster I visited had the title: “Detection of Antimicrobial Agent-Producing Microbes Via Whole Cell and Molecular Techniques” (Integrated Microbiology Category). This poster belonged to my dear friend Orlando Soto, who worked with Dr. Carlos Ríos Velázquez.  They are focused in studying antibiotic production potential of soil actinomycetes.  By using methods such as: The Kirby-Bauer Method they were able to test the antimicrobial agents against fierce pathogens such as: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus Aureus (TSS).  I thought it was an interesting project and a great field of investigation nowadays.  The world is constantly at stake because of the amount of resistant strains of bacteria and other microorganisms, it is necessary to find antimicrobial agents that can stop their pathogenic pathways that affect humanity constantly.  I congratulate Orlando on an awesome piece of work and I encourage him to continue contributing to our world. ^_^      

 The second poster I visited belonged to the student Steven de Jesús from the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao.  His research title was: “Chemical and Microbial Vertical Stratification in a Eutrophic Tropical Estuary System” (Environmental Category).  His research goal is to determine the changes in community structure along the water column of the Mandry Channel (a lenthic and shallow aquatic habitat).  His experiment was remarkable! There are still tons of microbial communities that are waiting to be discovered and discovering them might be of great benefit to the world of science (May it be in terms of antimicrobial agents, metabolic pathways and so forth).   Amazing job Steven! Keep on with the good work! ^_^

Last but not least, I visited Susana Rodríguez’s poster, which was titled: “Microbial Population in the Activated Sludge at the Waste Water Treatment Plant at Mayagüez, Puerto Rico” (Microbiology Category).  Her goal was to describe the cultivable and non cultivable bacteria members in the activated sludge from the largest wastewater treatment plant in PR located in Mayagüez and compare their composition with a distant treatment in Adjuntas PR.  An incredible investigation indeed! By studying and sequencing the 16S Ribosomal DNA of the bacteria members, they can find phylogenetic relationship and if not can lead to the discovery of new groups of bacteria.    Astonishing work Susana!! Keep it up! ^_^