Tell us about your research project and why it is important to you.
I am doing research on the responses of the immune system during the co-infection of tuberculosis and HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). I am interested in analyzing what happens with the immune system that causes patients to relapse into the disease even when they finish their 6-month treatment. People infected with HIV have an increased risk of getting sick with tuberculosis, and one in every four people in the world is infected with tuberculosis. Our team is doing research on a type of cell that we believe is affected by HIV and causes tuberculosis to be reactivated. I think this research is important because if we discover what is happening with the immune system when both diseases are present, we can develop new medications or vaccines aimed at helping the immune system fight the disease.
Have you presented or published your research somewhere? Tell us about the experience.
I am still taking classes, so I do not have enough results to publish an article, but I presented my work at the National Congress of Microbiology in Oaxaca, Mexico in October 2019. In May 2020, I will be presenting at the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) conference.
What would you say is something interesting about your area of study that most people do not know?
Tuberculosis is an important health risk. One in four people around the world is infected by the bacteria, even without knowing it. The risk of contracting the disease increases with age, or if the person has diabetes or HIV. As time passes, the number of older people grows and more people become diabetic. Every year, there are 10 million new cases of tuberculosis and 1.6 million people die from this disease.
Tell us about your academic or professional collaborations with Mexico.
We have a collaboration with Dr. Luis Adrián Rendón Pérez, a pulmonologist at the
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León
(UANL), in Monterrey, Mexico. Dr. Rendón Pérez treats about 1500 patients with tuberculosis every year. With him, we are developing a research protocol to invite patients to donate their leftover laboratory samples. This will allow us to investigate what is happening with the disease directly through humans and not solely through animal models, as the response in animals or test tubes may be different.
What attracted you to Texas and UTMB?
At UTMB, they have a highly developed and controlled system to study dangerous microorganisms. There are four levels of danger in microorganisms—level 1 causes no harm to humans, and for level 4 there is no treatment or cure. HIV is level 2, and tuberculosis is level 3 (Ebola would be level 4). Here at UTMB, they have the facilities and experts to study any of the four levels. In addition, in the laboratory where I work there is a unique mouse model that can be infected with both microorganisms (HIV and tuberculosis) like in humans.
What have been some good things you did not expect from Texas or UTMB?
I have found very professional people who come from all over the world. I have found friends from the United States, Mexico, and other Latin American countries. To be honest, I was afraid to encounter racism, but because I am in a higher-education level environment, people are much more open and I haven’t come across any discrimination.
What have been the biggest challenges of studying at UTMB and living in the United States?
In the beginning, for about two months, mastering English was a challenge. After classes, I would get back home with a headache from trying to understand all the words. Once I adapted to the language, missing my family was the biggest challenge. Although I am here with my husband and my 2-and-a-half-year-old son, I still miss my parents, siblings, family, and friends. However, each of them knows as well as I do that this experience is worth the sacrifice. Also, I obviously miss Mexican food, although I have found places that come close enough to the taste and style to satisfy my craving.
How has the support of ConTex and CONACYT impacted you?
It has been transcendental, because without the support of ConTex and CONACYT I don’t think I would have been able to come here to study and improve myself. Also, when people at UTMB hear that I have a CONACYT-ConTex scholarship they are interested and mention that they would like to recruit more students with this fellowship.
What kind of work do you expect to do in the future? How do you expect your research to benefit people in the United States and Mexico?
In the future, I would like to return to Monterrey and be a researcher and professor at a university. I would like to contribute to the development of science and health in my country. In addition, because we are so close to the border, if I help improve health in Mexico, health in Texas would also improve. Especially in the case of tuberculosis, because there is more tuberculosis on the U.S. border than in the rest of the country.
What advice would you give other Mexican students who are considering studying in Texas?
I would encourage them to apply to the CONACYT-ConTex scholarship. It will help them a lot in the future and will allow them to contribute to strengthening relations, both academic and personal, between the two countries. Leaving our comfort zone helps us open our eyes to the problems of the world and to the cutting-edge technologies available to solve them. Once we master the new technologies, we can repay both countries for what they have invested in our education.
