2023-07-11 19:43:50
Daniel Zegarra Ruíz is a Peruvian biologist who will lead – in less than three months – the Laboratory of the University of Virginia in the United States. In this way, he becomes the first Peruvian scientist, and also from Latin America, to have his own laboratory on American soil.
Starting in October of this year, he will be in charge of the Zegarra-Ruiz laboratory in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology at the University of Virginia.
It should be noted that the beginning of this long journey, as he points out, was not easy, since at first, he had to apply together with 500 researchers to achieve the position of head of the laboratory.
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Studies and master’s degrees abroad
The 34-year-old biologist studied his undergraduate degree at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, where he studied biology, then he leaned towards specializing in immunology, his line of research.
Already in his postgraduate stage, he managed to obtain a Ph.D. at Yale University. He was also a postdoctoral researcher at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
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Being head of a laboratory: a springboard for Peruvian researchers?
In dialogue with the Andean Agency, Zegarra said that leading a laboratory allows you to form your own team.
So, is it possible to see more Peruvian researchers? Well yes, the biologist comments that his goal is to work with Peruvian scientists or researchers in his laboratory.
“It is an opportunity to be able to hire Peruvians who are doing science. All my calls will be open for any candidate from anywhere in the world to apply, but I am going to put a little more emphasis on Peru and Latin America. I know that a person with a bachelor’s degree and who is in a laboratory for a long time has all the skills to help me,” he told Agencia Andina.
To get to the position that Zegarra has, it is essential to study a post-doctorate at any university in the United States, if you want to be the head of a laboratory in that country.
Aside from choosing who to work with, being a boss also means deciding what to research and getting funding for it.
“We are talking regarding the fact that, on average, the university invests two million in you, that is why the selection process is so rigorous, because they are not going to give those millions to someone who has not achieved anything in three or five years,” he commented. .
It is worth mentioning that this money includes buying equipment, hiring professionals, maintenance, quite apart from their salary that ranges from US$120 to US$150,000 a year.
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University of Virginia.
How difficult it is to apply as a researcher to US universities.
Zegarra recalls that he began last year applying to 25 universities -of the total, 23 in the United States and two in Switzerland- of which he only received four offers, including the University of Virginia.
“Different universities in the United States open their calls worldwide between August and December, and one competes for a place where between 200 and 500 top researchers present themselves. The first filter is the Zoom interview and you have 15 minutes to convince them that you are the ideal candidate for that position and if they consider you, you will go to a group of 30 selected ”, Daniel Zegarra Ruiz said.
What follows is the personal interview and, for that -recalls the Peruvian researcher- he was at the university for regarding three days. “It was very intense. My day started at 8 in the morning and ended at 8 at night. You meet with the professors of the department you are applying to, you present your research on a whiteboard for two hours or more, you talk to the students and finally there is only one candidate left, ”he explains.
With information from Andina Agency
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