- The student Karina Martínez Pérez, graduated from the Biology program, achieved the position of associate researcher in the Department of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School.
- The young woman will work, initially for one year, on a research project to study protein-protein interactions in human genes.
Karina Martínez is a young graduate of the Biology program of the Faculty of Basic Sciences of the Universidad del Atlántico and is currently a master’s student in Environmental Sciences. In addition, she was the first beneficiary of the Ruta Harvard 2022 call, where she was linked for six months to research projects in one of the best laboratories at Harvard University.
The call, led by the graduate Pedro de la Torre, with the support of the Universidad del Atlántico, the International Relations Office and the Alumni Office, became the link between the student and the classrooms of Harvard University. .
“I was in a totally immersion process, with the language, interacting with people from different countries, looking at how high-impact science is done in another country, participating, doing many experiments, learning new techniques. It was a very enriching experience for me, I had contact with a technique called x-ray crystallography, which was the technique with which the structure of DNA was discovered in the field of Molecular Biology. It is a very important and widely used technique,” said the student.
Her performance and achievements during her stay earned her a new opportunity, this time linked as a research associate to the Department of Molecular Biology at the Harvard School.
“This new project that I am going to work on is to investigate protein networks at the genomic level. The idea is to elucidate how protein-to-protein interactions are in all human genes”, explained Karina.
For the Universidad del Atlántico it is a commitment to continue consolidating a university with impact, with these spaces that allow strengthening scientific networks through the transfer of knowledge with international academic institutions with a long history and recognition.
Rector Danilo Hernández indicated that “with this achievement we ratify that, with the international relationship, with the integration of the university with the world, we began to transform not only the life of our students’ families, but we also opened the doors so that future graduates connect with these institutions and transfer and co-create knowledge for the development of our institution, our region and our country”.
Karina Martínez has stood out for her excellent performance at the Universidad del Atlántico, where she is also part of the Microbial Biotechnology and Bioprospecting Research Incubator, which allowed her to expand her knowledge in Molecular Biology and Cellular Biology.
His story has become an inspiration for many students who dream of conquering international stages.
“Regardless of the fact that it has been a project that particularly benefited me, as a student at Universidad del Atlántico, it also serves to form scientific support networks. Just as the graduate Pedro De la Torre came up with the idea of creating this call from which I could be a beneficiary, that now gave me the opportunity to conquer new spaces, so that allows the Uniatlanticense student community to expand and conquer new spaces where they can to prepare, so I think that the opportunity and basically these calls are created to open up more spaces”, pointed out the young woman.
The Universidad del Atlántico will continue to strengthen these strategic bets for the development of the alma mater, the region and the country in high-impact science.