UTEP Awards Six New U.S.-Mexico Collaboration Fellowships
Program continues to spark new cross-border research
EL PASO, Texas (Aug. 8, 2024) – The University of Texas at El Paso has announced six research projects that will receive funding as part of a program aimed to strengthen relationships between researchers on both sides of the border and, ultimately, foster academic work that benefits the entire Paso del Norte region.
Now in its second year, the U.S.-Mexico Collaboration Fellowship is the product of officials at UTEP and several universities in the Mexican state of Chihuahua who sought new ways to collaborate and create additional educational opportunities for students.
The fellowship program saw resounding success in its first year, said Arturo Barrio, UTEP assistant vice president of international relations. Faculty and students from UTEP and multiple colleges and universities in Mexico had the opportunity to work directly on critical topics such 3D printing and advanced manufacturing, drought control and binational education programs.
“We saw very successful results and received great feedback from our community,” Barrio said. “Our goal with this ‘seed’ fund, is to find these initiatives with potential, allow them to expand on their own merits and discover new funding opportunities to continue their research.”
Pecan Farming and Drought Stressors on the U.S.-Mexico Border, helmed by Hugo Gutierrez-Jurado, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Science at UTEP, was among the fellowship’s inaugural set of funded projects last year. The project is slated to receive additional funding from the National Science Foundation this September.
This year’s awardees collectively will receive $120,000 from UTEP’s research enterprise. An interdisciplinary committee that includes researchers from UTEP and the partner Mexican universities selected the projects using an extensive set of criteria to identify submissions with the highest potential impact and benefit to students.
The newly funded projects are:
Breast cancer analysis in Hispanic women
Lead Researcher: Giulio Francia, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Biological Sciences (UTEP).
Collaborators: Eugenia Martinez, anatomic pathologist and Doctor of Instruction, Biomedical Sciences Institute (UACJ).
This study will analyze and test breast cancer samples obtained from Hispanic women and collected by UACJ researchers. The work will assess the effectiveness of combinations of immunotherapy and anti-angiogenic therapy, a form of treatment that aims to prevent the growth of cancer by blocking the formation of new blood vessels.
Regional fields trips to study mineral, petrol, ore and rock deposits
Lead Researcher: James B. Chapman, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences (UTEP).
Collaborators: Aldo Izaguirre Pompa, Doctor of Earth Sciences, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (UACJ).
This project comprises a series of joint field trips for students from both UTEP and UACJ to the mountains near Villa Ahumada, in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, about a 2-hour drive south of El Paso. The excursions will incorporate hands-on research on deposits of rare earth elements, which are essential for the development of renewable energy technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles.
Tracking and understanding native reptiles
Lead Researcher: Vicente Mata-Silva, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Biological Sciences (UTEP).
Collaborators: Ana Gatica Colima, Ph.D., research professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences (UACJ).
Researchers in this project will train a group of undergraduate students on the use of bio‐loggers, or remote-sensing devices, to investigate non-avian reptiles that are native to the El Paso‐Ciudad Juárez region. Students will gain experience while investigating the relationship between the heart rate, body condition and movement activity of reptiles in their natural habitat.
A better diagnosis for endometriosis
Lead Researchers: Elisa Robles-Escajeda, Ph.D., assistant professor of research, Department of Biological Sciences (UTEP) and Alejandro Martínez Martinez, Ph.D., professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences (UACJ).
Collaborators: Dr. Victor Carrasco (Obstetrician/Gynecologist), Dr. Daniel Dickens (Pathologist), Flor Alday Montañez, doctoral student (UACJ), Gloria Erika Mejia Carmona, postdoctoral trainee (UACJ) and Marwa Belhaj, undergraduate student (UTEP).
Building on an existing collaboration between faculty and students from UACJ and UTEP, this study aims to improve the diagnosis of endometriosis, a condition without a reliable non-invasive diagnostic test, according to the team. Endometriosis involves the growth of uterine lining tissue outside the uterus, causing severe and incapacitating pain in approximately 10% of women of reproductive age. This collaborative effort will leverage cutting-edge technology to analyze blood samples, identifying and characterizing specific biomarkers, or signs, of endometriosis with the goal of developing a non-invasive diagnostic tool.
Capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using nanomaterials
Lead Researcher: Hamidreza Sharifan, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (UTEP).
Collaborators: Oskar Alejandro Palacios, Doctor of Natural Resource Management and Preservation, and Laila Nayzzel Muñoz, Doctor of Environmental Science and Technology, College of Chemistry Sciences (UACH).
With a primary focus on environmental remediation, this initiative involves the incorporation of nanomaterials that, when exposed to light, can promote the interaction of microalgae-bacteria with contaminants. This interaction leads to the cleanup of pollution and the capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Microelectronics workforce development
Lead Researcher: David Zubia, Ph.D., professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (UTEP).
Collaborators: José Mireles Jr., Ph.D., professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computing, and Abimael Jiménez, ScD., professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computing, (UACJ).
This project will simultaneously deliver a hybrid course on semiconductor fundamentals to students from UTEP and seven Mexican universities located in the states of Chihuahua and Morelos. The universities are members of a newly formed laboratory network that conducts research and workforce training in the areas of micro-technologies and semiconductors. The goal of the project is to promote UTEP’s undergraduate programs in microelectronics.
About The University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of our 24,000 students are Hispanic, and more than half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 170 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.
Last Updated on August 08, 2024 at 12:00 AM | Originally published August 08, 2024
By MC Staff UTEP Marketing and Communications
