The acquisition of new laboratory work methodologies, contribution to research related to oxidative and nitrosative stress in spermatozoa, as well as the generation of collaborative ties, were part of the objectives achieved by two students of the PhD in Sciences with a mention in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of La Frontera, who developed an internship at the University of Girona, Spain.
UFRO Communications.- These are the students Fernanda Fuentes Zapata and Erwin Muñoz Acuña, who joined the TechnoSperm Center for Reproductive Biotechnology, an entity run by Dr. Marc Yeste, a prestigious researcher who has focused his work on cell biology and reproduction in different species of mammals (human, equine, porcine, bovine, feline, ovine and canine).
“I think that one of the most remarkable things of my internship was learning how to work in other laboratories, which gives the possibility to compare and see how the work is more practical. Sometimes it may be more convenient to work the way they do in other labs and other times what we do seems to be more practical, so the internship gave me the possibility to share that technical knowledge with other people working on things similar”, indicated Fernanda Fuentes.
The student maintained that the methodological techniques acquired during the internship will be useful to apply in her research work, adding that the positive experience allowed her to participate as an author in writing a review related to her research area.
“During my internship I was able to interact with people from literally all continents, and that gives me a broader perspective of my own reality, and how this reality is totally different for other people. I was also able to learn new methodologies at the TechnoSperm Research Center under Dr. Marc Yeste, knowledge that at least for me personally is extremely valuable”, said Erwin Muñoz.
The student indicated that the internship will specifically contribute from the methodological point of view with new isolation techniques and analysis of extracellular vesicles (EVs). “These techniques will not only help my current research work, but could also transcend other future investigations that I have in mind, as well as any other investigation that may be carried out at CEBIOR that is related to the study. of EVs in animal reproduction”, he pointed out.
The activities carried out by Erwin Muñoz contributed to Dr. Marc Yeste in work in his laboratory, related to research on spermatozoa and oxidative and nitrosative stress. All of the above will result in at least three scientific publications in high-impact journals worldwide, two of which Dr. Marc Yeste is the corresponding author. One of the articles will be sent to publish during the next weeks.
Both students agreed that the internship helped to broaden the collaborative ties between the University of Girona and the Universidad de la Frontera, through collaboration in future scientific publications. The knowledge learned during the stay in Dr. Marc Yeste’s Laboratory is being implemented in the CEBIOR Reproduction Laboratory.
