Network Across Borders
USC neuroscientists link up with Mexico’s National University
By Eva Emerson
Spring 2005
USC College neuroscientist Larry Swanson may be best known for his
anatomic studies of the brain networks that control hunger, thirst,
sleep and other basic drives, and how these behaviors are influenced by
emotions. But, over the past few years, he has turned his eye to a
different kind of network, one made up not by neurons but by the
scientists and graduate students who study the brain.
What began as a single collaborative project between Swanson and
Mexican neurobiologist Jorge Larriva has grown into a partnership that
links neuroscientists at USC and the prestigious Neurobiology Institute
of Mexico’s National University (the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de
México or UNAM) located in Juriquilla, about 100 miles north of Mexico
City.
This November, eight graduate students and a number of leading
scientists from Mexico, including Larriva and the Institute’s director,
Carlos Arámburo, traveled to USC to participate in the 12th annual
Provost’s Neuroscience Symposium, which was jointly sponsored by USC
and the Institute in Juriquilla.
Entitled “Understanding Behavior: From Molecules to Mind,” the two-day
symposium explored new findings on the biological basis of behavior. In
2002, Swanson led a group of USC students and scientists to attend a
similarly themed workshop at the Mexican Institute.
“To me, understanding behavior is the single-most exciting prospect for
neuroscience research in the 21st century,” says Swanson, the Milo Don
and Lucille Appleman Professor of Biological Sciences and the
symposium’s co-organizer. “It’s also a theme that will guide the growth
of the neurosciences and faculty hiring in the College over the next
five years.”
The connection between the Mexican and College scientists is but one
example of the ways that USC College faculty are reaching out to
colleagues across the globe. Their aim is to form new partnerships that
will advance knowledge, enrich student training and build the
international reputation of the university—a priority highlighted in
the latest USC strategic plan.
International Opportunities
The UNAM Institute, according to Swanson, rivals the Salk Institute in
terms of the size and quality of its research and facility. Opened just
over a decade ago, Arámburo has led its transformation into what’s now
recognized as Mexico’s premier neuroscience research center, boasting
50 faculty researchers (including Nobel Laureate Ricardo Miledi) and
100 graduate students.
“More important than any individual collaboration, the relationship
between our Institute and USC allows students and researchers to make
new connections,” says Arámburo. “A trip like this provides an
excellent opportunity for our students to meet renowned scientists, the
people whose work is in textbooks and is discussed in journal clubs.
Students are exposed to critical discussions about their research and
gain a broader perspective on the international neuroscience
community.”
That’s what happened to Mexican neuroscience graduate student Juan
Pablo MacGregor Regalado, who met one of his scientific heroes at the
poster session held during the symposium.
“I was explaining my research to her, but I didn’t realize who it was
at first,” says Regalado. The woman turned out to be Ruth Wood,
associate professor of cell and neurobiology at the Keck School of
Medicine of USC and one of the world’s foremost experts in studies of
the brain, hormones and sexual behavior.
Along with a bit of L.A. sight-seeing (including visits to Universal
Studios and Santqa Monica beach), the Mexican students said they got a
lot out of the trip, and hoped that the future will bring more contact
between USC and the Institute.
“We are building a long-term collaborative with Mexican
neuroscience, a network comprised of social and scientific
interactions,” Swanson says.
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