Growing up in a military family meant considering my next move an adventure. My family always had a positive attitude towards our new destination, and the belief that we would make many friends. Without that outlook on a new move, I do not think I could have survived and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure that was my life in Peru this summer.

My adventures mostly took place in
Lima, where I lived in the affectionately termed “gringo house” with a fluctuating number of students (thirteen at the high point) and completed my research at the
Universidad Cayetano Heredia. At the university I worked in BRAVO! faculty sponsor, Dr. Robert Gilman’s laboratory. Dr. Gilman studies numerous infectious diseases including Giardia duodenalis (otherwise known as G. intestinalis, G. lamblia, or Traveler’s diarrhea), which was my parasite of interest. I had a year’s worth of previous experience working with Giardia at the UA in Dr. Charles Sterling’s parasitology laboratory. I thought traveling to Peru would be fantastic opportunity to study the parasite in an endemic setting.

Giardia’s endemic infection in Peru is related directly to the economy. With very few jobs available, many are poverty stricken and live in extremely unsanitary conditions. The parasite passes easily to family members living close together via fecal-oral transmission. Once Giardia reaches the small intestine it latches on to its host to feed. The quick multiplication of the parasite blocks the body’s ability to absorb nutrients from ingested food and generally causes the host to suffer from severe diarrhea. However, extreme dehydration leading to deaths in the elderly and children is not the only concern for people infected with the parasite in developing countries. Studies by Dr. Gilman and other collaborating scientists have shown that children infected with the parasite during infancy have stunted growth and poor cognitive function later in life.

The purpose of my Giardia research was to provide more information on the epidemiology of the parasite. My mentor and sponsor were both interested in learning more about the affects of the parasite in pregnant mothers and their newborns, as well as families involved in the same study years prior to my arrival. I obtained my samples from recruited families in Pampas de San Juan de Miraflores, a shantytown just outside of Lima. My tasks included purifying
Giardia positive stool samples so that I could perform a DNA isolation/extraction. This would allow me to take the DNA samples to the United States to perform PCR testing on them since I did not have adequate access to a PCR machine while in Peru. During the upcoming semester I will run both an external and a nested PCR on each of the samples with two different sets of primers. The results should show me the genotypes for the strains of Giardia within all of the Peruvian volunteers involved in the project. From those results I will be able to form a phylogenetic tree. My data along with data from previous and ongoing investigations between Dr. Sterling and Dr. Gilman will help us to further understand the epidemiology
of Giardia duodenalis, which can then lead to improvements in prevention of infection of the parasite within developing countries.

I was fortunate to have enough time to travel and fully experience Peru. I danced at peñas (restaurants/bars that feature Peruvian folk dancing) with friends from the gringo house, learned that all the world’s potatoes originated from Peru, traveled to Cusco and Machu Picchu with my Mom, drank far too many delicious pisco sours, and ate cuy (guinea pig), alpaca (cousin of the llama), and ceviche (raw fish marinated in lime). I found that the people of Peru are extremely close to their family members but quick to welcome new friends. They live for the moment and are more vivacious than any people I have met in all of my travels.

I truly cannot thank the people responsible for the BRAVO! program enough for giving me the opportunity to further my research experience in a field that I love as well as completely immerse myself in a wonderful culture. I would encourage all students who seek adventure and have the opportunity to travel abroad to do so. The experiences abroad will change your life for the better in ways you never thought possible.

Kathryn Miller, Microbiology Undergraduate in Dr. Charles Sterling’s Laboratory, Veterinary Science & Microbiology.

Kathryn’s trip was funded by a grant from NIH to UA (TW00036).