Purifying enzymes, trying to understand local politics, and developing a taste for Guinness beer were a few of the many tasks presented to me this summer while in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Spending the summer in Belfast was quite intimidating for me, since I had never traveled abroad alone or worked with protein purification before. However I soon settled into the lab of Dr. Michael Larkin located in the QUESTOR Centre at the Queens University of Belfast with the help of my supervisor Derek Fairley.

Dr. Larkin’s lab is interested in biodegradation of polluting chemicals by microbes found living in extreme environments. My project was to purify an amidase from the halophilic archaea, Halorubrum sp. E4. This salt-loving microbe, isolated from brine and petroleum contaminated soil, is capable of producing at least two different amidases which hydrolyze amides to acids.

This summer we made great progress in the purification of an amidase, which converts butyramide to butyric acid, and an amidase, which converts benzamide to benzoic acid. These enzymes are active in very high concentrations of salt and retain activity even after being exposed to an environment with a pH of 4. Once the amidases are completely purified, they can be studied for their potential biotechnological significance in pharmaceutical industries.

As for the culture of Belfast, the cities in Northern Ireland still remain strongly divided in several areas between the Republicans/Catholics and the Loyalists/Protestants. Republicans generally want Northern Ireland to become part of the Republic of Ireland, while the Loyalists would rather have Northern Ireland remain part of the United Kingdom. This disagreement is the source of the “Troubles” which have plagued Northern Ireland since the 1960’s. As a foreigner, I cannot hope to fully understand the political and religious conflicts deeply rooted in this country’s history. In spite of its bad reputation, Northern Ireland’s political problems have died down in recent years. In fact, most of the people I talked to thought the United States is a far more dangerous place to live.

While in Belfast, I visited the site where the Titanic was built, the famous political murals, the historic Crown Bar, and the Belfast Castle. Although I spent most of my time working in the laboratory, I did have the opportunity to tour the Antrim coast, Giant’s Causeway, Derry/Londonderry, the Republic of Ireland, London, Cambridge, and Scotland. Surprisingly, I also learned to salsa dance during my stay in Belfast.

I think BRAVO! is an excellent program for anyone who has a summer or semester to spare for conducting a research project overseas. There is not a lecture or laboratory class that could have taught me more about science, the world, and myself than what I learned this summer in Northern Ireland. I would like to thank Dr. Christopher Rensing and Dr. Michael Larkin, my faculty sponsors and Carol Bender, Director of BRAVO!

Susheela Carroll, UBRPer in Dr. Christopher Rensing’s lab, Soil, Water and Environmental Science