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| John Moraros |
by Marcie King
While performing his clinical rotations as a medical student at the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (UACJ) in Chihuahua, Mexico, Dr. John Moraros was touched by the tragic state of some of the pregnant women who had experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). Many of these women returned repeatedly to the emergency room and the majority refused to take advantage of support services for fear of retribution.
When he came to NMSU to pursue graduate studies in public health, Moraros used this experience for the basis of his research. He received funding for his research from the Paso del Norte Foundation.
Moraros’ thesis on the nature and extent of victimization of pregnant women in Ciudad Juárez had some surprising and disturbing findings. Approximately one-fourth of the women he surveyed experienced some form of violence during their pregnancies. The strongest determinants for abuse were low socioeconomic status, low educational level and partner alcohol/substance abuse.
“IPV affects women from all cultural and demographic levels, even though it is most commonly reported among the disadvantaged and the impoverished,” Moraros says. “The public often perceives IPV as an isolated and independent act, when in fact, it is an actual process by which the batterer exercises continuous control over his victim’s life.”
Despite these grim conclusions, Moraros believes that social change is possible through increased public awareness. Working with fellow graduate students from the Department of Public Health in NMSU’s College of Health and Social Services, Moraros spearheaded a public health campaign that was aimed at increasing community awareness about IPV in the Paso del Norte region. The students displayed posters in buses, handed out brochures, participated in health fairs, gave presentations and used a variety of media outlets to raise awareness of the issue.
The Society of Public Health Education recognized Moraros’ efforts by awarding him its 2004 Student Scholar Award. He also received the Outstanding Graduating Master’s Student Award from NMSU upon completion of his Master’s in Public Health degree in December. Moraros now plans to pursue a doctorate in molecular biology and is rotating through the laboratories of several NMSU faculty members to identify a dissertation topic of interest. In the meantime, he has received additional funding from the Paso del Norte Foundation to investigate IPV during pregnancy and its association with low birth weight and premature births.
Moraros believes that the U.S.-Mexico border region has a lot of scientific potential and hopes to see future collaborative efforts between NMSU and UACJ. “We need to work together and learn from each other if we intend to improve the quality of life on the border,” he says.
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| Berenice Carrillo |
by Rachel Gallagher
When Berenice Carrillo was 4, she told her mother she wanted to be a pediatrician when she grew up.
“I always thought physicians were great because they cured people and I wanted to experience that type of work and see the gratification in a child’s eyes,” she says.
Carrillo kept that dream alive until she came to New Mexico State University, where her plans took another route.
“When I met (biochemistry professor) Glenn Kuehn, I realized that I didn’t have to be a medical doctor to cure people,” she says. “I could also conduct research and find the cause of a particular disease and maybe even the cure.”
This year, the senior from Chaparral, New Mexico, is graduating with a degree in biochemistry and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in the field. She credits much of her success to the Minorities Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program at NMSU.
“I knew that if I got into the MARC Program I would gain experience and see what research was all about,” Carrillo says.
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences established the MARC Program in 1975 to increase the numbers of underrepresented minorities in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. The program at NMSU has been funded since 1977, during which time more than 180 students have participated. Of that group, 70 percent have gone on to receive postgraduate degrees.
Carrillo says the program helped her prepare for graduate school, conduct research at premier institutions and travel to present research projects at national conferences.
Last summer, Carrillo, whose major research interests include virology and cancer, did an internship at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. She researched hormone receptors with some of the premier scientists in the field, and says this research could lead to new prostate cancer treatments.
“It seems there could be a way of inhibiting the growth of prostate cancer by altering one of the proteins that helps with the binding of testosterone to the receptor,” Carrillo says. “Testosterone is responsible for the growth of the prostate, so by preventing testosterone from binding to its receptor, we would be able to prevent the growth of the prostate and, in this case, cancer itself.”
Michael Johnson, director of NMSU’s MARC Program, says Carrillo impresses him each day.
“Her drive and persistence in her work are evident in her productivity and potential as an upcoming scientist,” he says. “Couple all this with the fact that she is a single mother, which simply leaves me astounded at her ability to balance her academics, work and family. She is truly a wonderful addition to our MARC program as well as the university as a whole.”
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