For the last five weeks we had guests in our lab coming from different places of the country: Tepic (west), León (Center) and Mexico City (Right in the middle!). During those five weeks they worked in the field of computational chemistry helping our research efforts with a couple of drug carrying molecules. They learned about computational chemistry and drug design; about wavefunctions and density functionals; about population analysis and vibrational frequency analysis. Dead hours were a bit complicated to handle because the convergence of each calculation takes some time and, as opposed to a wet-chemistry lab, I couldn’t just ask them to purify starting materials or distillate solvents. A question to other theoretical/computational chemists: What could I have asked young undergrad students (with backgrounds ranging from engineering to pharmacy) to do during those dead hours? What did I do wrong? Anyway, they manage to spend a good time since they all got along quite well.
Now they are back to their hometowns getting ready for the congress, hosted by the same organization that awarded them the stipend to come and spend their summer with us (The Dolphin Program / Programa Delfín) as well as to going back to school in a few more weeks. I asked* them to write a guest post for the blog telling their experience, which is presented below. Thanks to you all for choosing our lab to get your internship this summer!
Javier Camacho (Mexico City)
Hi, I’m Javier from ESIQIE-IPN
The dolphin program has given me the opportunity to experience how is to be in a high-level scientific research. Login to CCIQS next to the imminent Dr. Joaquin Barroso Flores, left me a pleasant experience. The great contribution that gives this line of research has allowed me to meet new horizons, beyond the area of engineering, to which I belong.
The theoretical chemistry and computational chemistry together, are a great weapon to develop virtual optimizations that allow us to find drug transport agents, without making the vast amount of laboratory tests that are required. Explaining that this is one of the many applications that can be used.
To undertake this experience has left me very satisfied, be guiding a person who likes his work and want to show what he knows, it makes me very happy. After these long weeks of work and perseverance, with certainty affirm the interesting and productive it is to be part of the investigation in Mexico.
I thank the Dolphin Program, gives CCIQS the UAEM-UNAM and Dr. Joaquin for opening the doors to this great opportunity to start my story as a researcher.
Paulina Pintado (Tepic, Nayarit)
Hi my name’s Paulina and I came as part of Dolphin Research Program that gives the opportunity of participates in a real work of investigation with a professional at the topic. In this occasion I came to work with Ph.D. Joaquin Barroso in a small project of his line of research; namely theoretical drug carriers design. In this six weeks besides to learn more aspects about my career, in this case Theoretical Chemistry applied to pharmaceutical industry; I tested the experience of travel to another town just by myself, live with people from different parts of the country with distinct customs and visit few places of the town.
This summer will always be memorable ‘cause this internship is an important event for my professional experience and also for my personal development and I hope many others students have the courage to try get into the world of scientific research.
So just remains for me to thank to Ph.D. Joaquin Barroso for giving me the chance to do this internship in his lab I hope you continue having success in your work, I feel pretty glad to met him and my others research’s mates.
Daniel Carteño (Mexico City)
Ey my name’s Daniel and this summer of 2013 i had been the opportunity to do a research internship in Toluca under P.H.D. Joaquin Barroso, and during this period of time I´ve learnt a bit about His research work, not only this is an important experience for my educational history, but it also is for my personal life. Learnt about theoretical chemistry open my vision of this discipline, because when I thought about chemistry I´ve never imagine a computational laboratory, this the most important part, nowadays the researches have been removed due to they are so expensive and finally the conclusion is not expected, when you use a super computer like me and my work team used, it doesn’t matter if you have a mistake or do something wrong, only you have to write again the keywords and the only thing you spend is time. Even in Mexico theoretical chemistry is not famous in my opinion is a useful work tool. This research internship was highly satisfactory and hope do it again i´m glad
*Their contributions were completely voluntary and no editing of their original texts has been made.
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