DELFIN Students Do Research at Bellevue University

Six junior- and senior-level college students from Latin American countries spent time at Bellevue University this summer participating in research projects with University students and faculty, and experiencing life in the United States. 

It was all possible thanks to Bellevue University's participation in DELFIN, a network of academic institutions in five Latin American countries that is designed to enhance undergraduate research, expand students’ international perspectives and open the door to faculty collaborations.  

The students and their research projects included:

• Delgado Ortega Jazmín Azucena - “Unveiling the secrets of Mono Lake's extreme environment through characterization and genomic analysis of extremophilic bacterial species”
• Ibarra Zamudio Jose Saul - “Metagenomic analysis of soil microbial health after glyphosate (Roundup) treatment” 
• Martinez Yesenia - “Genomic analysis of new bacterial species from extreme environments”
• Peña Durán Emiliano - “Poly I:C-induced cell death following CRISPR Cas9 knockout of IRF3 in B16 melanoma cells”
• Ramirez Oxte Hannia Nahomi - “Using sound to detect machine damage: Impact of observer experience”
• Vieyra Vega Montserrat - “Unveiling the secrets of Mono Lake's extreme environment through characterization and genomic analysis of extremophilic bacterial species"

Bellevue University is one of just a handful of American universities that is a member of DELFIN, which stands for the Inter-Institutional Program for Strengthening of Research and Graduate Studies in the Pacific. The University of Nebraska at Kearney was the first U.S. member of the DELFIN program and houses the United States DELFIN chapter. 

DELFIN includes more than 200 academic institutions and research centers across Mexico, has been established with chapters in Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Peru, and students travel to countries such as Germany, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, South Korea, Costa Rica, Cuba, Spain, United States, England, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay. Since DELFIN began in 1995, more than 55,000 students have participated alongside faculty in research projects.

“We’re energized by the opportunities that DELFIN represents,” said Julie Verebely, Director, Global Partnerships at Bellevue University. “We have strong relationships with educational partners in a variety of different countries and our joining DELFIN builds on those connections and creates even more opportunities for our students and our faculty to have wonderful experiences.”