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This is a guest post from Cristiana Santos de Macedo, a Research Fellow from the Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, who works with Faculty Member Carlos Morel in the Global Health section of the Public Health & Epidemiology Faculty at F1000Prime. Here, Cristiana tells us of her experiences with the Brazilian Government scholarship program Ciência sem Fronteiras (Science without Borders) and the opportunities it gave her for her research into leprosy.

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The ’Science without Borders’ program was launched by the Brazilian government in 2011, and aims to strengthen scientific and technological development in Brazil through the exchange of researchers, sending Brazilian students abroad, and receiving foreign researchers to work in Brazilian institutions. It offers opportunities at all levels, from undergraduate students to visiting professors. I was very fortunate to be offered a fellowship with this program – here’s how I came to be involved with Science without Borders and why I think that fellow scholars should look into their eligibility for the program.

At the end of 2011, I was getting to know MALDI imaging (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization) Imaging Mass Spectrometry, a mass spectrometry technique consisting of the molecular analysis of tissues directly from tissue sections, where the analytes can range from elements to lipids to proteins. This analysis allows not only the identification of compounds, but it also retains information about their spatial distribution. It caught my attention because of the numerous application possibilities, which would help my newly started research on leprosy lipidomics at Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, working together with Dr Maria Cristina Vidal Pessolani.

“…there are great opportunities to produce and exchange knowledge, which is what science is all about.”

As I talked with Dr Carlos Morel about my research ideas, he mentioned that the ‘Science without Borders’ program would grant fellowships through the National Institutes of Science and Technology. In order to receive one of these, I would need to contact a group abroad, write a research project, and get an acceptance letter from this group. Dr Marcio Rodrigues, another F1000Prime Associate Member with Dr Morel, introduced me to Dr Maurizio Del Poeta, who came to Brazil as a consultant for the CDTS, and Dr Kevin Schey, his collaborator and the Director of the Proteomics Core from the Mass Spectrometry Research Center (MSRC) at Vanderbilt University, who agreed to receive me at his lab. I went on to write the research project on MALDI Imaging studies on leprosy. With all the paperwork done, Dr Morel nominated me to receive the fellowship. It took a short time to receive the positive response to say I had been accepted on the program, and that I had been granted a six-month stay at Vanderbilt University.

The only remaining step was to obtain a J-1 visa as a Research Scholar. The visa expenses are not covered by the ’Science without Borders’ program. This might be a problem for some families, since the expense of the visa itself, as well as that of traveling to cities where there’s an American Embassy or Consulate, could be an issue. Sometimes I tried to get in touch with CNPq (the National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development), either from Brazil or abroad, and I wasn’t successful. In this sense, there are still some minor problems, but I believe the agency is still adapting to the very high number of people abroad receiving fellowships.

IIn October 2012, I started my work at the Vanderbilt University. The MSRC was the best working place I could wish for, in every sense: very helpful and friendly staff and all the necessary expertise and equipment to learn MALDI Imaging Mass Spectrometry. Through this, I got a great dataset on lipid imaging in leprosy, which holds many novel discoveries in the field. Furthermore, a bridge for future collaborations was built between FIOCRUZ and MSRC/Vanderbilt University, which will further allow the exchange of researchers and knowledge. Later, I intend to establish MALDI Imaging Mass Spectrometry at CDTS, in order to continue my research on leprosy lipidomics and also to embark on other research projects that might benefit from this technique.

In conclusion, my experience met the objectives of ‘Science without Borders’ program in every sense, and I highly recommend Brazilian students and researchers from abroad to apply, as there are great opportunities to produce and exchange knowledge, which is what science is all about.

The UK arm of Science without Borders can be found at Sciencewithoutborders.international.ac.uk