Favour Obuseh, right, inside the MIT lab with his research supervisor Khan Osman.
(Aug. 28, 2019) -- The acceptance rate for MIT is 7.9%. That’s less than one in 10 students who apply and get in. Yet, Favour Obuseh, a junior this fall at UTSA, managed to snag a prestigious research internship position at the highly competitive institution.
He’s in good company. After all, MIT was home to the founders of Dropbox, graduated astronaut Buzz Aldrin, educated heads of state including Kofi Anan and even trained the next generation of female scientists such as Katie Bouman—the brain behind the CHIRP algorithm that captured the first image of a black hole.
This summer, the UTSA student walked the same Cambridge hallways where those pioneers honed their skills.
“From day one, I was intimidated by the level of intelligence exhibited by the members of the Niles Lab,” recalls Obuseh about how nerves got the better of him on the first time he entered the MIT laboratory this summer. “Initially, I forgot how to pipette, and I couldn't do basic dilution calculations.”
However, Obuseh credits Khan Osman, his MIT research mentor, as the rock that allowed him to regain his perspective and believe that he had the capabilities to succeed.
“Favour’s youthfulness and energy brought smiles on all of us, from the first day he joined our lab,” said Osman. “His enthusiasm was contagious and his curiosity helped solve some of the key problems of the project.”
Favour presents his research at the MIT summer research conference.
At MIT, Obuseh tapped the research experience he gained in a UTSA biomedical engineering lab, where he worked on solutions to help with bone tissue regeneration by building blood vessels in scaffolds. The acceptance of the MIT challenge and his own training at UTSA allowed him to stay grounded during his hands-on East Coast internship.
He worked a wide array of proteins that are thought to ensure the survival of Plasmodium Falciparum during its parasitic life cycle. Plasmodium Falciparum, the deadliest human malaria-causing parasite, utilizes various proteins that are hard to express and have unknown functions. Obuseh’s examined different protein expression systems and performed initial experiments to biophysically characterize the proteins.
“We have successfully expressed two P. falciparum proteins and begun defining their thermal stability profiles which can potentially be used to screen for small molecule binding for these two P. falciparum proteins,” he said. “The progress we made in this research will bring us closer to understanding the functions of these proteins and potentially identify a novel antimalarial drug.”
This UTSA student is grateful for his MIT experience.
“Moving out of your comfort zone is always essential for growth. How well one can adapt to a different research and learning environment says a lot about your ability to collaborate,” said Obuseh.
Today, he’s back on our campus and ready to take on the fall semester. He will resume his research role in the laboratory of the Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, Eric Brey, working on tissue engineering. Obuseh will also pursue additional outreach efforts in San Antonio as the new president of the Biomedical Engineering Society at UTSA.
“I’m really grateful to God for the MIT experience. Also, for UTSA. Here, I have professors and peers that genuinely care for my success,” said Obuseh. “Now that the MIT summer research program is over, I could see myself going back there to pursue my Ph.D.”
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The Racial Justice Book Club was established at UTSA by members of the campus community to explore social justice following acts of racial violence across the nation over the last few years. We are reading The Injustice Never Leaves You: Anti-Mexican Violence in Texas by Monica Muñoz Martinez. We will meet every Wednesday in September and October at 2 pm on Zoom.
Virtual EventCelebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at our very own street fair - Calle UTSA. We will have activities, performances, food, music, and piñatas to break open.
Student Union Paseo"La Plática" is a space for thoughtful dialogue to build a sense of connection among the Roadrunner Community by getting to know each other better and sharing what's on our minds and about ourselves to increase to increase awareness of diverse perspectives.
Virtual EventThis September 30, the Friday Series will feature Prof. Milena Ang, who will be presenting A Tren to Nowhere: Statistic Development and the Politics of Racial, a paper co-authored with Tania Islas-Weistein where they discuss Mexico's long history of state-led development projects that contribute to economic and racial inequality. The authors argue that despite professing racial justice, official discourses surrounding the Tren Maya reproduce existing symbolic and material forms of racism.
McKinney Humanities (MH 4.01.01,) Main CampusWe invite you to learn about the process of screenwriting and explore the intersection of identity and pursuing dreams from Jorge Ramirez-Martinez and Raymond Perez, screenwriters for the Selena: The Series, released on Netflix. They will discuss their careers and writing process, including how their identities as Mexican American and gay men have shaped their professional experiences.
Virtual EventPlease join us in remembering those who have entered the next part of life by designing a nicho box in their memory. This workshop will provide the necessary items to create your nicho box, though please remember to bring a photo or small object that can fit in a 3.5 x5x1 inch box (small jewelry box).
John Peace Library GroupSpot B, Main CampusCome celebrate the end of Hispanic Heritage Month with La Comunidad at The University of Texas at San Antonio. We will have food, games and dancing!
H-E-B Student Union Ballroom 1 & 2, Main CampusThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education.
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to ending generations of discrimination and inequity. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
