Panama!

Sleepless in Seattle New Jersey

The day before, all of us were busy with activities from our main jobs, we know the cab is picking us up from Cambridge and they will take us to the airport.

Focus

We think to ourselves because everyone is doing their part. UKHSA arranged the logistics, Cambridge Bioinformatics Training prepared the course materials, and us trainers covered said materials to make sure everything ran as intended.

But we still tickle because of the trip, we still have some hesitation as to how much we actually know, mentally preparing for all the potential questions the participants have for us. Pack your bags, go to sleep, bring a book, make sure you get some rest, tomorrow, tomorrow will be a great day.

The cab takes us (Carolin, Chandra and I) to Heathrow, checking-in, security check, passport control and boarding, business as usual. We fly for eight hours, the flight takes its toll but we still put a smile on our faces because today, today we'll do our part to make the world a better place.

  

Meet the team

Chandra Chilamakuri, Victor Flores, Samuel Sims, Carolin Sauer, Angelika Kritz, Yaiza Gutierrez, not so much in common except the fact that we're a team, we don't see colour, we don't see age, we don't see status, everyone is an expert in something and we all weight the same in the big scheme of things.

 

It's funny and sad at the same time, to think that in many cases you have egos involved in training courses, but not here. The first time I trained with Sam and Carolin, I was a bit worried that we couldn't work together as a team, nothing far from reality, we complemented each other and I can safely say the same about Chandra and Yaiza.

 

I wonder to what extent luck is involved... do I consider myself a lucky person? of course, chances of working with such amazing people are slim, and I'm really glad I'm one of the lucky ones.

The course

The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) organised a course on Bioinformatics for  Genomic Surveillance of SARS-CoV2, we had participants from 12 countries: Barbados, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay. We were provided a service of live translation, audio-visual support and catering for one week of intensive training in bioinformatics.

For many, the days of the pandemic are long gone, most of us want to forget that we were deprived of two years of our lives, some people were deprived of all their years in their lives... but we managed to overcome the pandemic, we managed to understand our deadly invader, we managed to develop the tools and resources to keep it at bay.

 

It is interesting to realise that for one week, we were doing the same things we do in Cambridge, sitting in front of a computer, typing commands to process biological data to make sense of it and to report to a higher authority, yet, during the same week, all the participants, all the trainers, all the organisers and all the lecturers were in charge of keeping a deadly virus at bay.

Chandra

When we picture the typical accomplished scientist in Mexico, we usually think of quirky or arrogant people, sometimes both. It doesn't help that at least for old-school scientist in Mexico that used to be the template. The moment you become a scientist and get to know other peers, you realise we're human, and Chandra is among the most humane scientists I've ever met.

He grew up in India, and he has a history to which many of us can relate. He is the kind of person who knows he is brilliant, but that does not make him any less humble, he enjoys doing science, he enjoys teaching, you can talk to him about everything and nothing, all at the same time. I was not expecting to make a new friend along the way, but I guess they picked us as trainers for a reason, we are people-persons.

Everyone has their own teaching style, Chandra is very thorough. In maths it is widely known that the order of the factors, does not affect the product, and I think the same applies to our course, Chandra, Carolin and I can potentially be shuffled, the end result would be the same but with different flavours along the way.

Carolin

As a bioinformatician, I'm almost forced to use the R programming language but I really dislike it. For more than 10 years I refused to learn R, always finding alternatives in every possible language, including old timers such as perl.

 

Are we not talking about Carolin?

 

Of course, it takes a great teacher to make a student learn, and that's exactly what Carolin does. It wasn't until I met her that I learnt R, and I'm more than confident when I say, that if Carolin can make me learn R, she can teach pretty much any biology related subject to her students. Just as Chandra, she is very thorough, always anticipating potential issues in the course, and always ready to help whoever needs help.

She is young, brilliant and accomplished, she has a bright future in science. I told one of my friends about her, and my friend's response was:

Go Carolin! Let's shatter the glass ceiling!

I have known Carolin for two years now, and to say that I admire her, is a big understatement.

 

Victor

I started training this course with my good friend Hugo Tavares from Cambridge Bioinformatics Training. The classroom is my natural environment, I may not be the best athlete, or the best researcher and I only know a handful of cooking recipes. But put me in the classroom with a laptop, a whiteboard and a microphone and I'm like a fish in the water.

 

We are not on holiday, but Carolin and I take days off from our jobs, mostly for ethical reasons, but for me it's also about enjoying my time teaching abroad.

 

Get the microphone, have a sip of water, share your screen and get ready, the stage is yours

When I think about bands like Judas Priest or Iron Maiden, playing most of their oldest songs in every concert, I wonder, do they get tired of playing the same song?

 

By no means I'm comparing myself to such legendary bands, but I can safely say there are things you can do tirelessly and joyfully every single time... for me, it is definitely teaching.

Sam

Samuel Sims is quite an interesting character, I have spent time only three weeks of my life with him, and I started admiring him since day two of the first week. He's no more than 25 years old, and he's already doing most than the average to make the world a better place. Knowledgeable in music, bioinformatics, literature, food, places to visit, all while having a smile on his face.

Sam is part of the UKSHA team, working in various workshops for public health, a young promise with whom I wish I get to keep on working.

Panama!

On Sunday morning we check in to the hotel, take some rest and get to plan the day ahead. We have only one day to explore the city, it is more than enough, we make every minute count and we treasure the moment. Panama is an interesting city because of its multicultural history.

 

It is a city full of contrasts, "Casco Viejo" is just half an hour away from Panama City, and in turn, Panama City is just hours away from jungle and rainforest landscapes. On top of that, or rather, across all of that, they have the Panama Canal, an impressive man made maritime route.

It is difficult to pay attention to everything that is happening in the city, there's always someone running, someone cycling, someone selling raspados, someone playing tropical music, someone going to their laboratories running molecular tests to detect COVID19 cases, there's always a ship crossing the canal. Panama is a sensory overload experience.

When UKHSA announced that Panama was going to be the host country for the course, I was wondering why they didn't pick Mexico or Colombia or Argentina, given that they are bigger countries with potentially more resources to host such a course. I'm glad they picked Panama and Panama City, for not only it is a safe city, it is an entity on its own.

 

Happiness

I may not be where I want to be, but if I look back, I'm very far from where I started

 

During the training week, Carolin, Chandra and I, realised the course was going more than OK, the participants were very active, we didn't have technical issues, the organisers made sure we enjoyed our stay, I received good news about job opportunities, but most importantly, I was surrounded by people I love, respect and admire.

It was rather easy to let myself go, to realise I was having one of the best days in my life, Carolin noticed that, and she caught me with a smile the size of the world.

If I could say something to my younger self, that would be:

 

The best is yet to come, do your best and enjoy your time

Once more, with feeling

It all started in December 2022, the first international course was held in Singapore. Carolin and I were a lot bit terrified at the idea of teaching bioinformatics to delegates from multiple countries, even more so given that they were the public health representatives in their own countries. We watched the people in suits arriving to the opening ceremony and we were living mostly out of adrenaline but it all went well at the end.

 

For the course in Trinidad and Tobago, we were more relaxed, more confident, but no less excited to being able to give the best of ourselves to the participants. We met the Mexican ambassador in Trinidad, we met people doing environmental science for containing algal blooms, to say that we were just training is an underestimation the size of the world.

 

 

The next two courses took place in Abu Dhabi and in Ghana, Chandra, Katy and Jiayin were the lead trainers, the participants were happy with the courses and UKHSA secured one more course for genomic surveillance: Panama 2024.

Suffice it to say that the three of us were in a very different place than back in Singapore 2022, we no longer lived out of adrenaline, but the excitement was still there, once more, with truckloads of feeling!

 

Mixed feelings

I am a very happy bioinformatician born and raised in Mexico, but now living and working in the UK. Having the chance to travel doing what I love, brings a lot of fulfilment and joy, but this course was somehow different.

 

Despite we had a live translation service, in more than one occasion, either Yaiza or myself needed to jump in to the conversation between the participants and the trainers due to their language barrier. The trainers had no obligation to know Spanish, after all, they already know more than one language, their mother tongue and English, but language education is not accessible to everyone in Latin America.

It felt good to train again in Spanish, I felt appreciated seeing many raised hands during the practicals... but it felt sad, and disappointing, and helpless, to realise that if it wasn't for the language, this course would have been close to perfection.

I came to the UK partly for the wrong reasons, science in Mexico is severely neglected by the government. We have tons of talent, we have people who enjoy doing science, we have people who are creative, resilient, resourceful, driven and committed.

Although I am proud of my education, the people I know, my teachers, my friends and my family, by no means I am proud of my country and what it represents. Still, I kept thinking during the whole course that I wish I came to Panama holding the Mexican flag instead of the British one.

Talent knows no country, the team consisted of people from Austria, England, Germany, India, Mexico and Spain, but we were representing the UK, we were passively sending the message that the knowledge, resources and capabilities come from the land of fish and chips, and to some extent it is true, but had we been holding a different flag, we could be sending the message that knowledge can come from anywhere.

Sadly, it is true that science is neglected in many Latin American countries, so, even if I were to assemble a group of the most talented scientist in Mexico, we probably wouldn't receive support from our government, the same way we received support from the UK government.

 

On the last day of the course we saw a group of hungry raccoons, readily accepting food from local by-passers, Sam noticed that the raccoons look kind of sad, despite their joyful approach to their human feeders.

 

 

I think I can relate to that feeling, and I really wish science in Mexico and other Latin American countries can achieve the recognition it has in other countries like the UK, we do have the talent, we do have the knowledge and, we do have the tools, but we don't have the support, and we need to rely on external sources to get it.

 

Mixed feelings

All in all, I am extremely happy about the whole experience, because as I mentioned earlier, had it not been for the language barrier, the course would have been close to perfection.

 

I got to spend time doing what I enjoy the most, with people I love, people I admire, people with whom I make a great team, and that ultimately bring a smile to my face and joy to my life.