UNMC students make global contacts at international forum

UNMC participants in June’s International Student Forum in Tokyo were, from left: back row — Lynn Roy, Megan Kozisek, Ph.D., and Nathan Erdmann; front row — Jialin Zheng, M.D., Kalyan Nannuru, Sonal Tuljapurkar, Michael Mulhern, Xiang Yi, Daniel Flaherty, Karen Kassel, Ph.D., Angruaj Sadanandam, Ph.D., and Tsuneya Ikezu, M.D. (Photo by Keith Swarts)

Talking HIV treatments over a beer with a medical student from Japan, listening to a Chinese graduate student’s presentation on wing-expansion defects in silkworms, discussing the impact of Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsusaka joining the Boston Red Sox and eating sushi at 5 a.m. in the world’s largest fish market.

These were some of the experiences UNMC students took from the International Student Forum in Tokyo in June.

For the second-straight year, ten UNMC students took part in the forum, which included students from The Institute of Medical Science at The University of Tokyo, the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and from the University of California, San Francisco. The previous year the forum was in Beijing.

“This has been a fantastic chance to see other parts of the world,” said Nathaniel Erdmann, a UNMC M.D./Ph.D. student who attended both the Tokyo and Beijing forums. “The conference also has provided some great perspective on research worldwide. It was amusing to hear how similar the research experience is halfway across the world.”

During the conference, students presented on their research interests, discussed their work with international peers and also shared bits of their respective cultures.

The conferences have provided a tremendous opportunity for students to develop overseas contacts, Erdmann said, particularly the Tokyo conference, which included several opportunities for the students to talk casually about their research and other topics.

The trip to Tokyo was the first time traveling abroad for Dan Flaherty, a graduate student in the College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Like Erdmann, Flaherty enjoyed talking with the students from other countries and seeing the global similarities in the experience of graduate student.

They’ll always have Tokyo … Click here to see blog entries from UNMC students about their trip to the International Student Forum in Tokyo.

“It was very positive for me as far as meeting other students from different parts of the world,” Flaherty said. “It showed me how my peers from these countries deal with the same issues as graduate students as I do here in Nebraska.

Learning about the research of the other students also was very interesting, Flaherty said.

“There was a wide spectrum of subjects covered,” he said. “I also observed students from different universities offering advice on .what they thought could help a presenter in his or her work.”

The plain old small talk among students was very enjoyable, too.

“We spoke about everything from the Olympics coming to Beijing in 2008 to what the Japanese thought of Daisuke Matsusaka coming to America to pitch for the Boston Red Sox,” Flaherty said,

During one social mixer, Erdmann and a Japanese student began discussing HIV treatment. Having the ability to hold such conversations with international students was very valuable, Erdmann said.

Letting UNMC students see what’s going on at other school around the world as well as forge international contacts are key reasons the medical center participates in the forum, said Jialin Zheng, M.D., associate professor in the UNMC departments of pharmacology/experimental neuroscience and pathology/microbiology and director of the Asia Pacific Rim Development Program (APRDP). The APRDP office coordinates the selection of UNMC forum delegates each year.

“With the pace of technology advancement and medical developments worldwide, it’s important that our students develop an international perspective,” Dr. Zheng said. “Also, building international networks can be invaluable for medical professionals as they advance in their careers.

“I also wanted to thank UNMC Graduate Council Members for their valuable time and effort for judging students abstracts and selection of outstanding representatives from UNMC to attend these important meetings,” Dr. Zheng said. “Student organizers Megan Lavicky (2007) and Nathan Erdmann (2007 and 2006) and Abbey Maul (2006) have also done a wonderful job.”

Don Leuenberger, vice chancellor of business and finance, said participating in such forums is beneficial to the medical center on many levels, he said.

“The research experience is international. It is of critical importance that UNMC students have an opportunity top participate in venues with top-ranking international institutions such as The Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tokyo University Medical Center. These are our students’ future collaborators,” Leuenberger said. “The forums also provide an opportunity to showcase UNMC and the world class educational and research experience we offer.”