AL I A N Z A S

Texas A&M University - CONACyT: Collaborative Research Grant Program • 2007

en Investigación

Diabetes detection medical technology

undergoing clinical trials in Mexico.
Welcome to ALIANZAS en Investigación, which highlights the successes of the
research alliance between Texas A&M University and Mexico’s Consejo Nacional
de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACyT). The Texas A&M University-CONACyT: 2 The
CONACyT
Continuum

6
Collaborative Research Grant Program marks a significant place in the strong
history between a Texas university with a commitment to others and a Mexican
government body with much of the same goals – improve lives, ensure economic
stability and make a difference for the future. Diabetes Detection
aided by
The original grant program spans five years. Those five years have been marked
with numerous successes that have truly changed lives in Mexico and Texas. This Digital Imaging
publication is a celebration to mark the progress the two friends have had, and I am

10
very pleased to share these stories.

In 2000, officials signed detailed documents, reviewers polished contracts, and

photos marked the occasion. But the real work and fun was yet to come. The vision of the Texas A&M–CONACyT: The Best
Collaborative Research Grant Program was just beginning, but the leaders of research at Texas A&M and CONACyT of Both Worlds
knew the possibilities. Researchers were given the opportunity to work with each other across the border. They

12
applied for grants up to $24,000 to seed their research and make it grow. The first year many researchers applied;
each team with at least one Texas A&M researcher and one CONACyT researcher. From that group, 15 grants were
awarded. Congratulations were offered, and the work began.
Vol. 1, No. 1
The first year everyone learned a great deal about the process and ways to improve. The researchers offered
ALIANZAS en Investigación is published by the
Altered States
feedback, and the program grew stronger. From that first year, proposals have improved and the competition has
Office of the Vice President for Research at Texas
increased. This year 17 teams were awarded to bring the total of awards to 78 for the life of the agreement. You can A&M University to highlight the breadth and
see a list of all of the awards given during the program in the back of this publication. depth of research being conducted through the
Texas A&M University-CONACyT: Collaborative

14
Each year, the program sees new faces and some familiar ones. Each time with a focus on the future and Research Grant Program. Integra, the font used in
this publication was designed by Gabriel Martinez
improving research within Texas and Mexico. Some may call it a romantic notion to believe that their work will
make a difference, but it can be called true in the case of this grant program. I look forward to the continuation of the
program and the future successes. Thank you for spending time learning about how Texas A&M and CONACyT are
Meave, type designer and director of the Kimera
Typefoundry/Mexico. Cover image credit: Michael
Brown/Shutterstock Images.
Cave Men
working to accomplish new and exciting futures in research for both countries.

18
Julia K. Barker
Assistant Vice President for Research

Sincerely,
312 Jack K. Williams Administration Building
Texas A&M University
Forging Futures for
College Station, Texas 77843-1112
j-barker@tamu.edu Fishes
Victor Gabriel Fernandez
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Technologia
Av. Constituyentes 1046, Col. Lomas Altas

21
C.P.: 11950, Mexico, D.F.
conacyt@tamu.edu
Grant Award
Richard E. Ewing Editor.................... Tiffany Inbody Listings
Vice President for Research
Texas A&M University Designer....................Susan Wolff

Writers.................... Mike Downey

Vicky Sexton Holder
Kara Bounds Socol

http://conacyt.tamu.edu
979.845.8585
 As the recipient of Texas A&M-CONACyT grants in 2002, 2003
and 2004, Dr. L. Garry Adams has reason to be grateful for
the funding provided for his research. But even more importantly, he says, he
is thankful for the lifelong relationships the grants continue to foster among
researchers and graduate students at Texas A&M University and institutions in
Mexico.
“It is those exchanges that forge strong research linkages that continue for
years,” says Adams, professor of veterinary pathobiology and associate dean of
research at Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “And when you work
with graduate students together, those are lifelong bonds.”
Dr. José Angel Gutiérrez-Pabello, professor of bacteriology and mycology at
the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, agrees.
In 2002, Gutiérrez-Pabello and Adams began a multiyear bovine
tuberculosis project. A Texas A&M-CONACyT grant is not only allowing the
researchers to look for a solution to a serious health problem but also enabling
one of Gutiérrez-Pabello’s graduate students to work full-time on the project,
which will involve research alongside Adams at Texas A&M.
Texas A&M-CONACyT grants therefore facilitate much more than an
exchange of information: They encourage an actual physical exchange of
scientists and graduate students. And those relationships create ties with other
scientists and graduate students that multiply over time. As Adams puts it, “It’s a
continuum of linkages of graduate education and research.”
Adams says the variety of Mexican researchers with whom he partners is
determined by the organism he is researching. He considers the expertise of the
scientist as well as the region where the organism is prevalent.
Adams’ 2003 Texas A&M-CONACyT grant, for instance, involved a research
partnership with Dr. Ricardo Gomez-Flores, professor of immunology at the
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL). Their project evaluated the
fluorescence polarization assay (FPA) as a screening test for brucellosis in goats.
Brucellosis is a chronic, infectious disease that often leads to spontaneous
abortions. Although brucellosis in livestock has been virtually eradicated in the
Gerrit Greve/CORBIS United States, it is endemic and widely dispersed throughout Mexico.

Grants serve as catalysts for future research

Gomez-Flores says that in conventional tests used to detect brucellosis in
goats, thousands of misdiagnosed animals are killed each year and millions of
dollars are wasted. FPA screenings, which detect brucella antibodies quickly,

The accurately and cost-effectively, avoid that risk. The results from his and Adams’
Texas A&M-CONACyT research demonstrated the effectiveness of FPA on
goats, he says. The two researchers are now investigating brucellosis detection in

CONACyT
humans by using this same test.
“Thanks to this grant, we have significantly advanced in the field and
published a manuscript,” Gomez-Flores says. “In addition, the experience
from the grant helped a UANL Ph.D. student complete his academic and
scientific credits and present two posters in Brucellosis International Research
conferences.”
Adams and Gutiérrez-Pabello’s bovine tuberculosis project deals with a
disease that affects both animal and human populations along the U.S.–Mexico
border. The project Gutiérrez-Pabello is undertaking with Adams strives to both

by Kara Bounds Socol

-ALIANZAS en Investigación
Continuum ALIANZAS en Investigación-
 better understand the origin and effects of the disease
and develop a diagnostic tool to identify natural disease
resistance in cattle. Specifically, the researchers and their
graduate students are trying to find different patterns of
gene expression among cattle that resist the disease and
those that are susceptible to it.
“Bovine tuberculosis is a very prevalent disease in
Mexico,” Gutiérrez-Pabello explains. “Our findings may
add another tool to control it.”
Like his work with Gomez-Flores, Adams’ 2004
Texas A&M-CONACyT grant focused on brucellosis
in goats. Adams partnered with Dr. Alberto Morales
Loredo of Mexico’s National Institute of Forestry,
Agricultural and Animal Research (INIFAP) and
Instituto Tecnológica de Estudios Superiores Monterrey.
The researchers are exploring a vaccine that would
protect goats against both brucellosis and orf.
Adams says a specific benefit of working with
researchers in Mexico is access to research subjects.
At Texas A&M, he says, his laboratory is equipped to
study a wide range of pathogens. But in Mexico, he has
the opportunity to work with actual humans who suffer
from the conditions he’s studying. Diagnostic tests are
therefore generated in Mexico, he says, with instruments
developed in the United States.
Adams stresses that he could not undertake these
research projects without the experience and expertise
of his Mexican counterparts. “There is no superior group
or inferior group,” he says of the Texas A&M-CONACyT
research. “This is a partnership.”
Adams hopes the relationships he and his graduate
students have forged with researchers in Mexico will
eventually result in the global eradication of both
brucellosis and tuberculosis. Brucellosis is still prevalent
in 120 countries, he says, whereas tuberculosis can be
found in even more. It’s through these types of grants
that researchers are encouraged to share their expertise
and apply it to help those afflicted.
“We try to bring our research back down to the
animal on the farm,” Adams says, “as well as to the
people it affects.”

Lawrence Manning/CORBIS
-ALIANZAS en Investigación ALIANZAS en Investigación-
 What

Diabetes
began in 2003 as collaborative basic research
among computer science researchers in
Mexico and Texas A&M University has
vaulted to a diabetes detection medical
technology already undergoing clinical trials
in Mexico.
The digital imaging mechanism is a

Detection
mobile screening system that aims to detect
diabetic retinopathy through a simple,
painless process. Diabetic retinopathy is
a leading cause of blindness, according to
Dr. Jyh-Charn (Steve) Liu. An associate
professor in the Texas A&M computer
science department, Liu specializes in real-
time computing systems and computer-
assisted medical information systems.
The rapid technology transfer from
laboratory to the public is another solid
example of the potential far-reaching value
of unfettered basic research and how the
benefits of basic research cannot always be
measured by their immediate applications.

aided
Three years ago, Liu had begun work
with researchers in Mexico at the Centro
de Investigación Científica de Educación
Superior de Ensenada (CICESE), or the
Ensenada Center for Higher Education
Scientific Research.
Liu, Jesus Favela, Jorge E. Preciado

by
Velasco and Robert Conte Galvan were
looking at how to transfer university
research into real-world computer systems
in industry.
“We had targeted software systems
and were proposing a broad view at large-
scale database systems, with education and
telemedicine being our main thrust,” Liu
says.
His colleagues in Mexico were
concentrating on telemedicine projects,

Digital Imaging
specifically the need for computer-aided
medical informational systems, Liu says. “I
kept hearing about a diabetes epidemic in
Mexico, and I began to connect the dots with
my other ongoing research projects.”

Dave G. Houser/CORBIS
by Mike Downey
-ALIANZAS en Investigación ALIANZAS en Investigación-

One particularly intriguing issue is diabetic
retinopathy, which is characterized by damage to
the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) that nourish
the retina, the tissue at the back of the eye that
captures light and relays information to the brain.
Nearly half the people with known diabetes have
some degree of diabetic retinopathy. These blood
vessels are often affected by the high blood sugar
levels associated with diabetes. Early detection
and proper treatment of diabetic retinopathy
can prevent blindness, but many patients are not
timely diagnosed because of limited resources.
The research project that had started to
look at fundamental computing issues now was
being focused on a narrower real-world target
application for diabetic retinopathy. His Texas
A&M-CONACyT work with Jesus Favela, Preciado
Velcasco and Conte Galvan had become a catalyst
for this key opportunity, Liu says.
“I was impressed with their active research in
telemedicine working within the constraints they
had,” Liu says.
In addition to information from Mexico, Liu
was learning about the diabetes epidemic from
more than one quarter.
“I was hearing stories about diabetes from
many of my colleagues, their relatives and friends
— particularly about retinopathy,” Liu says.
Technology seemed to be the most effective
method to manage this particular problem.
Developing a remote screening mechanism for this
diabetic retinopathy problem would be a “win–win
situation for underserved communities,” Liu says.
This sort of medical technology would free
up more time for physicians to focus on clinically
significant cases, Liu says.
“With the right technology, scarce resources
can be better utilized at reduced costs,” Liu says.
Now, Liu continues to focus his efforts on the
telemedicine environment to enhance reliability
and accuracy of methods to recognize diabetic
retinopathy.
“If we could develop reliable algorithms to
address this problem, we could make a significant
Texas A&M Executive Vice President and Provost David
Prior (seated) checks out the new lab’s equipment with
the assistance of Dr. Steve Liu of Texas A&M’s
Computer Science Department.
-ALIANZAS en Investigación
Keith Dannermiller/CORBIS
impact,” Liu says.
A goal was technology
that was mature enough
to be used for minimal
screening to reliably detect
basic symptoms of diabetic
retinopathy, Liu says.
The breakthrough came
when researchers were
able to identify a distinct
signature for diabetic
retinopathy. They used an
off-the-shelf retinal camera
to take digital images of
a patient’s eyes, and the
computer software would
detect diabetic retinopathy
from known patterns. The
imaging exam is painless,
quick and does not require
dilation of the eyes, Liu says.
However, the step from
the research bench to a
real-world application would require effort outside the
normal parameters of the laboratory. More partners in
Mexico would be needed, Liu says. In addition to the Texas A&M-CONACyT basic
“Real-world data have issues that may not occur research channeling his research efforts into a real-world
in the lab,” Liu says. “Being able to cope with these solution, Liu points to his Faculty Abroad experience and
constraints can be a real challenge.” a 2001 Advanced Technology Program (ATP) grant as
Working in real-world fields, however, is a must if being keys for opening the door to his diabetes work.
you want to have a real impact in the real world. “My time in Mexico had a big impact,” Liu says. “It
Liu began working with the International Programs gave me a strong impression of the needs of the area.”
Office at Texas A&M, primarily Gabriel Carranza of the His ATP basic research grant on imagery data
Office of Latin American Programs. Liu wanted a clearer structures was coupled with work through the Brooks
idea of the issues in Mexico. Army Medical Center on retina image analysis, all of
A successful effort to identify more partners in which eventually led to the diabetes work.
Mexico led to more funding that enabled clinical trials of “When you capture and close the subtle gaps
the diagnostic screening mechanism, Liu says. between basic research and the real world, sometimes
“My colleagues in Mexico have shown a sincere you can have a big impact,” Liu says.
desire to embrace new solutions to deal with major
problems,” Liu says.
In 2005, a diabetes imaging center opened in
Mexico City in office space donated by Texas A&M
graduate Pablo Marvin. The technology also is under
consideration for trials in El Salvador.
“It takes time for this kind of new technology to
penetrate,” Liu says.
Liu sees this sort of effort as a showcase for Texas
A&M research, a chance for the university to reinforce its
image in America and in other countries with technology
leadership.
ALIANZAS en Investigación-
 of
Both Worlds
The
Best
In this digital age of the 21st
century, intellectual efforts
are coming together in ways
that could have not been imagined 20 years ago. Huge
chunks of information can now be shared over enormous
distances almost instantly, thanks to high-speed Internet
connections. This capability is changing the way people
interact in scholarly endeavors.
With funding from the Texas A&M-CONACyT:
Collaborative Research Grant Program, two prominent
scientists caught this technological wave, making
amazing breakthroughs in equine research. Dr. Katrin
Hinrichs, associate professor in the College of Veterinary
Medicine at Texas A&M University, and Dr. Salvador
Romo, FES Cuautitlán, Universidad Nacional Autónoma
de México, used a 2003 Texas A&M-CONACyT grant to
attain new milestones in in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the
horse.
Progress in equine IVF has been slow compared
with that of other species, as the horse has proved to
be a difficult subject. But Romo’s expertise in IVF of
cows, combined with Hinrichs’ background in horse
reproduction, made them the perfect team for this
study. Each scientist offered a unique approach to the
10-ALIANZAS en Investigación
large-animal reproductive cycle, and together they made
significant progress. Specific laboratory procedures and
suggestions could be shared freely thanks to electronic
collaboration, and the results were astounding.
Hinrichs highlighted one such incident in this
study. Research teams in Germany had achieved a 29
percent success rate when experimenting with the type
of extender (the solution in which the equine sperm
are frozen) used for the procedure. A skim-milk-
based extender treated with heparin to enhance sperm
performance proved to be the key. Her graduate student,
Lance Roasa, duplicated these results in Hinrichs’ lab at
Texas A&M University. As a result, the team succeeded
in completing the first and second steps of in vitro
maturation and IVF in equine oocytes.
This breakthrough has far-reaching implications
for veterinary medicine. Prior to the Hinrichs–
Romo research team’s effort, the only way to
produce a fertilized egg in a laboratory was through
intracytoplasmic sperm injection. This process requires
expensive equipment and trained personnel that most
veterinary practices can neither afford nor justify. With
the procedures developed by the Hinrichs–Romo team,
however, fertilization can now be accomplished by using
sperm treated with specific compounds and frozen, and
then thawed and combined with eggs in a petri dish.
Using the team’s refined IVF technique, combined with
embryo transfer, could give veterinarians the tools to
help produce offspring and extend the breeding capacity
of many valuable mares that are not candidates for
reproduction in the current environment.
The two scientists have slightly different visions of
where they anticipate this field of research will be in 10
years.
Romo says, “I expect that in 10 years we will have
a number of IVF foals produced, as well as cloned and
transgenic horses derived from IVF embryos. I also
expect that this technology will be used by then to create
a genetic bank in which frozen embryos from many
different equine breeds and lines are preserved.”
Hinrichs comments, “I am actually interested in
the development of the oocyte within the embryo. I’ve
always been fascinated with the final goal of finding
by Vicki Sexton Holder
a way to make gametes from somatic cells. There are
theoretically possible ways to take a skin sample and go
through a series of procedures and end up on the other
side with an egg.”
Both scientists agree that much more research of this
kind is needed and that programs like the Texas A&M-
CONACyT collaboration are instrumental in making
it possible. Romo says, “By combining the distinctive
strengths of two or more researchers in different
countries, there is a synergistic effect. I am not surprised
that great results are obtained by all parties involved:
governments, universities, researchers, students and end
users.”
The sharing of best practices across international
boundaries uses new tools that are already beginning to
revolutionize and illuminate the face of research in the
21st century. With the enthusiasm and dedication of
teams like Hinrichs’ and Romo’s, important multinational
research goals like theirs are rapidly becoming a reality.
ALIANZAS en Investigación-11
 Among

Kevin Fleming/CORBIS
the health conscious,
one of the most talked
about natural foods is the pecan. One nut contains a
by Kara Bounds Socol plethora of antioxidants, fiber and beneficial fatty acids,
as well as nutrients such as folic acid, calcium, zinc, and
vitamins A, B and E
Few know as much about pecans as Dr. Leonardo
Lombardini — and few are more wary of the potential
dangers involved in their transport.
Lombardini is a pecan physiologist and assistant
professor of horticultural sciences at Texas A&M
University. With funding from a Texas A&M-CONACyT
grant, he and Emilio Villarreal, a Texas A&M graduate
student in food science and technology, joined forces
with Dr. Uriel Figueroa Víramontes, a soil fertility and
plant nutrition expert at Mexico’s National Institute of
Forestry, Agricultural and Animal Research (INIFAP).
Pecan crops in Texas and Mexico repeatedly
cross back and forth across the border, presenting
a tremendous risk for exchanging insects and other
unwanted organisms. The researchers sought to
determine whether irradiation should be viewed as a
viable method of processing these pecans.
“Our goal was not to see whether or not irradiation
is effective in killing microbes. That has been done before
and we know it works,” Lombardini explains. “Rather,
the goal of our project was to see if such a treatment
somehow alters nutritional properties.”
Figueroa says that since electronic pasteurization is a
new field in Mexico, the question of whether this process
can be used to ensure food safety without compromising
nutritional content is particularly relevant.
Soon, new regulations regarding food safety will
affect pecan exportation from Mexico to the United
States, Figueroa explains. “Electronic pasteurization is an

A S
Researchers study irradiation effects on
nutritional properties of pecans
alternative method to meet these regulations.”
Texas A&M-CONACyT funding enabled
Lombardini and Villarreal to use the electron beam in
the National Center for Electron Beam Food Research,
housed on the Texas A&M campus. This process
destroys infectious organisms during food processing.
Through electron beam use and accelerated storage,
the researchers determined that the only alteration in
the pecans’ nutritional makeup was a slight decrease in
vitamin E content.
In 2001 and 2004, the almond industry experienced

ltered tates
its first-ever outbreaks of salmonella. The disease can
often be linked to using manure as fertilizer late in the
Continued on Page 17

ALIANZAS en Investigación-13
 When
by Kara Bounds Socol
Dr. Tom
Iliffe was
a research
scientist in Bermuda, he would wander into caves during
Researchers discover new organisms in his off time and examine their tidal pools. He wondered
if any animals existed in those pools but soon learned
world’s largest underwater cave system that others had already studied the waters and concluded
that they were lifeless.
But Iliffe was determined to check out the pools for
himself. He donned his diving gear and jumped in — and
his life was forever changed.
“On the surface of the pool was brackish water, but
when you got about 20 feet down, you got into marine
water where most of the cave-adapted animals live,” Iliffe
recalls. “Diving was the key ingredient.”
Iliffe discovered a whole new world of sea creatures
in that tidal cave pool, and a simple curiosity blossomed
into a career. He has since circled the globe several times,
exploring the biology of underwater caves and making
the kinds of discoveries that have landed him on the
pages of National Geographic. He shares this passion
with his students at Texas A&M University at Galveston,
where he is a professor of marine biology.
C M
And now, thanks to funding from a Texas A&M-
CONACyT grant, Iliffe has teamed up with Universidad
Nacional Autónoma de México research scientist and
crustacean expert Dr. Fernando Álvarez Noguera to
ave
study the organisms of the Yucatan’s Ox Bel Ha — the
world’s largest underwater cave system.
The Ox Bel Ha cave system is a network of
underground rivers stretching more than 88 miles.
by Kara Bounds Socol The system is interconnected with more than 60
14-ALIANZAS en Investigación Photographer’s Choice RF/Peter Pinnock/Getty Images
cave entrances — called “cenotes” — and flows into
the Caribbean Sea though three outlets. Together
with adjacent cave systems, more than 300 miles of
submerged galleries have been surveyed and mapped.
The goal of Álvarez and Iliffe is not to explore the actual
caves but to determine the kinds of organisms that live
there.
What they continue to discover is a host of
previously unknown marine animals.
“We have been finding completely new major
zoological groups at the family level that show that
complete animal lineages have been evolving in these
cave systems for long periods of time,” says Álvarez.
“They have developed unique morphological structures
and strategies to survive in this extreme environment.”
But discovering these new species is only a
beginning: Álvarez and Iliffe want to ensure that they are
protected. As experienced biologists, the researchers are
well aware of the impact that large-scale development
can have on fragile ecosystems. They are especially
concerned about the booming Riviera Maya resort
development in Tulum along Mexico’s Caribbean
coastline.
Álvarez explains that the area’s marine ecosystems
are interconnected. Damage to one, then, has a
detrimental effect on the others.
“Many species make use of resources that flow
between these systems and can live in different
en
ecosystems during the different stages of their life cycles,”
he says. “If the flows of water, sediments, nutrients and
organisms among these systems are interrupted, then
adverse effects become immediately evident.”
Among these adverse effects, he says, is the complete
ALIANZAS en Investigación-15
disappearance of many of these cave organisms. time, discuss results and have our students interact,” he Altered States continued from Page13
Iliffe and Álvarez are using their Texas A&M- says.
CONACyT grant to gather baseline information and data Ultimately, Álvarez and Iliffe hope their
about the organisms in the Ox Bel Ha system. They will identification of the cave system’s organisms will help
then use the information to apply for future grants, Iliffe spur the kind of action needed to protect what they
says. describe as part of the world’s most important biological
The funding also has allowed the researchers’ and hydrological systems.
respective graduate students to work together — a “To improve our understanding and better protect
benefit Iliffe says is one of the grant’s biggest advantages. them,” Iliffe says, “we have to know what’s there.”
A Texas A&M-CONACyT grant funded the research
of one of his doctoral students, while another graduate
student is interested in developing a similar project in
Mexico.
Although Iliffe and Álvarez have collaborated on
research projects for years, they have rarely done so
face to face. Álvarez says that personal interaction is yet
another benefit of the grant.
“With the Texas A&M-CONACyT grant, we had
the chance to be in the field together for several weeks,
explore the biodiversity of several systems for the first

Mike Donenfeld/Shutterstock Images

season when nuts are falling from the trees and bacteria know how willing they would be to voluntarily undertake
are still alive in the manure, Lombardini says. this process.
“You just need one grower who doesn’t know how to “If the industry decides to adopt this technology
use manure properly and you’ve got a serious problem,” when the pecans are sanitized, we could deliver a safe,
he says. unaltered product,” he says. “We don’t want to wait until
Although the almond industry survived the ensuing an outbreak occurs.”
recalls and reputation damage with minor bruises,
Lombardini fears that a similar outbreak in the much
smaller pecan industry would prove devastating. But
since requiring producers to irradiate their pecans could
add between 5 and 25 cents per pound to their cost
(depending on the type of technology used), he doesn’t

ALIANZAS en Investigación-17
Forging The
challenge to bolster the
fisheries in reservoirs in rural
Futures
Mexico ranges from big birds
snagged in fishing nets to
trash rafts to fish growing smaller.
To address this challenge, Dr. Frances Gelwick,
a fisheries ecologist in Texas A&M University’s
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences has
teamed with researcher Leticia Mar‑Tovar of the
Instituto de Investigaciónes Forestales, Agricoloas
y Pecuarias (INIFAP) through a Texas A&M-
CONACyT grant.
Gelwick and Mar‑Tovar’s initial
undertaking has grown to include
funding from several Mexican agencies
in addition to projects for graduate
for
students from both countries.
The area of Mexico
Gelwick and Mar‑Tovar are
concentrating on is Durango
state in north-central Mexico,
specifically the town of Lazaro
Cardenas on the largest
reservoir in the state. One goal
is a management plan that
balances what the reservoir can
produce for fishing as well the potential for tourism and
sport fishing.
“We are jointly developing a model for reservoir
fisheries management that can be tailored for use
elsewhere,” Gelwick said. “We might have some
technology and methodologies they don’t have, but
we also learn so much from them about their own
values, attitudes, goals; and priorities for sustainable
Fishes
use of natural resources. These are some of the globally
important human dimensions of natural resources
management that students are taught to consider as they
study for their degree in our department.”
Mar‑Tovar first contacted Gelwick in 1999 while
looking for information about reservoir fisheries. “I
found her e-mail address on the Texas A&M Web site,
and she was kind enough to answer my questions,” said
Mar‑Tovar.
INIFAP has a mission similar to Texas A&M’s
extension faculty to promote research, technology
transfer and public outreach.
Those questions grew into their initial meeting
through the Texas A&M Faculty Abroad Seminar and
an International Research and Education Travel Grant
by Mike Downey Sasha Radosavljevich/Shutterstock
18-ALIANZAS en Investigación
through the Association of Former Students. These led
to their initial Texas A&M-CONACyT collaboration
and additional funding by other
agencies. That included trips
by six Mexican researchers to
workshops and to visit with Texas A&M
faculty and their colleagues at Texas Parks and
Wildlife research facilities across Texas.
Over the past six years, Gelwick has made
several trips to Mexico. She was joined by Dr.
Tazim Jamal of the Texas A&M Department
of Recreation Parks and Tourism Sciences, and
student researcher Natalie Ibarra from Texas
A&M International University, Laredo. Ibarra
was sponsored by a National Science Foundation
Program for Undergraduate Mentoring in
Environmental Biology in collaboration with
co-mentors Dr. Sushma Krishnamurthy and Dr.
Thomas Vaughan at Ibarra’s home university.
Their efforts created the potential for Mar‑Tovar
to study for her doctorate with Gelwick at Texas
A&M, based on their El Palmito project. Other
research participants are faculty and students in
the veterinary school at the University of Juarez in
Durango, and they are working to develop studies in
fisheries management.
El Palmito on the Rio Nazas is the fourth largest
reservoir in Latin America and was originally intended
to collect water for irrigating crops and flood control.
However, its use has grown to support a community of
about 100 commercial fishers and – hopefully – other
future aquatic endeavors perhaps including tourism,
according to Mar‑Tovar.
“We are doing many things to help people in rural
areas to achieve a sustainable management of our aquatic
resources,” Mar‑Tovar said.
Gelwick notes because the reservoir was not
originally created for fishing and other uses beyond
irrigation and flood control, the fishery has developed
problems, which the collaborative researchers aim to
resolve.
One example is the fish-eating birds, cormorants, a
migratory species protected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. Dead cottonwood trees along the original banks
of the Rio Nazas provide roosting and nesting sites that
increase habitat and population density of these birds,
Gelwick said.
“The birds not only eat lots of fish, but also become
entangled in, and damage, fishing nets,” Gelwick said.
ALIANZAS en Investigación-19

Another problem is the use of the river for waste
disposal by people living farther upstream. “The result is
a trash raft that can stretch hundreds of yards through
the otherwise‑scenic canyon lands carved by the once-
flowing upstream reach of river that now functions more
like a lake,” Gelwick said.
Problems extend to the fish populations, Gelwick
said. The Rio Nazas is an endorheic, or ”sinking”, river
basin (meaning it does not flow into the ocean), and
contains at least one unique fish species (presently under
study by Dr. Hank Bart at Tulane University).
As in reservoirs world-wide, other (often non-native)
species more adapted to non-flowing water are routinely
stocked to maintain a reservoir fishery, Gelwick said.
“Blue tilapia, European carp, and channel catfish
(traditional favorites for aquaculture), as well as bluegill,
largemouth bass and white crappie (all in the sunfish
family), are popular fishes in Mexico,” she said.
Sunfishes are adapted for surviving in dense
populations under stressful conditions. These fish
reproduce multiple times a season, becoming crowded
in the reservoirs and grow slowly unless their high
reproduction is countered by predation. However, under
additional pressure from human fishers, fish may not live
20-ALIANZAS en Investigación
long enough to grow larger.
“The size per individual fish is important to the
commercial fishers and those who buy fish for local
markets, restaurants and their own families,” Gelwick
said. “A management plan incorporates the various
problems all together in order to find alternative optimal
solutions.”
Bryan L. Lambert/Shutterstock Images
Texas A&M University - CONACyT:
Collaborative Research Grant Program
Texas A&M University and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACyT) signed
a five-year agreement of cooperation in higher education and research in April 2001. Priority
programs were established and it was agreed that the parties would undertake joint programs
in areas of mutual interest including:
1. Graduate Student Education and Post-graduate Certification
2. Exchange of Faculty and Researchers
3. Non-degree Student Training
4. Collaborative Research Programs
5. Promotion of Joint Programs
Under this agreement Texas A&M and CONACyT have each dedicated US$200,000 per year
for five years for the Collaborative Research Grant Program to fund inter-institutional research
proposals between Texas A&M and Mexican institutions.
The purpose of the competitive, peer reviewed Collaborative Research Grant Program is
to advance inter-institutional cooperation in science, technology, and scholarly activities
through the complementary efforts of scientists and scholars from Texas A&M and Mexican
institutions. A principal investigator (PI) is required from both Texas A&M University and a
CONACyT-registered institution. Texas A&M and CONACyT leaders have agreed on several
research priority areas:
1. Biotechnology and Bioinformatics
2. Health
3. Telecommunications/Information Technologies
4. Environment;
5. Advanced Materials and Manufacturing
6. Energy
7. Urban Development and Sustainability
The research must be linked to the private sector and have direct application to solving an in-
dustrial or governmental problem. One major objective of the program is to support the devel-
opment and submission of proposals for external funding from competitive granting agencies,
both domestic and international, and industry.
The following pages list awards that have been made for the last five years.
ALIANZAS en Investigación-21

Texas A&M University
Principal Investigator
Wendy Jepson; Christian
Brannstrom
Alexander Sprintson
Wayne Hung
Christine Budke
Lloyd Rooney
2006
Texas A&M
Department
Geography
Electrical Engineering
Engineering Technology
and Industrial Distribution
Veterinary Integrative
Biosciences
Soil and Crop Sciences
Texas A&M University - CONACyT Awards
Mexican CONACyT GRANT TITLE
Principal Investigator Registered Institution
Gustavo Garza; Casey UNAM An Integrated Assessment of Cross-Border Land and Water-Use Changes in the Lower Rio Grande/Bravo Valley Since
Walsh 1990
Sergio Rajsbaum UNAM Combating Failures and Malicious Attacks in Communication Networks
Luis Godinez Mora-Tovar CIDETEQ Electrochemical Technology Development for Micro/nano Manufacturing
Ana Flisser National University of Mexico Estimating the non-monetary and monetary burden of Taenia solium cysticercosis in Mexico
Sergio Serna-Saldivar ITESM Evaluation of Phenolics, Antioxidant and Anticancer Properties of Sorghums

Yassin Hassan Nuclear Engineering
Sheng-Jen Hsieh Engineering Technology
and Industrial Distribution
Marcos Sanchez-Plata Poultry Science
Alejandro Castillo Animal Science
Christopher Marshall Marine Biology
Marla Binzel Horticultural Science
Luis Cifuentes Oceanography
Claudia del Carmen Gutier- IPN High Efficiency Air Cleaning Cyclone Separators
rez-Torres
Ismael Lopez-Juarez CINVESTAV Hybrid Active Imaging Techniques for Potato Inspection
Ernesto Avila Gonzalez UNAM Improving the Fatty Acid Composition and Shelf-life Stability in Eggs and Poultry Meat from Poultry Fed with Dietary
Levels of Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Conjugated Linoleic Acid
Alejandro Lopez-Malo Universidad de las Americas, Microbiological Safety of Fresh and Fresh-Cut Produce
Puebla
Axayacatl Rocha-Olivares CICESE New Solutions to Solving Sea Turtle Bycatch from Fisheries Industry Gear in both U.S. and Mexican Waters
Omar Pantoja UNAM-Instituto de Phytoremediation: merging biotechnology and native species
Biotecnologia
Felipe de Jesus Carrillo CICATA Altamira-IPN Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons and their accumulation by the American oyster Crassostrea virginica in the
Romo Pueblo Viejo lagoon, Veracruz and Laguna Madre, Tamaulipas

Gerald Wagner Veterinary Pathobiology Alfredo Sahagun Ruiz UNAM Preventing colibacillosis Diarrhea in Bovine Calves with Anti-F5 Recombinant Antibodies Produced in Rice Plants
Nancy Dyer Hispanic Studies Blanca Guadalupe Lopez Tecnológico de Monterrey Retrieval and Interpretation of Shared Cultural Memory from the New Spain Collections of the Cushing Library (Texas
Gregory Cuellar Library Morales A&M) and the Biblioteca Cervantina (Tec de Monterrey)
Luis Cisneros Horticultural Science Zevallos Carmen Hernan- ITESM Strengthening the Mexican and U.S.-Avocado Industry by Developing Value-added Processed Avocados and By-prod-
dez-Brenes ucts as Functional Foods for Protection against Cardiovascular Disease
Shankar Bhattacharyya Electrical Engineering Maria Cristina Verde Ro- National University in Mexico Synthesis of Three Term Controllers Free of Analytical Model Acronymn: SCFAM
darte

22-ALIANZAS en Investigación ALIANZAS en Investigación-23

 2005 Texas A&M University - CONACyT Awards
Texas A&M University Texas A&M Mexican CONACyT GRANT TITLE
Principal Investigator Department Principal Investigator Registered Institution
Leslie G. Adams Veterinary Pathobiology Jose Gutierrez-Pabello FMVZ-UNAM Association of Natural Disease Resistance in Cattle and Macrophage Inflammatory Gene Expression Profiles
Christine Ehlig-Economides Petroleum Engineering Alberto Mendoza Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Comparing Combustion and Syngas Processes using Petroleum Coke (Pet-Coke) and Coal for Industrial Heat and
Superiores de Monterrey Power Generation
Jorge Alvarado Engineering Technology Jose Mireles, Jr. UACJ Development, Calibration and Implementation of a Micro-Scale Flow Meter
and Industrial Distribution
S. Vinson Entomology Hector Gonzalez-Hernan- CP Developing Environmentally Friendly Management Technologies for Emerging Insect Pests of Tequila Agave
dez

Thomas Ficht Veterinary Pathobiology Efren Diaz-Aparicio INIFAP Development of Brucella canis virB Mutants and its Study in a Cellular Model

Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna Computer Science Isaac Rudomin ITESM-CEM Facial Caricaturing as a Training Tool for Security
Manuel Soriaga Chemistry Nikola Batina Universidad Autonoma Metropoli- Green Electronalytical Chemistry: Remote Trace-Level Selenium Sensor
tana-Iztapalapa (UAM)
Julio Bernal Entomology Enrique Aranda-Herrera Monterrey Institute of Technology Integrated Pest Management for Pecans in the Laguna Region of Coahuila
(ITESM)
Prasad Enjeti Electrical and Computer Jaime Arau CENIDET Investigation of Fuel Cells for Distributed Energy
Engineering
Chii-Der Suh Mechanical Engineering Martin Baltazar Lopez CENIDET Mango Slices Dryer Using Continuously Fed Air Heated by Solar Energy
Sergiy Butenko Industrial and Systems Yuriy Shkvarko Cinvestav del IPN Optimization Algorithms for Network Design and Data Processing in Remote Sensing
Engineering
Suresh Pillai Poultry Science Ilangovan Kuppusamy Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Quantifying Health Risks in Mexico Associated with Contaminated Fruits and Vegetables via Pathogens in Irrigation
Superiores de Monterrey Water
Stephen Searcy Biological and Agricultural Juvenal Guiterrez-Castillo Tecnológico de Monterrey Use of Precision Agriculture Technologies to Reduce the Overuse and Degradation of Water in Pecan Production
Engineering
Allison Rice-Ficht Molecular and Cellular Gilberto Chavez Gris Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Validation and Development of Diagnostic Assays for Mycobacterium paratuberculosis infections
Medicine Mexico
Duane Kraemer Veterinary Physiology and Salvador Romo UNAM Vitrification of in vivo and in vitro-Derived Brahman Cattle Embryos
Pharmacology

24-ALIANZAS en Investigación ALIANZAS en Investigación-25

 2004 Texas A&M University - CONACyT Awards
Texas A&M University Texas A&M Mexican CONACyT GRANT TITLE
Principal Investigator Department Principal Investigator Registered Institution
L. Garry Adams Veterinary Pathobiology Alberto Morales-Loredo INIFAP-ITESM A Recombinant Vaccine for Simultaneous Protection of Goats Against Brucellosis and Orf

Ranjita Misra
Wayne P. Hung
Leonardo Lombardini
Luis Cisneros-Zevallos
Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna
S. Vinson
Health and Kinesiology
Engineering Technology
and Industrial Distribution
Horticulture Science
Horticulture Science
Computer Science
Entomology
Roxana Valdes-Ramos UAEM Determinants, Outcomes and Burden of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease among Mexicans and Mexican Ameri-
cans: Need for a Public and Private Sector Partnership
Francisco J. Ruiz-Sanchez CINVESTAV Development of Automation Technique for Microrobotic Applications
Uriel Figueroa Viramontes INIFAP Effect of Electronic Pasteurization on Nutritional Properties and Shelf-life of Pecan Kernels
Carmen Hernandez-Brenes ITESM Improving the Security of Food Products Through the Use of Antimicrobial Substances in Combination with Novel
Processing Technologies
Ismael Lopez-Juarez CIATEQ Improving the Security of Food Products Through the Use of Antimicrobial Substances in Combination with Novel
Processing Technologies
Eusebio Juaristi Cinvestav IPN Insecticidal Agents Based on Neuropeptide Analogs Containing beta-Amino Acids

Robin Autenrieth Civil Engineering Diego Corcho-Sanchez Universidad Veracruzana Integrated Strategies for the Protection of Water Resource Quality in a Coffee Processing Region of Veracurz, Mexico
Marvin K. Harris Entomology Agustin C. Fu INIFAP National Security Enhancement Through Pecan IPM Research and Program Development in Mexico and Texas

David Goodman Chemistry Pankaj Sharma UNAM New Organometallic Precursors for the Deposition of Pnictogen-chalcogenide Thin Films

Julio S. Bernal Entomology Juan F. Barrera Gaytan ECOSUR Promoting Organic Coffee Production in Chiapas through Pest Management, Agronomic, and Economic Research

Hongbin Zhan Geology and Geophysics Rogelio Vazquez-Gonzalez CICESE Sea Water Upcoming under Pumping Horizontal Wells in Coastal Aquifers

Robert Wharton Entomology Martin Aluja Instituto de Ecologia The Natural Enemies of Rhagoletis spp. (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Mexico, with Emphasis on the Apple Maggot, Rhago-
letis pomonella
Suresh Pillai Poultry Science Ilangovan Kuppusamy ITESM Ultrasonic Technology for Waste Water Disinfection

26-ALIANZAS en Investigación ALIANZAS en Investigación-27


Texas A&M University
Principal Investigator
Thomas J. DeWitt
John R. Gold
Alejandro Castillo
Paul N. Roschke
Thomas M. Iliffe
James B. Woolley
Yassin A. Hassan
Katrin Hinrichs
Prasad N. Enjeti
L. Garry Adams
Cesar O. Malave
Jyhwen Wang
Marla L. Binzel
William H. Neill
Frances I. Gelwick
Nilesh S. Chatterjee
28-ALIANZAS en Investigación
2003 Texas A&M University - CONACyT Awards
Texas A&M Mexican CONACyT GRANT TITLE
Department Principal Investigator Registered Institution
Wildlife and Fisheries Luis Zambrano UNAM Biodiversity Assessment and Community Ecology of Yucatan Wetland Fish Assemblages
Sciences
Wildlife and Fisheries Axayacatl Rocha-Olivares CICESE Development of Biotechnological Tools to Aid in Stock Delineation in California Pacific Sardine
Sciences
Animal Science Rosalba Gutierrez Rojo CIATEDJAL Development of a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Method for Detecting Enterobacter Sakazakii in Infant Milk
Formulas
Civil Engineering Francisco Yeomans Reyna ITESM Dynamic Failure of a Thermally Efficient Structural Dome
Marine Biology Fernando Alvarez UNAM Ecology, Biodiversity and Hydrology of Anchialine Caves: the Ox Bel Ha System, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Entomology Alejandro Gonzalez Her- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Encyrtid Parasitoids of Mealybugs in Mexico
nandez Leon
Nuclear Engineering Javier Ortiz-Villafuerte ININ Experimental Study of Drag Reduction within Boundary Layer using Particle Image Velocimetry and Hot Film
Measurement Techniques
Veterinary Physiology and Salvador Romo UNAM In Vitro Fertilization in the Horse
Pharmacology
Electrical and Computer Jose L. Duran-Gomez Instituto Tecnologico de New Approaches to Provide Electric Energy by Alternative Renewable Resources (ARR)
Engineering Chihuahua
Veterinary Pathobiology Ricardo Gomez Florez UANL Production and Evaluation of Brucella Melitensis Native Hapten Conjugated with Gluorescein Isotiocianate for the
Diagnosis of Brucellosis by the Fluorescent Polarized Assay
Industrial and Systems Enrique Palou Universidad de las Americas Puebla Center for Engineering Education
Engineering
Engineering Technology Carlos Acosta Universidad de las Americas Puebla Design and Analysis of Dual Tube Hydroforming Process
and Industrial Distributation
Horticultural Science Omar Pantoja UNAM Regulation of H+ Pumps by Vacuolar H+ Dependent Transporters?
Wildlife and Fisheries Alejandro Buentello-Garcia CIBNOR Strategic Research to Increase Fisheries Productivity and Strengthen the Tuna Aquaculture Industry in Northwest
Sciences Mexico: The Yellowfin Tuna Plan
Wildlife and Fisheries Leticia Mar Tovar UAS Strategies for Sustainable Management of Fisheries Resources in Durango, Mexico
Sciences
Health and Kinesiology Rafael Chorne Navia UACOAH Understanding Individual, Social, Cultural, Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in Mexicans and Mexican Ameri-
cans: A Pilot Study
ALIANZAS en Investigación-29
 2002 Texas A&M University - CONACyT
Texas A&M University Texas A&M
Principal Investigator Department
Kirby Donnelly Environmental and
Occupational Health
Maria Barrufet Petroleum Engineering
Reza Langari Mechanical Engineering
L. Garry Adams Veterinary Pathobiology
Claire Williams Forest Science
Ayal Anis Texas A&M University at
Galveston
Mahlon Kennicutt, III Oceanography
Chuck Kenerley Plant Pathology and
Microbiology
Ian MacDonald Oceanography
Steve Liu Computer Science
Luis Cisneros-Zevallos Horticulture Science
John Moroney Economics
Ozden Ochoa Mechanical Engineering
Merwyn Kothmann Rangeland Ecology and
Management
Sheng-Jen Hsieh Engineering Technology
and Industrial Distribution
30-ALIANZAS en Investigación
Awards
Mexican CONACyT GRANT TITLE
Principal Investigator Registered Institution
Karim Acuna-Askar Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Biomarkers of Chemical Exposure and Sensitivity in Populations on the Texas-Mexico Border
Leon
Gustavo Iglesias Silva–Instituto Tecnológico de Design and Optimization of Oil Field Brine Conversion Processes to Water of Irrigation Quality
Calaya
Edgar Sanchez Centro de Investigación y de Estu- Development of Intelligent Rollover Warning and Control Systems for Tractor- Semitrailers
dios Avanzandos del IPN
Jose Angel Gutierrez Pa- Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Influence of the Host Genetic Background; the Bacterial Virulence and Mycobacterial Peptides in Bovine Macrophage
bello Mexico
M. Humberto Reyes Valdes Universidad Autonoma Agraria Information Theory to Forest Genomics
“Antonio Narro”
Martin Merino Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Investigation of the Physical and Biogeochemical Processes in Valle de Bravo Freshwater Reservoir
Mexico
Elva Escobar Briones and Universidad Nacional Autonoma Methane in Marine Karst Environments: A Joint U.S./Mexico Interdisciplinary Program
Pedro Morales Puetno de Mexico, Instituto de Ciencias del
Mar y Limnologia, Ciudad Univer-
sitaria and Universidad Nacional
Autonoma de Mexico, Instituto de
Geologia, Laboratorio de Isotopia
Estable
Alfredo Herrera-Estrella Centro de Investigación y de Estu- Molecular Basis of the Mycoparasitic Response in the Biocontrol Fungus Trichoderma
dios Avanzandos del IPN
Elva Escobar Briones Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Natural Hydrocarbon Seeps of the Gulf of Mexico
Mexico
Jorge Enrique Preciado Centro de Investigación Cientifica y On the Development of a Virtual Software System Laboratory Architecture and its Prototype
Velasco and Roberto Conte de Educacion Superior de Ensenada
Galvan
Carmen Hernandez Tecnologico y de Estudios Superi- Process Development and Health Benefits of Value-added Functional Extracts from Native American Crops for their
ores de Monterrey use in the U.S. Food and Pharmaceutical Industry
Flory Anette Dieck Assad Instituto Tecnologica y de Estudios Sustainable Growth: Mexico and the United States
Superiores de Monterrey
Sergey Kanaun Instituto Tecnologica y de Estudios Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Carbon Foam Composites
Superiores de Monterrey
Heriberto Diaz Solis Universidad Automoma Agraria User-Oriented Models for Assessing Ecological and Economic Drought Risks on Semi-Arid Rangelands
“Antonio Narro”
Manual Macias Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Virtual Laboratory for Advanced Manufacturing Automation and Control
Superiores de Monterrey
ALIANZAS en Investigación-31
 Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University - CONACyT:

Collaborative Research Grant Program
Office of the Vice President for Research
Texas A&M University
312 Williams Administration Building
College Station, Texas 77843-1112