April 2010
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in vivo
Issue 10
FACES TO NAMES Rodrigo Gatica. PhD Student, IRB Barcelona Cell Signalling Group
“The earthquake in Chile has razed to the ground many years of research” ANNA ALSINA
- Have you heard from any researchers in Chile after the earthquake? “Two friends of mine were working in the Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology in Talca when the massive earthquake hit. Most of the equipment and biological materials were completely destroyed by the quake, and the failure of emergency generators during the long electricity outages just made things worse. They weren’t in the building when it happened, but they are devastated—they have lost most of their research work.” - Science reported that the worst damage was to the University of Concepción. “Concepción was the worst place to be because it was very close to the epicenter of the quake. The violent shakes destroyed all the chemicals in the Faculty of Chemistry, thus setting a fire that burned down the whole building. The earthquake in Chile has razed to the ground many years of research.”
Photo: N. Noriega
Rodrigo Gatica (Santiago, 1974) came from Chile to IRB Barcelona in 2008 with his hands empty after having lost most of his research data due to a fire in the science faculty at the Austral University where he was finishing his PhD. Although from a distance now, he’s very concerned about the devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake that recently struck Chile and the setbacks this tragedy will cause in research.
A long trip to the kidneys Rodrigo has a fixation for kidneys. He has spent the last four years of his life analyzing and purifying specific segments of the kidneys to explore what goes wrong during diabetes. “We’re trying to decipher the mechanisms that get activated in the kidneys that may be contributing to the increase of glucose levels.” He says his work has already gained results. His group will soon publish two papers with new findings that will provide more answers to the complex relation between diabetes and the kidneys.
about the 15-meter waves, I was very worried for their safety. I didn’t hear from them until three days later. They had opted to stay in the city to help and rescue people. Half of the deaths in Chile’s earthquake occurred in Constitución.”
- What about the tsunami?
- Only four hours after the earthquake the Chilean government stated that the country didn’t yet need international aid.
“A researcher friend of mine and her boyfriend, a fireman, were in the town of Constitución when the tsunami hit. When I heard
“There were many technical problems. The Chilean government underestimated the magnitude of the natural disaster, and even
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institutions that are normally reliable failed that day. The Chilean Navy’s Oceanographic Service (SHOA), which is responsible for detecting tsunamis, instructed the President of Chile to lift the tsunami warning after the first wave had hit. People went back home thinking that they were no longer in danger, but then several more waves hit. Many people died because of that negligence. The Parliament in Chile is now investigating if those responsible should be prosecuted and even the Navy has asked that the director of SHOA be removed from office.” - Does being a hot spot for major earthquakes make people in Chile more prepared for survival? “People learn about safety instructions on an ongoing basis, even in school, and so they are very well trained for natural disasters.” - What are the safety instructions for earthquakes? “If you’re by the coast and there’s a very strong earthquake where you have difficulty standing up, for instance, you should run in land immediately as it usually only takes ten minutes for a tsunami to hit the coast. If you’re inside a building, you should try to stand on a door threshold or by a column. Once the quake is over you should fill bottles with water to be prepared for outages. I remember once meeting a woman who had spent her life storing bottles of water since the great earthquake in 1960. I’ll never forget her. Living in a country prone to natural disasters makes people more afraid, but tragedies and hard circumstances in life unite people more than ever and make them more supportive and appreciative toward others.”