REPU MAGAZINE N 3
Closing remarks
2017
Closing remarks
Since its inception, back in 2007, the REPU program has been growing thanks to the help of many volunteers
that devoted their time and effort to make the program what it is today. The last three years featured in this
magazine are an example of this growth process that began with Abel Alcazar-Roman's vision of helping
develop the scientific community in Peru. The program started with one branch, one REPU student, and one
mentor. Now that REPU has turned 10, the program has 6 branches, 13 students (2017 cohort), 11 mentors, a
community of more than 100 professionals all over the world, and a vision to continue growing and aid in the
formation of the critical mass of scientist and professionals that Peru needs.
In these closing remarks, I would like to acknowledge two people that together with Abel were key to the
success of the program in these 10 years, Sofia Espinoza, and Kenyi Saito. They were the first REPU
students, and they are an example of the "REPU cycle". With the research experience gained in their
internships, they applied and were admitted to prestigious graduate school programs, and soon after they took
leadership positions within REPU and became mentors and co-directors of the program. They both
successfully finish their Ph.D. studies and received their doctorate degrees, and transitioned to the REPU
advisory board, the most senior position within REPU, with this transition they are completing the REPU cycle,
and in this way, they helped and changed the lives of many Peruvian undergraduates, many of those who are
now following their footsteps taking leadership positions not only in REPU but in other organizations that work
in the development of Peru.
Succeeding Sofia and Kenyi in the position of co-directors, Margarete Diaz and Paola Moreno-Roman have
joined the co-director team and have been successfully working in the program demonstrating their
leadership, responsibility, and commitment to the REPU mission and vision. Margarete is a Ph.D. student at
Harvard University in Developmental and Regenerative Biology, and Paola is a Ph.D. student at Stanford
University in the Department of Cell Biology.
Working with the co-director team there is a group of passionate individuals working in different roles, people
like Rossana Maguiña that designed, organized, and led the launch of EcoREPU; Omar Julca and Andres
Guillen that re-structured, organized, and lead the admission process; Renzo Gutiérrez Loli that leads the
communications team and spends countless hours replying messages, designing posters, posting information
on social media, and much more; and many other people that work tirelessly behind the scenes to make the
program work. All the growth in these 10 years was achieved thanks to the support of all the volunteers and
collaborators. To all of you who gave your time and effort, THANKS you made the program successful.
Edson Bellido
REPU Co-Director
Postdoctoral Fellow - Botton Lab
McMaster University
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