by Elio
Gastrotheca riobambae, an Ecuadorian marsupial frog studied by Del Pino. Source: Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador.
In 2006, an Ecuadorian investigator, Eugenia Del Pino, was elected to the U. S. National Academy of Sciences. Her extraordinary contributions pertained to frog development, not exactly a microbiological subject. (She was even quoted as saying: "I didn't want to work with bacteria.") Nevertheless, the announcement causes me to celebrate. I spent my youth in Quito, Ecuador's capital, and have a special affection for that city and country. Hers is a singular honor, seldom bestowed on investigators from the developing world. It is not her first such award – another demonstration that exceptional talent cannot be constrained by suboptimal working conditions. The biographical note in a recent issue of PNAS attests to this and can inspire us all.
Congratulations to her!
Those are very interesting amphibians because they carry their eggs and tadpoles in a pouch on the back--that is why the frog looks so bloated. She releases the tadpoles into an appropriate body of water.
Posted by: John Trawick | October 31, 2007 at 11:59 PM