Immune cells called macrophages are supposed to engulf bacteria and destroy it. In the case of leprosy, the macrophages "aren’t able to kill the bacteria," Dennis Montoya says. "In fact, the pathogen grows within the macrophage." Dr. Montoya’s dissertation research involved investigating "how this bacteria tricks the macrophage so that it can live inside the thing that’s supposed to be killing it." It appears that "the bacteria create lipids that suppress the immune system and help prevent the killing," he says.

Based on this work, Dr. Montoya was awarded his PhD in 2009, and he is currently working as a postdoctoral scholar in the same lab, on his way to Brazil—one of the countries where leprosy continues to be common—to look at the disease in actual patients. Besides paying for his trip, Dr. Montoya says, his adviser, Robert L. Modlin, provided "a very diverse lab, and a good environment for academic discussion." Working with postdoctoral scholar Daniel Cruz provided a personal mentor and role model.

The Graduate Division also made important contributions to Dr. Montoya’s success. For a young man who needed to take some time off between graduating from UC Berkeley and starting his graduate studies so he could help support his family, the three years of funding provided by the Lewis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation fellowship was a big deal. But Dennis also places great value on the accompanying Graduate Division support—opportunities to network with other underrepresented minority graduate students, workshops on managing class work and research, and opportunities to travel.

On one of those Graduate Division-sponsored trips, Dr. Montoya attended a conference at UC Berkeley, Changing the Culture of the Academy. Participants discussed "how we can change the culture of academia to be more tolerant and accepting of people from diverse backgrounds," he says. "That inspired the seminar series I started." Specifically, he heard Troy Duster, a professor of sociology at New York University, say that "who you are as a person will determine what kinds of questions you ask."

Dr. Montoya decided to invite scientists from underrepresented minorities to talk about how their life experience influenced their research. For example, Esteban González Burchard of UC San Francisco discussed his dtudies of the higher rates of asthma among Puerto Rican and Mexican children. This year, Luis P. Villareal, a professor of molecular biology and biochemistry at UC Irvine, will share his insights about mentoring minority students. Susan Realgeño is taking over Dr. Montoya’s role as host.

As a graduate student, Dennis also became an early member of STEMPLEDGE, an organization for underrepresented graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and math. Starting the seminar series offered an opportunity to give back. He also visited high schools and colleges as part of UCLA’s team to encourage doctoral studies. "It’s very intimidating when you first start up. It’s easy to believe that everyone else is smarter than you, and you don’t belong," he says. "As you work harder and move further along in your studies, you realize you can do it."

Published in Winter 2011, Graduate Quarterly