Three times a year, Jack McMahan leaves his familiar lab at the School of Medicine for the rigors of teaching in a third-world country. Once there, he joins four other professors from around the globe, volunteering their time in a nine-day effort to bring local students up to speed on basic neurobiology.


Fereshteh Salmanzadeh, a PhD student from Tarbiat Modarres University in Tehran, is one of many promising neurology students from a third-world country taught by professor Jack McMahan.

While neurobiology probably doesn't spring to mind when you think of what's lacking in Third-World countries, the International Brain Research Organization, which sponsors the courses, doesn't think other deficiencies should prevent bright students from learning about the brain. So far, McMahan has taken part in courses in Nigeria, Cuba, Vietnam and Iran, with Argentina, Poland and China on the way.

"The scientists in the United States and other economically developed countries are extremely fortunate to have the wealth to support the research we do," said McMahan, PhD, professor of neurobiology. "We have an obligation to show students and colleagues in the rest of the world what we've learned."

Challenged students thrive

McMahan is well aware of the benefits of doing neurobiology research in a wealthy country. His lab studies the intricate structure where nerves and muscles meet using powerful electron microscopes — work that could never take place in a country where technology and resources were limited.

In order to bring modern neurobiology to the third world, the sponsoring organization provides airfare to the lecturers and recruits a local coordinator who selects roughly 70 MD and graduate student participants, arranging for a travel stipends to help those students travel to and from the course city. The courses themselves are organized and directed by past Stanford professor John Nicholls, whom McMahan calls "neuroscience's most gifted lecturer and teacher."

Students take classes that run the gamut of neurobiology topics, from how the brain develops and perceives vision to how the electrical impulses are transmitted and how the brain controls daily rhythms such as sleep. Packing so many topics into an nine-day course doesn't leave much room for fun. Students and faculty attend five classes and one conference session in each eight-hour day and find time to work on 10-minute presentations that the students give on the final day.

Far from wearing the students out, McMahan said they thrive on the grueling schedule. "Something that impressed me is the energy. These students work very, very hard," he said. "They are extremely conscientious and courteous in all the countries I have visited." And they are no slackers when it comes to their reading. "They know textbooks extremely well — even if the books are old, they are valued," he said.

Continuing education

McMahan said that the hard work pays off, despite financial, educational or personal hardship. "Among the students, usually around a dozen would do well in any U.S. PhD course," he estimated.

For the best students, McMahan works to find postdoctoral positions in the United States or Europe. "Our goal is that their career be accepted internationally," he said. Without training in a U.S. or European lab, McMahan said it is unlikely the students could compete internationally, due to a lack of funding or equipment in their countries or to the dominance of research in traditional medicine. "Bringing these students to the states or other developed countries will give them the experience they need," McMahan added.

After their stint overseas, McMahan hopes the students will return to their home countries to raise the bar for local science. Money for high-tech equipment may be hard to find, but international funding agencies can help. Students may also be able to call upon contacts made during their time overseas. "There is always the possibility of returning to the overseas lab once a year to conduct experiments that can be analyzed in their home countries," McMahan said.

While science is his primary concern, McMahan also hopes students will educate friends and family about the West. "The world is in chaos, due in part to misunderstanding," he said. "The more we can show the Third World we care, the more we can get those students to go back and spread the word that things are not as they seem."