UAB Medical Student Completes Research Internship at USS

Kyra Berger, a medical student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), spent two months at Universidad San Sebastián (USS), where she participated in research on chronic kidney disease. Her internship reflects the growing scientific partnership between USS and UAB, which is fostering exchanges of students and researchers.

Kyra Berger, a medical student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), completed a research internship at  Universidad San Sebastián (USS) on August 1. During her two-month stay, she contributed to a project investigating the early mechanisms of immune system activation in chronic kidney disease in the laboratory of Dr. Cristian Amador, a faculty member in the USS Faculty of Science and the PhD Program in Chronic Diseases.

Her internship was part of UAB’s Medical Student Summer Pathway and represents one of the first outcomes of the academic partnership that the two institutions have developed in recent years to strengthen research collaboration and international mobility.

The collaboration began with a Support for International Networking Grant for Research Institutions (FOVI-ANID) project led by Dr. Amador and Dr. Carmen De Miguel, a researcher at the Heersink School of Medicine at UAB. The project established a scientific collaboration in areas including kidney disease, hypertension, and immunology.

The partnership was further strengthened through the signing of a cooperation agreement between the two universities and the visit of Dr. Majd Zayzafoon, Associate Dean for Global Initiatives and International Medical Education at UAB, creating new opportunities for student and researcher exchanges.

One of the first milestones of this collaboration was the 2025 research internship of Javier Reyes, a doctoral student in the USS PhD Program in Chronic Diseases, who worked in Dr. De Miguel’s laboratory in Alabama. Building on that experience, UAB incorporated the research lines developed in Dr. Amador’s laboratory into its international research program for medical students.

Through this initiative, Kyra Berger learned about the opportunity, became interested in the project, applied, and was selected to complete her summer research training in Chile.

Research on Chronic Kidney Disease

During her internship, Berger participated in a project investigating the early activation of dendritic cells in a preclinical model of chronic kidney disease, with the goal of understanding the inflammatory processes that precede the onset of the disease’s first symptoms.

“Our hypothesis is that subclinical inflammatory processes are already taking place before the hallmark signs of chronic kidney disease appear. Understanding how this early inflammation develops may be key to better understanding the progression of the disease,” says Dr. Amador.

He adds that one of the internship’s primary objectives is for Berger to continue this line of research after returning to the United States. “The idea is that everything she learns here can later be built upon in Dr. De Miguel’s laboratory. Both research groups study kidney disease from complementary perspectives and share many experimental techniques and models, so this experience will naturally become part of her ongoing scientific training,” he says.

Learning Inside and Outside the Laboratory

Kyra arrived in Chile shortly after finishing her academic semester in the United States and says the experience exceeded her expectations. “I didn’t know what to expect because it was my first time in South America, but it has been an incredible experience. I’ve learned so much. There are many similarities to the research we do in the United States, but there are also important differences. Everyone works in a highly collaborative way, and that’s something I’ve really appreciated. I’ve also learned techniques that I’ll be able to take back to my university,” she says.

The student explains that she chose USS because of both the quality of its research and the opportunity to broaden her international training. “I wanted to conduct research outside the United States, and I had two options: Wales or Chile. The collaboration between the two laboratories and Dr. Amador’s research project made this the best choice,” she says.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Kyra is now a second-year medical student. She says the internship has given her a deeper understanding of how basic research translates into advances in patient care. “In medical school, we study the results of research, but we rarely see everything that happens behind the scenes. Here, I’ve had the opportunity to gain first-hand experience with translational research, work with experimental models, and understand how that knowledge can shape the future of medicine,” she says.

In addition to the scientific training, Berger says the experience has also been personally enriching. “I’ve visited places like Viña del Mar, Valparaíso, and San Pedro de Atacama. I love Chilean culture, and I’d like to come back to explore southern Chile. I also hope to return to continue conducting research with the USS team,” she concludes.