KUCHING: The Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC) will be hosting a talk on developing of sustainable indigenous communities on June 14.
The talk, which falls on a Friday, will be held at SBC’s premises at Km20, Jalan Borneo Heights, Semengoh at 2.30pm.
The speaker Dr Michael Ceballos is an Assistant Professor of Biology at The University of Minnesota (Morris campus) in the US.
He founded the Native American Research Labs, which provide advanced “hands-on” training to Indigenous American scholars interested in pursuing careers in the natural sciences.
Dr Ceballos first established a research laboratory in 2005 at Salish Kootenai College, a small tribal college in western Montana.
In 2007, he founded a larger Native American Research Lab at The University of Montana in Missoula, Montana.
Dr Ceballos’ initiatives provide advanced research opportunities in the biological, chemical, and biomedical sciences for Native American students and other students, particularly those from economically underserved backgrounds.
As part of his research, teaching, and service efforts, Dr Ceballos (with support from Nasa and the US National Science Foundation) has initiated a multi-national collaborative to conduct research in areas of importance to indigenous communities in the countries of Mexico, India, and Malaysia.
In 2012, SBC hosted three indigenous American students through internship under its BioDiscovery and Traditional Knowledge Documentation programmes.
Dr Ceballos is currently on his third trip to Sarawak and with the second cohort of students that he has brought here to conduct research in collaboration with SBC and also Universiti Teknologi MARA, Samarahan Campus.
During his talk at SBC, Dr Ceballos will be speaking about his international work with focus on the project he maintains in collaboration with institutions here.
Those interested in attending this talk can register by calling Asha Kaushal or Ha-Mim Marzuki at 082-610610.
They can also register by sending an email to [email protected] with their name and contact number.