Last year, 12 college graduates experienced the opportunity of a lifetime: a year researching tropical biodiversity in Panama alongside world-renowned experts. They formed the inaugural cohort of the Research and Mentoring for Postbaccalaureates in Biological Sciences (RaMP-UP) fellows in CIRES’ Global Sustainability Scholars (GSS) program.

The fellows worked on existing projects and developed independent research questions — all while engaging with local communities and representing U.S. science abroad. The one-year program allows fellows to choose from nearly a dozen projects including studying sharks, coral reef resilience, tropical forests, and bat behavior at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama City.

GSS director Kirsten Rowell pointed to an important takeaway of the program: “pay it forward” goals. Each fellow identifies how to share their scientific findings, newly acquired knowledge, and experiences. The idea is to give back to communities and create broader impacts beyond the field or lab.  

"This is an incredible opportunity to participate in science while recognizing the international stage that it's taking place in,” Rowell said. “These young scholars represent the U.S. and the scientific enterprise."

RaMP-UP is a National Science Foundation-funded program partnering with STRI. The institute is home to the world’s leading experts in tropical biology and hosts international and local groups of researchers whose research spans eight field stations across the country. Researchers at STRI collaborate with the Panamanian Institute for Scientific Research and High Technology Services and provide opportunities for local undergraduate students studying science. 

The fellowships are aimed at graduates from communities underrepresented in science. Students who may have had limited opportunities to participate in undergraduate research experiences, the foundation for graduate programs or STEM careers, can bridge this gap with a one-year paid fellowship.  

Mia Murray, Ilana Vargas, and Heather Jingco share what they took away from their year in Panama as inaugural RaMP-UP fellows. 

Mia Murray worked on STRI’s Agua Salud project, spending time at river and forest sites collecting macroinvertebrates, small organisms that will later develop into insects, to assess water quality. They are ‘canaries in the coal mines’ for watershed health. 

To pay it forward, Murray spent every Friday with local students leading a “classroom takeover,” where she worked with other scientists and educators to teach science concepts, took students to field sites, and shed light on real-life science not covered in schools. 

For Murray, sharing her research process with students was a highlight of the fellowship experience, and she’ll take what she’s learned into future scientific pursuits. 

“I want the communities I'm working in to have access to this knowledge and to be a part of it and feel empowered,” Murray said.

Ilana Vargas joined the Rohr Reef Resilience Project, where she worked with a team of scientists to monitor coral reefs in Panama’s oceans.

Vargas’s fellowship coincided with a global coral bleaching event. She and her team photographed different reefs underwater each month, then back in the lab, Vargas led the creation of high-definition 3D models of the reefs, orthomosaics, through a process called photogrammetry.

To pay it forward, Vargas and her lab created an educational curriculum for STRI’s outreach center. The Q?Bus or Q?Rioso — the curiosity science bus — is a mobile education site that travels to local students, taking “Smithsonian science to the street.”  

The group trained Panamanian instructors to teach a curriculum that broke down their coral research, and in turn, they taught the curriculum while visiting classrooms. 

Vargas was particularly proud of her idea to turn her orthomosaics into a large-scale puzzle, allowing the kids to try their hand at photogrammetry — the process of using 3D photos to make models. 

“We created this educational module that can be used over and over again at STRI,” Vargas said. “The bus went all over the country of Panama and taught dozens of schools, dozens of classrooms.”

Heather Jingco joined RaMP-UP with one thing in mind: bats. While working in STRI’s bat lab, Jingco led her first independent research study and taught locals about bats. This experience solidified the direction of her career.

As a night owl, Jingco enjoyed the bat lab schedule: sleeping in, prepping in the afternoon, and spending the night catching and handling bats with her colleagues. 

To pay it forward, Jingco and her colleagues hosted “bat night” for community members in Gamboa, a town 40 minutes outside of Panama City, along the Panama Canal. Jingco helped them understand the ecological benefits of bats, like seed dispersal, pest control and pollination. 

“One of the common themes that I noticed was that people were initially scared about bats,” Jingco said. “Honestly, I would say that bats are a pretty misunderstood species. But it’s amazing how getting people of all ages to see bats in real life, clearing up misunderstandings, and sharing their benefits can change perspectives.​​” 

The “pay it forward goals” will have lasting impacts — both on the communities of Panama and the first-ever cohort of RaMP-UP fellows. At a final summit wrapping up a year of research and outreach, fellows presented their experiences to NSF program officers, and the value of combining science with giving back was felt across the room.  

“This type of science diplomacy can be life-changing for some,” Rowell said. “ I know it's been truly impactful for the RaMP-UP fellows.”