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Nearly 100 UA undergraduates put their biology research on display over the weekend, showing the hands-on laboratory work that's become a central part of science education at the university over the last two decades.

Taken as a whole, the research posters at the 19th annual conference for the Undergraduate Biology Research Program are a demonstration of the biggest advantage that research universities can provide for science students, said Carol Bender, the program's director.

"Twenty years ago, to involve undergraduates in the research life of a university was unusual. Now it's standard across the country," Bender said.

"The faculty at the University of Arizona have been at the forefront of that, and the undergraduates have become an essential part of research activity on this campus."

The notion that the United States is losing ground internationally in science, engineering and technology as such countries as India and China make big educational pushes doesn't take into account the lab opportunities U.S. students have through programs like the UA's, Bender said.

"There's a difference between studying science in the classroom or out of a book and actually doing science," Bender said. "The advantage we have is to be able to integrate students into our labs and research groups."

Sara Clasen, 20, a sophomore studying molecular and cellular biology, researched the genetic cause of the most common form of mental retardation, which affects one in 5,000 men.

The research is forming a more complete picture of the role of the gene involved, by analyzing how it interacts with other proteins in the body, she said.

"The thing I've realized by doing undergraduate research is that you're introduced to much more of the nuts and bolts of science," said Clasen, who's interested in pursuing a doctorate in biology. "You learn the methods earlier, learn the jargon earlier."

As part of a program affiliated with the Undergraduate Biology Research Program, which pays for students' research abroad, Nina Castro spent three months in Peru working with a Johns Hopkins University health professor studying Chagas disease.

"It's a major health concern, especially in Peru, and it's starting to be a concern for the United States," she said, adding that cases have been found in the U.S. blood supply and blood banks are starting to test for it.

The parasite that carries the disease is transmitted to people by the kissing bug from pack rats, dogs, guinea pigs and other small animals. Castro investigated methods of early detection using guinea pigs as models.

The 26-year-old molecular and cellular biology senior is applying to public health programs to study infectious diseases and epidemiology and said the research opportunities have paved her way forward.

"It's been huge for multiple reasons," said Castro, who also works in a microbiology lab on campus.

"I have that lab experience to take with me, and the chance of going to grad school is so much more. Just taking classes is far inferior."

In its 19 years, the Undergraduate Biology Research Program has shepherded roughly 1,600 students into UA research labs.

About a third have gone into medicine, and another third have gone into research, including as faculty at the UA.

The others have gone onto a range of careers, from science teachers to patent or environmental lawyers to Peace Corps workers.

Joaquin Ruiz, the UA's science dean, said the undergraduates working in labs today will play a tremendous role in advancing knowledge in the future.

"The knowledge we are creating is moving at an astonishing rate," Ruiz said. "What's really important in science is what's not written in the books — it's what we don't know yet."