Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
UNWLA 100
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2024
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Initiatives
Advocate
Educate
Cultivate
Care
News
Newsletters
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Join UNWLA
Become a Member
Volunteer With Us
Donate to UNWLA
Members Portal
Shop to Support Ukraine
Search for:
Print
Print Page
Download
Download Page
Download Right Page
Open
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
30-31
32-33
34-35
36-37
38-39
40
Interview MARIA MOTYL: MICROBIOLOGIST Dr. Maria Motyl — accomplished microbiologist^ dedicated community activist, and modest,unassuming individual — these are the qualities which characterize this remarkable young Ukrainian woman. In the last three years, Dr. Motyl has done research at Rockefeller University in the forefront of tropical medicine, in the area of development of a vaccine against malaria, the #2 disease in the world today. ’’There are over 200 million cases of malaria each year, with a 1% death ratio. That’s two million deaths, usually children,” she says. ON MALARIA RESEARCH Malaria research is a fight against the disease on two fronts: the development of a drug against the parasite malaria itself, and a pesticide to kill mosquitos, which are carriers of the parasite. The research goes on conti nuously, since the parasite or mosquito become immune to the drugs and pesticides very quickly, sometimes as soon as two years, necessitating further research. "When you think that scientists must screen over 100,000 drugs to find one that is not toxic to humans, yet one to which the parasite will not develop a resistance, you get a feeling for the magnitude of the problem,” Dr. Motyl explains. Currently, she is Research Fellow at the Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, where her responsibilities include teaching microbiology at the Mt. Sinai Medical School, studying clinical and diagnostic techniques for infectious diseases and doing individual pure research,which she still finds the most intellectually stimulating. Her goal: to become Director of a Research Clinic in a hospital or in industry,allowing her to teach as well as to continue research in her favorite field: tropical medicine. Why tropical medicine? "There are so many more exotic diseases in tropical counties,” Maria smiles. ’’After all, how excited can you get about strep throat?” ON UKRAINIAN ROOTS Her interest in science first manifested itself at an early age. "I always wanted to know the causes of things, how things worked in nature, which is what biology is all about,” she says. Born in New York to Maria and Alexander Motyl (her father was born in Ukraine; her mother was born in the U. S. but was raised in Ukraine) Maria grew up in the heart of the Ukrainian community in the East Village, and attended St. George grammar school. She went on to Hunter High School, received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from City University in 1972, and a Ph. D. in microbiology from Cornell University Graduate School in 1978, where she did research on the Venezuelan encephalitis virus for her doctoral degree. Dr. Motyl’s involvement in the Ukrainian community that nurtured her has remained over time in spite of a demanding career schedule,and she is not unaware of the potential conflict this can generate. Tropical medicine holds the most interest for microbiologist Dr. Maria Motyl. She has done malaria research at Rockefeller University, one of the world’s most prestigious research centers. Д-р Марія Мотиль — мікробіолог ”lf I could belong entirely to the American world, I know I could do even better, career-wise. But I do have this compulsion to be involved in Ukrainian matters. The extended Ukrainian community gives me a feeling of belonging; it gives me my identity. I wouldn’t trade it for anything, even with some of its negative aspects,” Maria says. ON COMMUNITY ACTIVISM What does her involvement consist of? She has been active in Plast for many years as girl scout leader, has been serving on the National Executive of Plast for the past two years, and is heavily involved in organizing the 1982 Plast Jamboree, where she will be in charge of the girl scout contingent (about 500 people). ”l joined Plast at the age of ten and learned a lot about nature from all my camp experiences. I believe in
Page load link
Go to Top
1 
2-3 
4-5 
6-7 
8-9 
10-11 
12-13 
14-15 
16-17 
18-19 
20-21 
22-23 
24-25 
26-27 
28-29 
30-31 
32-33 
34-35 
36-37 
38-39 
40 
