By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
MIAMI | An alumnus of St. Brendan High School is researching the COVID-19 coronavirus -- not only to halt the current outbreak, but to deal with future pandemics as well.
A member of Stanford University's Medical Research team, Carlos Bustamante, a 1993 graduate of St. Brendan, is examining genetic links to the symptoms that people suffer from the coronavirus.
Bustamante discussed his latest project during a virtual interview with St. Brendan's alumni relations and development directors. He said he's focusing on why some people have mild symptoms from COVID-19, while others suffer life-threatening and even life-ending symptoms.
Photographer: Courtesy
Medical researcher Carlos Bustamante is a graduate of St. Brendan High School.
By establishing genetic links to the effect COVID-19 has on various ethnic and racial groups, treatments can be tailored to various groups and help level the playing field for recovery, Bustamante said.
He's looking also at the dynamics of innate immune systems (those everyone is born with) and adaptive immune systems (those we develop out of necessity). Learning more about those can help medical science prepare for other pandemics, he said.
Bustamante spoke also about the importance of his faith during this time. He said that he has found solace in prayer, and that his faith life instilled in him a sense of empathy for others.
He said he believes that COVID-19 has taught the importance of focusing on the community, rather than just the individual. He voiced confidence that a vaccine is on the way.
Steve Piscitelli, St. Brendan's alumni director, said Bustamante is one of the smartest individuals he has taught in his 44 years at the school. "An incubator of knowledge," he termed Bustamante admiringly.
Involved in his class and his studies, Bustamante said his time at St. Brendan was crucial in deciding his career. He mentioned a book given to him by one of his teachers, titled "The Genetic Base of Evolutionary Change," by R.C. Lewontin. The book led him to Harvard to work and study with Lewontin.
Bustamante graduated from Harvard College in biological sciences, then Harvard University with a master's degree in statistics, followed by a Ph.D. in both philosophy and biology.
