The Observer, December 9, 2005
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 13
Professor to teach in S. Africa
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Christopher Cullis, a biology professor at Case since 1985, will be going on sabbatical to Pretoria, South Africa for the spring semester. Cullis will be leaving Cleveland with his wife and daughter in January and will return in mid-August. This semester, Cullis is teaching two biotechnology courses for the Masters in Biotechnology and Entrepreneurial program. In the transcript below, Cullis describes his plans in South Africa and provides information for students interested in the sciences.
Why did you decide to go to South Africa?
I grew up in Zimbabwe so it's relatively close to home in one sense. I also have had collaboration with a person I have been working with since 1993 and I did a sabbatical there in 1997.
Where will you be staying?
We will be based at the University of Pretoria. We have a house that we rented that is about 400 yards from the main campus.
What will you be doing in South Africa?
I'll be doing all sorts of things but there are essentially three things that I will be working on.
One thing that I will be working on will be a new course for honor students at the University of Pretoria. In South Africa, you do three years for your undergraduate degree and then you can do one more year as a post-graduate program, and move on to your graduate work. There is a course in biotechnology that I will help put together, organize, and teach.
I will also be teaching a molecular plant physiology course there. I will be working to upgrade some of the more traditional botany courses there to include more molecular aspects in the courses.
Another program I will be working on is enhancing the research programs at the University of Limpopo. They have very little research going on there so I am probably going to teach something that is similar to the biotechnology program that I teach here. That will serve as an introduction to biotechnology techniques so that they can involve more undergraduates in research there. Essentially, we want to build a stronger research program there.
Aside from the teaching, will you be doing research?
I will definitely be doing research there as well. I will be doing research on a system that I work on here at Case. But I am also part of a course run by the Generation Challenge Program on molecular markers and plant breeding.
What advice do you have for students who want to pursue a career in research or science?
With careers in science you have to look outside of the academic sphere because there is a lot of research that goes on elsewhere because there is a lot of research going on in companies and other places.
I also think you have to like doing science and making things work. Experiments rarely work the first time so there is a significant amount of frustration when it doesn't work and a huge amount of elation when it actually does work. It's pretty exciting because you are always asking a question and trying to find something new and if the answer is something that you expect or something that you don't expect either way, the answer is something new and exciting. Science is an engaging process and the key in pursuing a career in science is to get experience.
