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One of Christopher Martin's research projects centers around the cichlid populations Christopher Martin leaves soon for several overseas research projects. A biologist, Martin is also an accomplished metal artist. |
REEPY, CRAWLY INSECTS might horrify some, but Christopher Martin finds them fascinating. As a teen, he waged ant wars while others might have been playing Nintendo or watching the latest movie release.
Martin's interest has remained intense. He graduated from Duke University this past month with a bachelor's degree in biology and the highest award in biological science offered by the school.
Several months ago, the scientific scholar also found out he had received a Fulbright Research Grant which is awarded to about 1,000 students nationally out of scores of entries from close to 600 colleges across the country. Martin will receive $24,000 to study human parasites in Malawi for 10 months as part of a project to study the balance between cichlids and the human parasite that causes "snail fever."
Cichlids are of particular interest to him, with his introduction to them early in life. "It started when dad brought home a beta fish when I was 3," Martin said, elucidating for those uninitiated into scientific exactness, that a freshwater angel fish is one type of cichlid. It's just a type of fish, not uncommon, he explained off-handedly.
But before he leaves for Malawi, Martin will be leaving this Friday for Madagascar for eight months to help with a lemur research project.
Madagascar won't be the 2001 Chancellor High School graduate's first overseas trip.
The young scientist has already been to Costa Rica, Bermuda, Trinidad and Amazonian Peru doing research while in college.
He's checked in 300-bagged guppies with an airline to bring them back to America, which he described as "the worst day I had of college life."
He's been chased up a tree by wild peccaries, pig-like hoofed animal. "About 100 came out at me," he related matter-of-factly.
The tall, thin 21-year-old explained that in Madagascar he'll be collecting lemur dung to measure levels of testosterone.
A grin perpetually tugs at his mouth and his eyes turn quickly from solemn to easy laughter during the course of the conversation.
Martin explained lemurs are more like monkeys than scientists thought, and one course of investigation is infanticide among them.
After a sad "oh" escaped the listener at the thought, his eyes twinkled and he illuminated the gruesome-sounding issue with a story about the lead researcher on the project.
"Everyone says 'Oh, how sad,' but when she talks about [infanticide] she says, 'How cool,'" he laughed.
One thing he's serious about is seeing aspects of the world before they disappear.
"I'm an eco-traveler," he said. "Europe's going to be there all my life."
That's not true about a quickly vanishing natural habitat in Madagascar.
"It's important I get out there before it's all gone."
After his eight months are completed with the lemur project, he'll be going on to another area in Madagascar to help with a project concerning a new ant species for a couple of months.
The culminating research experience, however, will be the Malawi expedition to study the fluke worm parasite infesting Lake Malawi.
"There's an 80 percent chance [of becoming infected] if you swim in the lake once," he said.
The snails are at the root of the problem, carrying the parasites and causing the disease, hence the term "snail fever." So, some people become very ill or die.
"There is treatment, but there's no money," he said.
He's hoping he can help find a way to break the vicious infestation by controlling the snails through the cichlids, which used to flourish in the lake.
The cichlids eat the snails, thus reducing their numbers and controlling the parasite. They have been over-fished, because they are a staple in many of the local people's diet.
Reintroducing the fish has already been attempted, but to no avail. They don't have time to rebuild their population before going into hungry stomachs.
Solving such an intricately intertwined eco-puzzle is a challenge he's been preparing for since he was practically toddling about.
As long as he can remember, Martin has loved nature, science, bugs and the like.
Before he could name them in their scientific categories, he was drawing them with the eye of an artist and the mind of a scientist, collecting whatever living organism plant, animal or other, his mother would allow, which has been quite a bit over time.
She only had one fear, "Please, no snakes," Mary Ann Martin pleaded with her son, taking a seat next to him and joining in the conversation.
His eyes glimmered with a mischievous light full of tantalizing possibilities. The son's rapport with his mother is strong, in spite of the separation of his college years.
His mother related the story about him coming home from kindergarten adamantly denying he was the artist his teacher claimed he was.
Regardless of her child's passionate cry, "Mom, I am a scientist," she has decorated her Spotsylvania home with his paintings and sculptures.
And, he still is being told he's an artist, this time even by his science professor at Duke.
"This is the other side of my life, the back-up plan," Martin said about art. But, it appears his artistic talents provide more an outlet for his scientific zeal.
His passion and determination are paying off in an upcoming two-year adventure of a lifetime.
When he comes back from Africa, he plans to pursue his doctorate and eventually teach and do university research.
"I'm a huge bio-nerd," he said. "All my life I wanted to be a biologist."
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