DR. ANA BARBARA GARCIA-GARCIA WAS FACED WITH A CHALLENGE AT THE AGE OF 6 THAT COULD HAVE BROKEN HER INQUISITIVE SPIRIT AND AETERED HER
CAREER CHOICE.

Stricken by a virus similar to measles, the native of Valencia, Spain, who is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Center for Human Nutrition, lost 80 percent of her hearing. Faced with deciding whether to enroll Ana in a class for deaf or partially deaf individuals or allowing the first grader to remain in her same classroom, her parents chose the latter.

That decision, Dr. Garcia-Garda said, was for the best.
"I spoke Spanish perfectly and we always studied English in school so there was no reason for me to transfer to another classroom," she said.
From that point on, Ana sat in the front row of all of her classes,
from elementary school to college, and listened intensely to her instructors while she also read their lips.

Twenty-four years later, Dr. Garcia-Garda reads lips with the preciseness of a laboratory scientist carefully carrying out an experiment. Dr. Garcia-Garcia is also fluent in English.
That intensity and single-minded nature have served Dr. Garcia-Garcia well in her chosen medical field. A fellow researcher once told Dr. Garcia-Garcia that if she really liked research she was not going to like anything else. And her friend was right, the 30-year-old said.

"Research is beautiful," said Dr. Garcia-Garcia. "I love learning new things." Dr. Garcia-Garcia began her postdoctoral fellowship in January 2001 at the Center for Human Nutrition, where she has combined her basic science research skills with clinical studies into lipid disorders, obesity and insulin resistance.

"Most of my past research focused on molecular studies," she said. "Combining clinical and molecular research will be an advantage for me when I return to Spain." A graduate of the University of Valencia, where she earned a doctorate in pharmacology, Dr. Garcia-Garcia began research into familial hypercholesterolemia (an inherited type of high lipid levels in the blood) while pursing her degree. After graduation, she taught at the Valencian Foundation of Biomedical Investigations.
While Dr. Garcia-Garcia was at the foundation, an instructor referred her to the fellowship program at the Center for Human Nutrition. Impressed with the program and with the Center's reputation as an international leader in the field of nutrition, Dr. Garcia-Garcia embarked on a two-year fellowship.

Although the fellowship meant spending considerable time away from home, Dr. Garcia-Garcia said that she does not regret her decision.
Dr. Garcia-Garcia, an avid reader, participates in a variety of sports-related activities, including basketball and aerobic exercise. During her stay in Dallas, she is also braving the summer heat wave while trying her hand at tennis.

"I have learned so many new things. It's been a very nice experience professionally and personally," Dr. Garcia-Garcia said. "I was interested in learning more about clinical studies to complete my knowledge in research."

Dr. Garcia-Garcia will return to Spain to work at the University Clinical Hospital of Valencia in December, taking back with her the skills and knowledge of clinical research that she obtained from collaborating with researchers in the Center for Human Nutrition.