11/14/2025
Upon arriving in Cuba recently for the 3rd International Scientific Convention of Cienfuegos, SUNY Cortland junior Madison Houghton and classmates experienced something akin to Bollywood or the set of a tropical-themed musical.
Houghton, an archaeology and international studies dual major from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, quickly noticed the local people often breaking into spontaneous dancing in the city of Cienfuegos, where she was a conference participant with three classmates and a faculty advisor. Music abounded.
“They were playing a video at the conference and people were dancing to the background music and we would never do that here (in America), but it was just so fun,” said Houghton, who embarked on the trip to present undergraduate research through a poster session.
Brilliant murals, sculpture, pottery and craftwork as well as the sounds of music drenched the city. Houghton was further astonished when she and her classmates immersed themselves in children’s dance academy workshops in the further west city of Matanzas.
“The children there, probably 5 to 12 years old, were playing drums and different instruments and then they were all dancing,” said Houghton, who tried the steps of a Cuban folk music and dance tradition called rumba and other dance styles bred in Cuba’s cultural melting pot. “That was so fun. I’m not a big dancer at Cortland, but it was just incredible to be able to dance with them and learn their styles.”
Houghton’s classmate, senior conservation biology major Nicolette Carluccio of East Northport, N.Y., agreed.
“I’ve traveled out of the country a fair number of times, to Asia, Europe and Central America, but this was the first time I experienced real culture shock,” Carluccio said. “But I really got to experience the beauty of the country and Cuban culture, learning how other cultures, like Africa, helped shape Cuba into what it is today, and how large a role music and dancing have, especially as a way of communication. How happy it makes everyone. It truly was an incredibly beautiful experience.”
In addition to Houghton and Carluccio, the group in Cuba from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1 included biomedical sciences majors Shreya Dital and Julia Utheg. The Cortland group was led by Andrea Dávalos, associate professor of biological sciences, who also lectured there on her own research.
Their trip was part of the four-day 10th Workshop of Strategic Alliances for the Internationalization of Higher Education under the umbrella of the larger conference taking place at University of Cienfuegos at the Carlos Rafael Rodríguez campus.
An agency in Cuba, CIVITAS, arranged the details for international visitors including SUNY Cortland, including their stays with host families. The U.S. contingent to Cuba also included students and faculty from SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Maritime College and California State University at Los Angeles.
Last spring, SUNY Cortland’s Undergraduate Research Council teamed with the university’s International Programs Office to consider applicants from all disciplines for the third year of the sponsored trip to Cuba. The students selected in the competitive application process had their expenses limited to $350 apiece and were covered for their roundtrip airfare to Cuba, housing, meals and conference registration.
The group were surrounded by helpful translators and English-speaking Cubans.
“It was really exciting to see them thrive in that circumstance and be secure in themselves and learn how to speak about their research, learn to take questions and to really be proud of what they’ve done,” Dávalos said.
While in Cuba, the group also observed the challenges that their international counterparts face.
“One of my most remarkable conference experiences was communicating with Cuban students and faculty who have different research constraints and perspectives on accessible laboratory methods,” said senior Utheg of Springville, N.Y.
“I think one of the big lessons for all of us is how adaptable we need to be,” Dávalos said.
During their visit, the giant hurricane Melissa blew across eastern end of Cuba, perhaps pushing up Cuba’s regular 20 hour electrical blackouts by a few hours in Cienfuegos to the west.
“We need to be open to circumstances of other people and recognize how fortunate we are in what we have and consider, for us it’s a given but for others, it’s a luxury,” Dávalos said
Carluccio, advised by Laura Eierman, associate professor of biological sciences, presented on “Application of Environmental DNA (eDNA) Techniques to Assess Diadema antillarum Abundance on Belizean Coral Reefs.”
Her research aims to develop an effective method for quantifying the relative abundance of D. antillarum using environmental DNA extracted from water samples collected at multiple locations along the Mesoamerican Reef in Belize.
Dital was advised for her poster presentation by Keshab Raj Dahal, assistant professor of mathematics.
Houghton, advised by International Studies Professor Alexandru Balas and Sharon Steadman, distinguished professor of sociology/anthropology, presented on “The Immigration Crisis in Sweden.” The relatively small country, generally more liberal in its policies, perhaps for that reason has attracted a huge influx of asylum seekers. That has created political opposition from conservative members of its native population, who rally around problems with integration and preserving Sweden’s cultural heritage.
Utheg, advised by Theresa Curtis, professor of biological sciences, presented on “The Development of an Automated Cell Identifier.” Utheg notes that, with risks of cross-contamination and misidentification in cell culture, it is important to have a reliable way to differentiate between cell types.
As a co-researcher with Curtis, she aims to find a solution to the cost and time-consuming aspects of the established genetic testing methods. The new method would involve using Electric Cell-Substrate Impedance Sensing to monitor growth patterns and traits amongst various cell lines in hopes it can statistically quantify the differences.
“This was my first professional conference experience,” Utheg said, noting she had joined Curtis and two now other since graduated lab assistants presenting at last year’s Transformations, SUNY Cortland’s annual open house of scholarly endeavor.
“Most remarkable to me was presenting and discussing research with Cuban faculty and international colleagues in such an exclusive setting,” Utheg said. “I appreciated the unique format of combining academic rigor with cultural immersion over the week."