Interview with our partner Sylvia Corte
We have a partnership with a research group from Uruguay. We interviewed Sylvia Corte, the group's coordinator, to learn more about their work, their goals, plans and what they have accomplished. Want to know more? Check out the interview below:
USP Twin Panel: Tell us a little about yourself and your background. Who are you? What do you do? Who else participates in the research group?
Sylvia Corte: I am Sylvia Corte, Biologist, Professor and Researcher in the Ethology Section, Department of Animal Biology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidade da República (UdelaR), Uruguay. I have a master's degree in primate behavior and specialized in ethology applied to animal welfare. I am a thesis advisor to undergraduate students, last year I guided Noelia Gómez and currently I guide Valentina Melo, both undergraduate students in Human Biology.
Panel: Tell us a little about how the idea of working with twins came about and what the work is about. Why twins? What are the objectives?
Sylvia: I have been in contact with the USP’s Panel on Twins since 2017, following the orientation of the internship of the student Noelia Gómez from the Degree in Human Biology (UdelaR). Together with her and the mathematician Andrés Sosa, we investigated the factors that affect twinning and twin birth rates in Uruguay, as suggested by Professor Emma Otta, since this information was missing in our country.
Panel: Tell us a little about how the work has been going, what has already been done, what has been done, what is the status of it. How is the work developing, what has been accomplished?
Sylvia: We submitted for publication the results obtained in our study on twin birth rates in Uruguay, co-authored with Professor Otta, Noelia and Andrés. The article was recently accepted for publication.
Panel: Evaluate your work and its realization. What results have you obtained?
Sylvia: This work was the starting point for us to start other studies, related to the behavior of twins in Uruguay. We would like to improve the results through greater access to data.
Panel: Now that you have told us about what has been accomplished and what is underway, tell us a little bit about planning and goals. What are the plans for the future?
Sylvia: Currently, I am guinding Valentina Melo, and we are writing a project to observe, record and analyze maternal behavior in twin births, during the first days in a hospital context. I am also writing my doctoral project, with three approaches to the study of twins in Uruguay: 1. History of twin birth rates in Uruguay before using contraceptive methods, 2. Effect of factors affecting twinning in Uruguay, trying to improve the available database, 3. Maternal behavior at birth of twins, maternal strategies of parental investment and synchronous behavior between twin siblings. Professor Otta will guide these projects. We also want to continue contacting the Panel, participating in Skype meetings, so that we can continue to learn from the group.
In the photo Professor Sylvia Corte (on the far right), along with Professor Emma Otta (in the center), her student Noelia and two Uruguayan twins at the II Twins Meeting at USP.