BYU, University of Utah: Rivals on the field; colleagues in the classroom

SALT LAKE CITY — While many Brigham Young University and University of Utah fans are curling their lips in a snarl of rivalry ahead of Saturday's game, academics who collaborate between the two schools find the whole thing a bit funny.

Competition will rule the football field this weekend, but collaboration among faculty and researchers at the two schools is more the norm.

Faculty from both schools have done some remarkable work together. Last spring, Dr. Sean Esplin, an associate professor of maternal-fetal medicine at the U., and Steven Graves, a chemistry researcher at BYU, published the results of a collaborative study that showed more than 80 percent of premature births can be spotted in advance with a blood test during the mother's second trimester.

Another team of researchers from both schools have been delving into the genetic origins of a rare human birth defect that causes serious skin abnormalities and other conditions.

"They are our sister institution of higher learning," said Thomas Parks, vice president for research at the U. "The football business is fun but it doesn't really interfere with the work that goes on."

Parks said for more than 10 years now two researchers from both schools have worked on studying the brains of children with autism. "They've published at least 18 papers together," Parks said.

One notable success between the red and the blue has been the Intermountain Consortium for Asian and Pacific Studies, which helps students from both schools study Asian languages and cultures.

Eric Hyer, associate professor of Asian studies and coordinator at the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies at BYU, said the two schools decided to put together a proposal for a $4 million federal education grant to create the consortium.

"I don't think either one of us could have gotten the grant on our own," Hyer said.

Now in its second year, the consortium has the power of 150 faculty members and offers over $600,000 a year in scholarships for students.

"That makes us quite the powerhouse in Asian studies," said Janet Theiss, professor of Chinese history at the U. She said both schools have worked to ensure that students can share courses as well as take advantage of their respective study abroad programs.

"I think the only thing that cuts into the academic collaboration is that 50 minute drive," Theiss said.

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