SAN MARCOS ---- Breaking down conventions is one of the main objectives of professor Keith Trujillo's work, thought he prefers to call it basic biomedical lab work.

The Cal State San Marcos professor says he wants to attract more minority students and more funding to the field of pharmacology. Both are in short supply, he said.

"Many young Latinos don't recognize academics and biomedical science as being places that they belong," Trujillo said. "We're working hard here to change that. We want people from all racial and ethnic groups to feel that they belong here and can contribute to discoveries in medicine."

Most days, Trujillo can be found in a small research lab tucked inside the university's science building. His experiments are helping to understand the basic effects of drugs on the brain. The research may make it possible to produce drugs that are less addictive and more effective as painkillers.

When he is not in his lab, Trujillo is working to attract funding for research into the effects and causes of drug addiction in minority communities, particularly Latinos.

Trujillo is also collaborating with other on-campus staff to increase the number of minority students who pursue studies in biomedicine. He is associate director of the Office of Biomedical Research and Training, which works to attract Latinos, Native Americans, African Americans and other underrepresented groups into the field by providing mentors, scholarships and career advice.

Since the office was established in 2000, it has received about $13 million in funding for various training and research programs.

A survey conducted by the Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs in 2001 indicated that only 14 percent of predoctoral students were of racial or ethnic minority descent, including Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders. These groups represent about 25 percent of the U.S. population.

Trujillo, 47, came to Cal State San Marcos in the fall of 1994. He said he wanted to teach and encourage minorities to pursue science. An added attraction of the college, he said, was the vibrant Latino student body ---- about 20 percent of the students are Latino.

Nearly 10 years later, Trujillo is still mentoring students who show promise.

Next to him in the lab during December's semester finals week was Ian Mendez, a graduate student finishing a master's thesis. Mendez said he has known Trujillo since he was a freshman at Cal State San Marcos eight years ago.

"I couldn't ask for a better mentor. This is a really good place to be," Mendez said.

With the assistance of Trujillo, Mendez gave a presentation of his research at the National Hispanic Science Network convention in October. Mendez is studying why the effects of opiates on a person diminish over time.

"The conference was beneficial to me not only because I got to network with others, but because I got to talk about the science, which is sometimes just as important as the research itself," Mendez said.

Angelica Runno, a former student of Trujillo's and Cal State San Marcos graduate, also gave a presentation at the convention. She is now working toward a doctorate in neuroscience at Texas A&M.

Trujillo's research attracted the attention of the National Hispanic Science Network. He was asked to co-author a chapter of a document that the organization plans to use to ask Congress for more funding to understand the effects of drug abuse in the Latino community.

The full report is expected to be released soon, he said.

Although some stereotypes persist about drug abuse in the Latino community, Trujillo said that according to national surveys, Latinos are less likely to be drug users that whites. But there are concerns about certain drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco, which are among the most abused drugs in the Latino community.

"We're not saying that being Hispanic is in any way a contributor to being a drug abuser. In fact, some research suggests they use drugs less," he said. "We just want to understand if there are differences."

Victor Rocha, founder and director of the Office of Biomedical Research and Training, said Trujillo's work and that of his students is what the program is all about.

"What we want is to create an atmosphere where research is valued and that students and faculty engage in that research," Rocha said.