Bennett True, A25, set a goal last summer that others might find unthinkable: to give a live demonstration with highly venomous snakes for a local South African audience.

He was spending close to six weeks learning about, and working closely with, tropical venomous snakes as a Laidlaw Scholar at the Hoedspruit Reptile Centre in Limpopo, South Africa. 

For True, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, being able to confidently handle these snakes brought home, in a personal way, the key mission of the center: that snakes, typically seen as threats and often killed outright, are misunderstood.

“By safely handling these snakes, we can show snakes not as aggressive, but as calm animals,” he said. While it’s wise to “maintain your distance if you encounter one, they are aggressive only when they feel threatened. If you understand and respect them, they’ll respect you.” 

True, who graduates this month with a degree in biochemistry, considers that accomplishment a highlight of his work with the center, where he deepened his connection to addressing a global health problem. More than 137,000 people die each year due to snake bites, and about three times as many have limbs amputated or experience other permanent disabilities due to bites, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Tufts Now spoke with True about his efforts to help people more safely coexist with snakes.

How did your interest in snake bites develop?

The summer after my freshman year I took part in Tufts in Talloires, where one of my classes was The Emerging Global Health Crisis [taught by Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering David Gute, who holds joint appointments at Tufts University School of Medicine and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy]. 

One field trip was to nearby Geneva, where we heard from representatives from the World Health Organization. The head of zoonotic diseases made a strong impression describing a snakebite antivenom crisis. [There is a global shortage of antivenom, a treatment for certain venomous bites and stings, and many snake antivenoms are very expensive.] 

When we had a class assignment to do a project on a neglected tropical disease—meaning it is underfunded, understudied, and mostly impacts countries in tropical regions where medical resources are very limited—I chose the snake bite issue. I absolutely loved this project. It was interdisciplinary and multi-dimensional. It involved how antivenoms are created, how wildlife is managed, how humans fear snakes, how they’re not valued as part of a healthy ecosystem.

When I got back to Tufts, I learned about the Laidlaw Scholar program and saw an exciting opportunity to keep learning about these wonderful creatures who merit greater appreciation.

For the Laidlaw program, your first summer involved research on campus and your second summer a volunteer experience in an international setting of your choice. How did you connect your work in biochemistry with snake conservation?

A central theme of Laidlaw is ethical leadership. Funding supports research, both in the lab and in the field, that focuses on training to be a good leader, to do things ethically and with consideration for others who've been overlooked. 

While my projects were completely separate, they were both aimed at benefiting people across the world. In the Kritzer Lab, that meant improving the treatment of cancer. In South Africa, it was about preventing deaths from snake bite through education and training—a nice complement to the research project I had done the year before.  

How did your comfort level change with regard to handling snakes?

It was daunting the first time I handled a venomous snake. But what helped me get over my fear was learning about the animals themselves; if I could respect their needs, I felt more confident they wouldn’t hurt me. By the end of the six weeks, I knew my skill level. I felt comfortable handling many snakes at the center, and I knew what training I still if I wanted to handle others.

That contact must have been stressful at first. 

It is, but you do what is needed and step up! I also assisted veterinarians who come there to learn more about snake care and rehabilitation. In one case, we had a black mamba that was diagnosed with parasites and that had to be dewormed. The technique is to place the snake inside a big plastic tube and then insert a feeding tube down their throat very carefully to give them the medicine. I wasn’t forcing their mouth open specifically, but I did hold their mouth open for the medicine. I never thought I’d be doing that! 

The center is also an important liaison for the community through services like snake capture courses that teach safety techniques and snakes callouts. Both support the rescue and conservation of snakes. For callouts, if people see a reptile or a snake –  it might be a boomslang, snouted cobra, vine snakes, or a puff adder -- in their area or in their house, staff will come out and remove them for free. 

I removed snakes a couple of times, boomslangs, snouted cobras, vine snakes, and puff adders  I was able to do that safely by using a grab stick, which the snake can wrap around. We then put it in a bucket filled with newspapers so it can burrow down. They are more afraid of humans than we are of them. 

Do you hope to continue to work on solutions to venomous snake bites? 
 

I would love to apply everything I’ve learned to developing safer and more affordable antivenoms. I’ll need more education and experience on the lab side, but, overall this experience has primed me for a clear career path: with a Ph.D. in biochemistry (or a similar field), I could research better ways to create safer, more effective, and cheaper antivenoms. I would love to bring that contribution to the world.