Tulane-Xavier MHIRT Program

Site 1 - Lima, Peru

Research activities in Peru are coordinated through PRISMA, a non-governmental organization that works to obtain social and economic development in Peru. Current research programs include a longitudinal trial to compare traditional and new culture methods for diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis and traditional and new clinical specimens for detection of tuberculosis in children. This project has activities and patient recruitment in the Instituto de Salud del Nino, the primary pediatric hospital in Lima, and in Pampas de San Juan, a shantytown community on the outskirts of Lima.

U.S. Mentor
Richard Oberhelman, MD, is an associate professor of tropical medicine and pediatrics at Tulane University SPHTM. He has been actively involved in clinical and laboratory-based collaborative research in Peru since 1985. During that time, he has directed seven major collaborative research projects on pediatric diarrheal disease or pediatric tuberculosis.

Overseas Mentors
Robert Gilman, MD, DTMH, is a tenured professor in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins University and founder and director of the Johns Hopkins Summer Institute. Dr. Gilman has lived in Peru for almost 20 years, and his work encompasses clinical and laboratory research, largely in the field of infectious diseases of public health importance. He is involved in research in areas including diarrhea, cysticercosis treatment, Cyclospora, cryptosporidium, tuberculosis and shigellosis.

Valerie Paz Soldan, PhD, is a research assistant professor in the Department of International Health and Development at Tulane University SPHTM and is the director of the Tulane Health Office for Latin America in Peru. She is currently studying psychosocial issues associated with HIV/TB co-infection, and she recently began performing research in a clinical trial on the prevention of preeclampsia through vitamins C and E supplementation.  Dr. Paz Soldan is also affiliated with the Faculty of Public Health and Administration at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH), where her work focuses on women's health and adolescent health. 

Research Areas
The research program at PRISMA covers a variety of topics, mostly related to infectious diseases. Dr. Oberhelman's work with Dr. Gilman focuses on pediatric infectious diseases, tuberculosis in children and HIV/AIDS in children. Projects will involve work in the Institute de Salud del Nino or in Pampas de San Juan. Possible focus areas include diarrheal diseases and child nutrition, child development and its interaction with infectious diseases and clinical features of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in children.