Research Projects

Argentina
Drs. Pierre Buekens and Jose Belizán, working with colleagues in Uruguay and Argentina, are conducting an NIH-funded randomized controlled trial in hospitals to research evidence-based obstetric practices to improve perinatal health.

Argentina, Bolivia, Honduras, and Mexico
Drs. Pierre Buekens and Mark James are working with colleagues in research institutions in each of these countries to study the distribution and number of newborns infected with Chagas disease at the time of birth by infected mothers, funded by NIH's Fogarty International Center.

Argentina, Chile, Uruguay
Through a recently funded NIH grant, Dr. Jiang and his South American colleagues are in the process of establishing a South American Center of Excellence in Cardiovascular Health (SACECH) for the Southern Cone of Latin America focusing on research, training and health education for the prevention and treatment of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) in South America.  He is also conducting an epidemiologic study to examine the prevalence, distribution, and secular trends of traditional and novel CVD risk factors as well as their relationship to clinical CVD and the use of health services in four selected locations in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. This study will provide evidence on CVD and its risk factor burden in South America, identify major CVD risk factors for future intervention studies, and create regional research infrastructure for prevention and disease surveillance.

Brazil
Dr. Carl Kendall is studying alternative pathways for leprosy transmission, researching quality of life of women and children affected by HIV/AIDS, and collaborating with Brazilian colleagues on a project in Mozambique conducting a biological and behavioral surveillance study.

Colombia
Dr. Dawn Wesson is studying dengue and other mosquito-borne viruses in Cali, Colombia with research counterparts at the Centro Internacional de Entrenamiento e Investigaciones Médicas (CIDEIM).

Guatemala
Dr. Paul Hutchinson is working on the evaluation of the delivery of HIV counseling and testing for high-risk groups in the private health sector of Guatemala. The study examines the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alternative models of delivering HIV counseling in private sector laboratories.

Haiti
Dr. Joseph Keating is conducting parasite prevalence surveys, malaria KAP surveys, chloroquine resistance studies, and entomological work, with funding from USAID and the Tulane Research Enhancement fund.

Mexico
Dr. Frederique Jacquerioz is working as a consultant on a community-based tuberculosis program in marginalized communities of Chiapas, sponsored by Doctors of the World, Switzerland.

Peru
Dr. Richard Oberhelman is conducting extensive research on a variety of infectious diseases in children, including parasitic and bacterial causes of diarrhea and tuberculosis, in Latin America (primarily in Peru and Mexico). Currently, he is the principal investigator of an NIH-funded study in Peru on treatment of pediatric diarrhea with probiotic drops. He also has worked on projects to improve diagnostic techniques for pediatric tuberculosis in Peru, with plans for continuation studies in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Dr. Valerie Paz Soldán is exploring barriers to Pap smears among Peruvian women, with the long-term goal of developing interventions to improve Pap smear coverage in this population. She is also working as a social scientist with research counterparts at various institutions on several dengue studies in Iquitos, Peru.

Dr. Diego Rose is working on agricultural research in developing countries that has increasingly focused on meeting nutritional objectives, for example, by improving the nutrient profile of staple food crops to reduce micronutrient malnutrition.  To understand where and for which crops this is appropriate, a better understanding of population-level consumption patterns is needed.  His research demonstrates an approach using existing data on food expenditures to understand the role of the potato in the Peruvian diet, and how it varies by geographic and socio-economic group.  This research is funded by CIP (the International Potato Center).