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INFORMATION FOR

Peru

Site Institution 1: School of Public Health and Administration (FASPA)

Site Institution: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH), ), Laboratorios de Investigación y Desarrollos
Research Areas: Malaria, Leptospirosis, Leishmaniasis, Hepatitis B, Parasitic Diseases, Immunology, Molecular Biology

Site Description:
The Laboratorios de Investigación y Desarrollos (LID) contributes to the scientific and technological progress of Peru through its state-of-the-art facilities that support cutting edge research and innovation.

Dr. Vinetz has worked in Peru since 1998, studying leptospirosis and malaria. Dr. Vinetz maintains a laboratory on the UPCH Faculty of Sciences campus (LID) and a fully functioning field laboratory. Dr. Gamboa leads the Malaria Research Group at LID-UPCH. This group has three independent laboratories that are the most modern facilities of their kind in Peru (outside of government). Facilities at LID include laboratories for molecular/cellular biology, bioinformatics and immunology. The Malaria Research Group also has laboratory facilities in Iquitos, which houses an insectary specialized in rearing mosquito species involved in malaria transmission. Drs. Vinetz and Gamboa have been collaborators for over 14 years. Together, they manage the Amazonian International Center of Excellence in Malaria Research (ICEMR), which focuses on utilizing a comprehensive approach to understanding the biological features of Amazonian malaria towards the ultimate goal of regional control and elimination of Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax.

Current research projects and focus areas include:
  • Amazonian Center of Excellence in Malaria Research (Amazonia ICEMR)
    • Goals: To continue supporting the Amazonia ICEMR in its effort to discover underlying principles and develop new tools to go beyond conventional malaria control activities towards regional malaria elimination.
  • Translational Research Development for Endemic Infectious Diseases of Amazonia
    • Goals: To continue supporting the Global Infectious Disease Training program at UPCH, which aims to enhance tropical infectious disease research capacity in Peru by focusing on research disciplines and diseases relevant to the Amazon region of Peru.
  • Immunology of asympomatic malaria and the immunity effects in plasmodium transmission
  • Study of the fundamental biology of malaria resilience in the Amazon - characterize human populations of malaria transmission reservoirs (epidemiology), study the molecular ecology and transmission biology of human-Anopheles interactions, and investigate molecular and cellular mechanisms of non-sterilizing clinical immunity to malaria caused by P. vivax and P. falciparum.
  • Leptospira and Leptospirosis – collaboration of multidisciplinary studies of Leptospira and leptospirosis, focused on clinical field studies of acute undifferentiated febrile illness to characterize epidemiological and clinical features of leptospirosis and ultimately deploy new novel molecular and point-of-care diagnostic tests.

Site Institution 2: Laboratorios de Investigación y Desarrollos

Site Institution: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH), ), School of Public Health and Administration
Research Areas: HIV and Aging, Non-Communicable Diseases, Musculoskeletal Health, Osteoporosis, Sarcopenia

Site Description:
Peru is a country of enormous geographic, cultural and biologic diversity. Located in the capital city of Lima, the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH) is the leading biomedical teaching and research institution in the country. Since its foundation, UPCH´s scientific contributions have significantly influenced national public health policies and promoted development and innovation in Peru.

The newly remodeled School of Public Health (FASPA, acronym in Spanish), founded in 1998, is the only School of Public Health in Peru. Its mission is to generate, apply and disseminate knowledge relevant to health promotion, disease prevention and treatment in human populations. FASPA is committed to improving health management, health policies and health economics and considers research to be a key strategy to design effective policy and intervention programs.

Dr. Garcia has served as Dean of FASPA, Director of the Instituto Nacional de Salud (Peruvian National Institute of Health), and most recently as the Minister of Health of Peru. Dr. Hsieh is an Associate Professor at the Yale School of Medicine (Rheumatology) and School of Public Health (Chronic Disease Epidemiology). Her recent work focuses on prevention of osteoporosis and fractures in countries undergoing economic transition, and the intersection between HIV and non-communicable disease.

Dr. Evelyn Hsieh and Dr. Garcia have collaborated on epidemiological, prevention and health services research projects related to women’s health topics including sexually transmitted infections, osteoporosis, and aging-related comorbidities among Peruvian women with HIV (osteoporosis, fractures, and sarcopenia). This site strives to expand knowledge in these key areas of health, which are understudied in Peru and across much of Latin America.

Current or recent projects include:
  • Musculoskeletal Outcomes among Women Aging with HIV in Peru
  • Health-Related Quality of Life among Women Aging with HIV and Peru
  • Capacity building for NCD care for the HIV positive population of Peru: a national assessment of knowledge and resources among HIV providers
  • Expanding the toolbox for prevention of sarcopenia and osteoporosis among Peruvian People with HIV: A validation study

Other features of this site include:
  • 8 active research units within FASPA which have contributed with countless studies on areas of critical relevance for Peru and Globally: such as sexuality, mental health, adolescent health, epidemiology, STIs and HIV-AIDS, HPV, biomedical informatics, indigenous health, environment and health and global health with a focus on social innovation, implementation research and moving from research to policy.
  • Interdisciplinary research teams linked to the School, the University and other affiliated institutions. The creation and development of inter- institutional projects has been a productive and increasingly important process and has fostered the consolidation of working groups and research units.
  • Longstanding experience in training both Peruvian and foreign scholars in global health and research methods through the delivery of short courses/electives in Global Health, a formal master’s degree program, and the innovative Fogarty Kuskaya post-doctoral global health fellowship program.

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