1er Congreso Internacional Ecología y Evolución de las Enfermedades Transmisibles

Morazmi Mohd Nor

Director, Institut Penyelidikan Perutaban Molekul (Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine), Universiti Sains Malaysia. Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.

Ricardo Izurieta

Dr. Izurieta received his MD from the Central University of Ecuador and after graduation, carried out his postdoctoral training in Public Health and Tropical Diseases. In 1991, he faced the cholera epidemic that spread through Latin American countries as National Director of the Cholera Control Program in the Ministry of Public Health of Ecuador. In 1997, he was appointed Chief of the Department of Epidemiology and Director of The Vaccine Center of the Armed Forces of Ecuador. During his studies, he has been a USAID Thomas Jefferson Fellow, a PAHO Research Fellow, a Gorgas Memorial Institute Fellow, and a FUNDACYT Fellow. In 2003, Dr. Izurieta was elected Vice President of the Gorgas Memorial Institute of Tropical and Preventive Medicine. To date, Dr. Izurieta still holds this appointment.

Dr. Izurieta is currently the director of the Donald Price Parasitology Center.  In addition, he is a consultant for WASTE International from the Netherlands and for the Stockholm Environment Institute from Sweden.

Miguel Reina-Ortiz

Dr. Reina-Ortiz earned his MD degree from Universidad Central del Ecuador and his PhD degree from University of South Florida. He has also been granted a Master’s degree microbiology by Universidad San Francisco de Quito and a Masters in Public Health degree by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Dr. Reina-Ortiz has extensive experience in the field of tropical medicine and community health. He has special interest in the use and applications of GIS-based analysis in health settings. He has worked on research projects in rural areas of Ecuador, Costa Rica and Panama as well as multinational research in South and South East Asia. Dr. Reina-Ortiz successfully co-directed the first GIS Applied to health workshop in Quito, Ecuador.

Arturo Quizhpe

• Dean, College of Medicine, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador.
• Coordinador Regional, Consejo Internacional para la Salud de los Pueblos en Sud-América.
• General Coordinator, Segunda Asamblea para la Salud de los Pueblos.
• Miembro, Comite del Movimiento para la Salud de los Pueblos.

Fernando Gonzalez

Dr. Gonzales is a Professor of Genetics in the Department of Genetics, University of Valencia. He is also a research associated in Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva (ICBiBE), University of Valencia; CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III; FISABIO-Salud Pública (Formerly CSISP), Generalitat Valenciana.  Dr. Gonzalez’ main research interests are in population and evolutionary genetics, molecular and evolutionary epidemiology, molecular systematics and genomics, bioinformatics and conservation biology. He is currently working on the molecular evolutionary epidemiology of different pathogens, mainly RNA viruses, such as hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and bacteria, such as Legionella pneumophila. Our basic approach is the analysis of nucleotide sequence variability at different levels, from intrapatient to world-wide samples, depending on the speficic goals of the different projects.

Previously Dr. Gonzalez has studied the population and evolutionary biology of Mediterranean endemic Limonium (Plumbaginaceae) species, by using an array of genetic markers (RAPDs, AFLPs, microsatellites, isozymes) and including the analysis of quantitative traits. Besides, he has been very involved in the establishment of the Bioinformatics Service at my university, of which he was in charge from 1994 to 2000. He has also helped in the development of the Automated Sequencing Service. He has served as head of the Bioinformatics Service at the University of Valencia from 1994 until 2001 and as Scientific Expert on the Spanish National Biosafety Council from 1998 until 2010.

Current research projects:

   - Molecular and evolutionary epidemiology of RNA virus
   - Molecular populations genetics and evolutionary epidemiology of Legionella pneumophila
   - Genomic epidemiology
   - Comparative and evolutionary genomics, phylogenomics
   - Population and evolutionary genetics of pathogens, parasites and their vectors
   - Conservation genetics of endangered plant species

Max Moreno-Madriñán

Born and raised in Colombia, Dr. Max Jacobo Moreno-Madriñán earned his PhD in environmental health from the University of South Florida School of Public Health, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. He received his master’s degree in environmental management for sustainable development from Universidad Javeriana in Colombia.

Dr. Moreno’s research focuses on the application of remote sensing technology to public health problems, working to understand the environmental determinants of vector transmitted and neglected diseases, and to the study of the relationship between surface water quality and land use.

Fernando Spilki
 

Graduado en Medicina Veterinaria en la Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS, 2001), posee también una maesría en ciencias veterinarias concentración virología animal (UFRGS, 2004) y un doctorado en genética y biología molecular concentración microbiología de la Universidade Estadual de Campinas (2006). El Dr. Spilki es profesor titular de la Universidade Feevale, Director nominado para la implementación del Curso de Medicina de la institución. Becario de Productividad del CNPq - Nível 1D. Miembro del Directorio de la Sociedad Brasileña de Virología, 1o. Secretario, gestión 2015-2016. Editor-Adjunto de la revista Virus Reviews & Research. El Dr. Spilki mantiene proyectos en las áreas de virología animal, humana y ambiental. Coordina proyectos de investigación sobre la detección de virus entéricos en el agua y su relación con el impacto ambiental y en la salud humana, virus de rumiantes y aves, además de proyectos sobre enfermedades respiratorias virales en seres humanos. Los proyectos tienen el apoyo financeiro del CNPq, CAPES e de la Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS).

Eknath Naik
 

Dr. Naik is a board-certified internal medicine physician practicing in the Veterans Affairs’ Hospital (VA hospital) in Tampa and at the same time he is faculty in the College of Public Health, University of South Florida. He obtained his MD degree from University of Mumbai and University of South Florida. He has also be conferred an MPH degree and a PhD degree in Epidemiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Naik has ample expertise in infectious disease control and epidemiology. He is the director of the Center for HIV/AIDS Research and Training (CHART-India) and an Assistant Director at the Emergency Department in the James A Haley VA Hospital

Thomas Unnasch

Dr. Thomas Unnasch is the Department Chair and Distinguished USF Health Professor in the Department of Global Health. His research has focused upon vector-borne diseases and the human filarial infections. The laboratory concentrates upon research areas that have a direct impact upon disease control and elimination programs targeting vector-borne pathogens worldwide.The laboratory is involved in developing new tools to enhance the efficiency of the surveillance activities carried out by onchocerciasis (river blindness) control and elimination programs in Africa and Latin America. The laboratory has been instrumental in the development of molecular based methods for the detection of the river blindness parasite Onchocerca volvulus both in humans and in its black fly vector. We continue to assist these programs, both in the development of diagnostic methods as well as in the development of mathematical algorithms to use data collected from screening pools of vectors to quantify the intensity of exposure in the affected human population. We are also working closely with collaborators in Africa and Latin America to develop spatial models to predict zones which are at risk for onchocerciasis using remote sensing data, and to develop more efficient methods for the collection of vector blackflies to monitor transmission of onchocerciasis. In the field of arboviral infections, our laboratory is studying the ecology of Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEV) in the Southeastern USA, concentrating on elucidating the dynamic processes in the host-vector relationship that are drivers in the development of EEEV enzootics and epidemics. The ultimate goal of these studies is to develop a predictive model for habitats that are most likely to represent EEEV enzootic foci. Such a model could be used to most efficiently target the surveillance and vector control efforts of the mosquito control programs throughout Florida and the Southeastern USA.

Julie Baldwin

Dr. Baldwin earned her doctorate in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education in 1991 from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. For nearly 15 years, she worked primarily with tribal communities in northern Arizona to design culturally relevant health promotion programs for youth and their families. From 1994-2004, she served as a tenured faculty member at Northern Arizona University, with a joint appointment in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health. She joined the faculty at the University of South Florida (USF) in the Department of Community and Family Health in 2005. She currently teaches graduate-level courses on health disparities, health education intervention methods, community-based health promotion, and program planning.

Dr. Baldwin’s research over the years has focused on both infectious and chronic disease prevention targeting children, adolescents, and families. Cross-cutting themes which have characterized her work include: utilizing community-based participatory research approaches, working with underserved and/or marginalized populations, and addressing health disparities by developing and implementing culturally competent public health interventions. She has been PI or Co-PI of several federally funded projects from such agencies as CDC, NIMH, NIAAA, NIDA, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and HRSA/AMERSA-SAMHSA/CSAT.

Her current research projects include: serving as the Co-Leader of the Community Engagement and Outreach Core of the “USF/Moffitt Transdisciplinary Center to Address Cancer Health Disparities,” and as Co-I of “Novel Dissemination of a Group Intervention for HIV+ Women Via Web Conferencing.” Recently, she also served as the P.I. of “Quality of Healthcare for Florida’s Children and Adolescents: Focus on Obesity,” as Co-P.I. of the Florida Prevention Research Center and coordinated the Mental Health Training Program of the Florida/Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Center. Dr. Baldwin has also served on several NIH review panels, including two standing committees: the Behavioral and Social Consequences of HIV/AIDS, and more recently, the Community Influences on Health Behavior. As an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, she has made a life-long commitment to serving communities of color and to advocating for culturally competent health promotion /disease prevention programs.

Aziah Ismail

Dr. Aziah Ismail obtained her BSc (Hons) in Genetics from National University of Malaysia. She pursued her MSc in medical sciences at School of Medical Sciences, and PhD in molecular medicine at Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine (INFORMM), Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2009. She became the first person to have graduated with a PhD from INFORMM. After obtaining her PhD she joined INFORMM as a lecturer under Typhoid and Enteric Diseases Cluster. Aziah’s research interests are in the genomics and as well as proteomics including the aspects of PCR, isothermal amplification, construction of recombinant plasmids, protein expression, protein purification and immunochromatography techniques, Sanger sequencing, next generation sequencing as well as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. Currently she is involved in development of molecular diagnostics using PCR and isothermal amplification and DNA dipstick detection method using lateral flow technology; bacterial genome sequence analysis; SNP markers analysis for disease susceptibility; as well as proteomic approaches to identify specific markers for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

Mayumi Yamamoto

Professor Mayumi Yamamoto is a physician and researcher with experiences in clinical endocrinology / metabolism and experimental biochemistry, and research into the health administration. She received her MD in 1987 from School of Medicine, Gifu University, Japan. She was awarded a Research Fellowship of Japan Medical Women Association during her postgraduate degree and completed a PhD in Gifu University in 1995. Then, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of South Florida, USA. She was achieved Superior Research Presentation Honor and awarded the University Medal during postdoctoral training.

In 1998, she graduated the Master of Business Administration for Physicians, Business Administration, University of South Florida. She returned to Japan to take up a competitively Assistant Professor position in Diabetes and Endocrinology at Gifu University before returning to the Gifu University Hospital as a Lecturer in 2003. She was appointed Professor of the Health Administration Center in 2004 and Professor of Division of Medical information Sciences, United Graduate School of Drug Discovery and Medical Information Sciences in 2007 at the Gifu University.

Her main research interests center on the understanding on the prevention and management of diabetes. After 2004, the focus of her research has been in university students relating prevention of lifestyle related disease. In 2012, she was appointed Director of the Health Administration Center. She has worked as a responsible person in the management of health service including school health and industrial health.

She has managed the various roles in university students’ health care as an administrator of the center, an emergency treatment, annual health check-ups, giving advice based upon the health check results, mental supports, school counseling, health promotion, and risk management. She has developed various student health promotion programs, the campus-wide nonsmoking enforcement, the ideal bodyweight control program, the infectious disease control and the mental support program on campus.

She is a physician educator involved in the teaching and supervision of undergraduate students, postgraduate students, health care practitioners and scientists in the fields of lifestyle related disease. She is a member of the board of directors of the Japan University Health Association and a chief of the International Exchange Committee.

Yoshimasa Yamamoto

In 1980, Dr. Yamamoto earned his PhD degree from the Tokyo University Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan in medical science. After that Dr. Yamamoto carried out his professional training in medical microbiology at Department of Bacteriology, Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo University. He has served academic positions, such as Assistant Professor, Lecturer and Associate Professor at several professional schools, including Tokyo University Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan, Meiji College of Pharmacy, Tokyo, Japan, and Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. In 1998, Dr. Yamamoto was appointed Associate Professor of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, Florida. In 2003, Dr. Yamamoto was appointed Professor of the Department of Bioinformatics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan. He received Emeritus Professor from Osaka University, Osaka, Japan and Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Thai Binh, Vietnam.

Dr. Yamamoto is currently Director General of Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Osaka, Japan. He is also a Principal Investigator of the project “Determine the outbreak mechanisms and development of a surveillance model for multi-drug resistant bacteria” supported by the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development Program (SATREPS) of JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and AMED (Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development), Japan.

Michael Turell

Michael Turell has been a principal investigator at USAMRIID (United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases) for more than 30 years.  He received his B.S. and M.S. in Entomology from Cornell University, NY; his MPH from Tulane University, LA; and his Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of California at Berkeley, CA. His principal interest has been the study of factors affecting the ability of mosquitoes to transmit various arboviruses.  He has evaluated the potential of selected arthropods to transmit pathogens such as Rift Valley fever, eastern equine encephalitis, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile viruses.  These involve both field studies (Peru, Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Senegal, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Uzbekistan, etc.) and laboratory studies.  In addition, he has conducted research on the development of vaccines for several mosquito-borne viruses and the development and evaluation of antigen and RNA detection assays.

He has more than 180 referred publications in Science, American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Journal of Medical Entomology, Virology, Infection and Immunity, etc. and has given more than 120 presentations at national and international meetings, including invited presentations at 13 international meetings.

William Pan

William Pan, PhD, Assistant Professor of Global Environmental Health, joined the faculty at Duke in 2011. He holds a joint appointment at DGHI and the Nicholas School of Environment, and is Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Pan's research interests focuses on population, health, and environmental interactions in developing countries, with particular interest in translational research directed toward sustainable development activities and global environmental health. He has worked in countries throughout Latin America and Africa on topics ranging from land use change, reproductive health, migration, tuberculosis, HIV, enteric infections, and childhood nutrition. Pan received his doctoral training in Biostatistics from UNC-Chapel Hill with a focus on demography and spatial analysis. He also received a Master of Public Health from Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

Donna Petersen

Fabián Sáenz

MAURICIO ESPINEL

Gabriel trueba

Enrique Terán

- Doctor en Medicina (MD) por la Universidad Central del Ecuador
- Doctor en Farmacologia (PhD) por la Universidad de Londres en Inglaterra
- Master en Cooperación internacional para el desarrollo (MSc) por la Universidad Internacional de La Rioja en España

Intereses: Investigación, estudios, etc.

Mas de 20 años investigando sobre la fisiopatología de la hipertensión inducida por el embarazo (preeclampsia) que es la primera causa de muerte materna en el Ecuador, yendo desde los aspectos moleculares hasta la intervención clínica. Apasionado por las enfermedades metabólicas, habiendo incursionado en diabetes, hipertensión y dislipidemia, así como las consecuencias de las mismas y su tratamiento. Interesado en enfermedades infecciosas, particularmente el virus de inmunodeficiencia humana (VIH). Pionero en el estudio y desarrollo de la farmacogenética en el Ecuador.