UTEP CHS Goes Global - Public Health Professor Shares MHIRT Program Successes at Ireland Conference
Dr. Maria Duarte, professor and chair of the Department of Public Health, was invited to speak at the 2018 Toward Unity for Health Conference held in Limerick, Ireland from August 16 – 20th. Dr. Duarte’s presentation, “Addressing Global Health Disparities through Collaborative Research and Institutional Partnerships in Latin America,” was part of a session focusing on international collaborations and community engagement. The presentation included an overview and structure of the UTEP Minority Health International Research (MHIRT) Program. The MHIRT program prepares future minority health researchers to reduce health disparities in Hispanic and other minority populations through collaborative research. To date, 150 students have been trained and placed at selected partner sites throughout Latin America, where they participate in intensive summer internships under the mentorship of research partner collaborators. Students present an overview of their research experience at the end of the summer program at UTEP Research Symposia and at different national and international conferences. The MHIRT program is funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
MHIRT Collaborators are listed below:
UTEP College of Health Science: Dr. Maria Duarte; Leticia Paez, MHIRT Program Manager; Dr. Shafik Dharamsi, dean of the College of Health Sciences; Dr. Mark Lusk, Dr. Gabriel Ibarra-Mejia, Dr. Thenral Mangadu, Dr. Oralia Loza, and Dr. Eva Moya.
Lead Latin American Research Collaborators:
- Nestor Sosa, Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud, Panama City, Panama.
- KS Jagannatha Rao, Instituto de Investigations Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIT), Panama, City, Panama.
- Rosario Achi and Dr. Seidy Mora-Quiroz, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.