Mexico-UTEP; PI Mark Lusk, EdD

Fellowship Site: Mexico-Juarez

The University of Texas at EI Paso (UTEP) College of Health Sciences (CHS) proposes to serve as a Training Site for Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars and Fellows. UTEP is uniquely situated less than one kilometer from the Mexican border adjacent to Ciudad Juarez - a major metropolitan area of over 1.5 million inhabitants. The College of Health Sciences, is the leading health sciences research center in West Texas and emphasizes border health and minority health in its research programs. CHS, through its 8 academic departments, has ongoing research projects in diabetes, HIV, drug abuse, family violence, occupational injury, environmental health, enteric infection, obesity, tuberculosis and other health problems endemic to the border region. UTEP is a minority-serving institution with a Hispanic student body of nearly 80%. UTEP is a bilingual, bi-cultural university with deep ties to the Ciudad Juarez, Mexico community. CHS has close ties to its partner university, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juarez, for decades.

Research Opportunities:

• Community-Based Participatory Research in Environmental Health
  
• Pharmacological Approaches towards Treatment
  
• Prevention of Diabetes in Obese Hispanic Adolescents
• Insulin Resistance /Diet of Hispanic Women w/ Breast Cancer 
• HIV and TB among IV drug users
  
• New Hispanic Communities and HIV Risk
  
• A study of indoor Pollution and Bio-aerosols in Low-Income Households in Juarez and El Paso —Center for Border Health Research
  

Housing/Meals/Transportation:

Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juarez Campus is located within a three-mile radius from the main international bridges that connect El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. There are many forms of transportation to and from the downtown bridge, which can be easily crossed on foot after a 35 cents toll; the “free bridge “, so called because no toll charges for cars or pedestrians is collected, is approximately 1 mile from the Campus (5 minutes from UTEP).

Health Issues:

The NIH/ICRF program requires all trainees to see a physician before they leave for assignment abroad. Please visit U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The Yellow Book: Health Information for International Travel for more information.

Safety Issues:

See the U.S. State Department website for more information.

Language requirement other than English:

Basic knowledge of Spanish may be required. But there will be help at site with translations.