Training

Projects

Climate Variability and Human Health Impacts in Colombia

Funding Institution

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research
http://www.iai.int

Project Summary

Four students in the first year have had opportunities to get involved in a major research project:

• PhD student: Guillermo Leon Rua (Thesis: Relationship between El Niño and entomology of malaria transmission in Colombia)

• M.Sc. student: Daniel Ruiz (Thesis: Mathematical modeling of entomological-climatic interactions of malaria transmission)

• M. Sc. student: Juan Santiago Zuluaga (Thesis: Impact of El Niño on the quality of larvae and adults of the malaria vectors and alternative methods of collection)

• Miss Elizabeth Montoya. Undergraduate student, Civil Engineering. Her work is not leading to a thesis, but she has been in charge of constructing the database for dengue in Antioquia. 

The students are at two universities in Medellín, Colombia: Universidad Nacional de Colombia at Medellín; and Universidad de Antioquia. 

The research team also trains personnel of the Regional Health Services of Antioquia and Chocó for data gathering, quality control and fieldwork. The research team and the Regional Health Services work in cooperation to set up Health Early Warning Systems for climatic conditions conducive to malaria outbreaks.