Nuestro ejemplo UVG, Personaje del mes

Conozco a Norma desde el colegio y fuimos compañeras de universidad, aquí en la Universidad del Valle. A través de este tiempo, he podido evidenciar la pasión y entrega que Norma pone en su desempeño como científica y bióloga de corazón. Su deseo por continuar su desarrollo personal y profesional ha sido constante. Aún después de haber completado una maestría en Entomología Médica en la Universidad de Panamá y un doctorado en Medicina Tropical en el Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, su afán diario por mantenerse actualizada se pone de testimonio en su quehacer profesional. En su trabajo científico es riguorosa y cuidadosa con la calidad y exactitud de sus investigaciones. Su trabajo en el campo de la investigación sobre el control de la malaria ha generado resultados valiosos que han permitido no solamente mejorar los programas locales desde el punto de vista técnico sino también facilitar el financiamiento para el mejoramiento de los mismos. El expertaje que ha alcanzado es de reconocimiento internacional del tal manera que su asistencia es valorada, especialmente en la inciativa amazónica para el control de la malaria.

De manera paralela a su investigación, ha puesto de manifiesto su interés por contriubuir a la formación de jovenes científicos habiendo asesorado el trabajo de tesis de varios estudiantes de la Universidad del Valle.

No puedo dejar de resaltar sus cualidades personales de rectitud, sensibilidad ante los problemas de los demás y su incansable afán por transormar su entorno, de manera particular para promover a la mujer.

¡Gracias, Norma, por ser parte de nuestro equipo!

Lic. Celia Cordón de Rosales

Co-Directora, Centro de Estudios en Salud

Instituto de Investigaciones

1985 Licenciatura in Biology Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala

2002- Coordinator of the Malaria Research Program Center for Health Studies (CES,) Universidad de Guatemala and Central America and Panama Office, Guatemala City, Guatemala (CDC/CAP), US Centers for Disease and Prevention . Hold a joint appointment at CDC/CAP and a faculty of the Center of Health Studies at the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala. Responsible for the programmatic and administrative direction of the program as well as overseeing all malaria research activities at CES and CDC/CAP field station, conduct independent research on malaria prevention and control, including management and analysis of community-based trials on insecticide treated nets, assessment of the efficacy of antimalarial drugs, molecular epidemiology of malaria and population structure of malaria parasites.

1998-2001 Senior Malaria Researcher Medical Entomology Research and Training Unit, Guatemala City, Guatemala US Centers for Disease and Prevention. Project Manager- Technical Director of the USAID Health Relief Program Post Hurricane Mitch, for Guatemala. This intervention project aimed to mitigate malaria transmission through the implementation of three main strategies: a community/based malaria control program using insecticide treated nets, improved the diagnosis and treatment system and strengthen the surveillance system to aid the decision-making process within the health.

1990-1997 Research Entomologists Medical Entomology Research and Training Unit, Guatemala City, Guatemala, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Conducted research on the ecology and population biology of malaria vectors in Guatemala including: anophelines surveys and vector identification incrimination and competence, bionomics of malaria vectors, population genetic structure and insecticide resistance. Information generated during these investigations contributes to better define malaria transmission in Guatemala.

1989‑1990 Research Associate PAHO/USAID. Investigate in support to the National Malaria Control Program, MOH, the epidemiology of malaria transmission in northern Guatemala.

1987-1989 Research Fellow. Gorgas Memorial Laboratory, Panama City, Panama. Research conducted on the bionomics of Sabethes chloropterus, Sa. cyaneus and Sa. tarsopus (Diptera) Culicidae in the tropical forest of Panama. It includes species composition, seasonality of adults and immature and oviposition behaviour and its relation to the transmission of sylvan arboviruses.

1984‑1985 Research Assistant. United State Department of Agriculture (USDA), Guatemala City, Guatemala. Research conducted on the oviposition rates of fruit fly Ceratitis capitata in alternative hosts.

2004-2006 Mentor for Licenciatura Students. Supervised the thesis research of 4 biochemistry and 2 biologist students from the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala in Guatemala.

2005 Professor Advance Parasitology. Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala.

1980-1982 Biology Laboratory Assistance. Develop laboratory activities and directed laboratory and discussion sessions.

Ministry of Health Guatemala. Technical Service Agreement for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the Global Fund-Malaria project for Guatemala. Guatemala, 2005 to date.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Regional Office for Central America and Panama (CDC/CAP). Consultant for the Amazon Malaria Initiative (AMI). Involved in providing technical guidelines for the evaluation of antimalarial drug resistance, use of genotyping to improve estimates of resisitance and for the strengthening of the entomological surveillance system. 2003- to date.

Secretaria de Planificación y Programación de la Presidencia, (SEGEPLAN), Guatemalan. Goverment. Technical Consultant for the Evaluation of the Millennium Development Goals: Goals 6 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. Toward the Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in Guatemala (Hacia el Cumplimiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio en Guatemala), II Progess Report, Guatemala 2006

PAHO/WHO. Technical Consultant for the development on the assessment of therapeutic efficacy of antimalarial drugs in South America. Sao Luis Marañao, Brasil 21-25 February 2000.

Moore, S. Darling, S., Sihuincha, M., Padilla, N. and Devine, G. (submitted for clearance) Developing a low cost repellent to reduce malaria in the Americas: results of two field trials in Guatemala and Peru.

Padilla, N. Cordón-Rosales, C. Williamson, J. and Klein. R. (In preparation). The impact of community-wide use of insecticide treated nets for malaria control in Guatemala.

Padilla, N., Mendizabal-Cabrera, R., Barnwell, J, C. Bloland, P. (In preparation). A community-based study for measuring the efficacy of cloroquina in Plasmodium vivax infections (in preparation)

Ranson, H., Padilla, N. Penilla, P. and Bennedict, M. (In preparation) Towards a genetic map for Anopheles albimanus: identification of microsatellite markers and a preliminary chromosome 2 genetic map.

Li, J., Welch, R. M., Server, T., Irwin, D., Cordon-Rosales, C. and Padilla, N. 2002. Dynamic malaria models with environmental Changes. Proceedings of the 34^th Southeastern Symposium on System Theory, Huntsville, Alabama.

Padilla, N. P. 1997. The role of Anopheles vestitipennis and An. albimanus in the transmission of malaria in Guatemala. Thesis for PhD degree. University of Liverpool, School of Tropical Medicine.

Padilla, N. C., P. Molina, J. Juárez, D. Bown and C. Cordón‑Rosales. 1992. Potential malaria vectors in northern Guatemala. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 8(3): 311.

Cordón‑Rosales, N. Padilla and R. Zeissig. 1992. Impact of partial deltamethirn resistance in Anopheles albimanus on the efficacy of intradomiciliary spraying for malaria control. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. 8(3): 309.

Dix, M., R. Darsie, P. Molina, L. Rodriguez, N. Padilla, and J. Juárez. 1991. Anopheles neomaculipalpus, first record for Guatemala. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. 7(2): 330‑331.

S. Asefi, J. Li, U.S. Nair, R. M. Welch, E. Barrios, M E. Benedict and N. Padilla. (2005). An Integrated Hydrological and Atmospheric Model to predict Malaria Epidemics. 21st International Conference on Interactive Information Processing Systems (IIPS) for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology

2005 Padilla, N. Strategies for Malaria Control in Central America Malaria. International Forum, Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies. Panama, March 18 2005 (oral presentation)

2002 Padilla, N. Cordon-Rosales, C. Timothy, Holtz, Bloland, P. Barnwell, J. Efficacy of chloroquine in the treatment of P. vivax malaria in Guatemala. Vivax Malaria Research: 2002 and beyond. Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM), Bangkok, Thailand. February 3-8, 2002 (oral presentation).

1996 N. Padilla, Cordón-Rosales, C., Eggelte. The efficacy of chloroquine in malaria infections in Guatemala, Central America. International Conference of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and Malaria. Noviembre, Nagasaki, Japan. (Investigator Award).

2006 Moore, S. Darling, S. Sihuincha, M. Padilla, N. and Devine, G. Developing a low cost repellent to reduce malaria in the Americas: results of two field trials in Guatemala and Peru. 55th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. November 11-17 Atlanta, Georgia. (poster).

2005 Padilla, N., Cordon-Rosales, C. Williamson, J. and Klein, R.. What is the potential of insecticide treated nets for malaria control in Latin America? 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. December 11-15, 2005, Washington, DC. (oral presentation).

2005 Mendizabal-Cabrera, R. Barnwell, J. and Padilla, N. Genetic diversity of Plasmodium vivax in malaria high risk areas of Guatemala, Central America. American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Washington, DC (poster).

2002 J. Li, R.M. Welch, U.S. Nair, T.L. Server, D.E. Irwin, C. Cordón-Rosales, and N. Padilla. Dynamic malaria models with environmental changes. Proceedings of the 34th Southeastern Symposium on System Theory, Huntsville, AL: 396-400.

1999 N.R. Padilla, C. Cordón-Rosales, and T. Egglete. In vivo response of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum strains to chloroquine in Guatemala, Central America. Abstracts of the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. November 28-December 2, 1999, Washington D.C.

1997 Padilla, N. and C. Cordón-Rosales. Detection of chloroquine-resistant strains of Plasmodium vivax in Guatemala. V Congreso Cubano de Microbiología y Parasitología. Marzo de 1997, La Habana, Cuba (oral presentation).

1992 C. Cordón-Rosales, N. Padilla, and R. Zeissig. Impact of partial deltamethrin resistance in Anopheles albimanus on the efficacy of intradomiciliary spraying for malaria control. In: Clark, G.G. and M.F. Suárez. Mosquito vector control and biology in Latin America - a second symposium. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 8(3): 305-317. (oral presentation)

1992 N. Padilla, P. Molina, J. Juárez, D. Bown, and C. Cordón-Rosales. Potential malaria vectors in Northern Guatemala. In: Clark, G.G. and M.F. Suárez. Mosquito vector control and biology in Latin America - a second symposium. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 8(3): 305-317. (oral presentation).

1991 C. Cordon-Rosales, N. Padilla, y E. Molina. Ensayo directo de la inmunoabsorción de la enzima conjugada (ELISA) para la determinación de alimentaciones sanguíneas e índices de sangre humana en Anopheles albimanus de Guatemala. Revista de la Asociacion Guatemalteca de Parasitologia 6: 112. 1991.

1991 N. Padilla, P.A. Molina, J. Juárez, C. Cordón-Rosales, and E. Molina. Tasas de infección con Plasmodium vivax y P. falciparum en Anopheles albimanus y A. vestitipennis de la región norte de Guatemala. Revista de la Asociación Guatemalteca de Parasitología 6: 112. 1991. (oral presentation).

2006-2007 Multisectorial approach to reduce malaria in 5 health areas of Guatemala. Malaria Global Fund Project Guatemala Global, Fund for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. MOH/World Vision Guatemala (Total direct and indirect 1 year) $230,000

1999-2001 Hurricane Mitch Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program, Guatemala- Health Relief Program. Including the Implementation of a community-based malaria control and prevention program using insecticide treated nets, strengthening malaria diagnosis and treatment system and the surveillance system to improve the data for the decision-making process

2002-2005 Sustainability and long term impact on the reduction in malaria cases in Guatemala with the use of insecticide treated bednets.

1999-2001 The impact of community-wide use of insecticide treated bednets on malaria transmission in Ixcán, northern Guatemala.

1999 Development and characterization of microsatellites in Anopheles albimanus

Gorgas Memorial Institute Research Award. (Total direct and indirect 1 years) $ 40,000

1997 Analysis of genetic variation in populations of Anopheles vestitipennis using the ITS2 and mtDNA.

1995-1997 The epidemiology of Plasmodium vivax polymorphisms and its implications on treatment.

1993‑1995 The vectorial role of Anopheles vestitipennis and An. albimanus in malaria transmission in the northern region of Guatemala,

2006-2007 The use of genotyping of malaria parasites on estimates of chloroquine efficacy in Guatemala.

2006-2007 Development of molecular markers for genetic studies in Plasmodium vivax.

2004-2005 Genetic diversity and dynamicas of Plasmodium vivax isolates from Guatemala.

1998-1999 P. vivax molecular markers associated to chloroquine resistance and recurrences in Guatemala.

2006 A field trial to measure the efficacy of a simple lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) and lemon eucalyptus (Corymbia citriaodora) insect repellent against malaria vectors Anopheles albimanus and An. darlingi in Guatemala.

1990‑1992 The impact of partial deltamethrin resistance in Anopheles albimanus on the efficacy of intradomiciliary spraying for malaria control.

1989‑1991 Incrimination of anopheline species in malaria transmission and its epidemiological importance in the northern region of Guatemala. PAHO Guatemala/USAID.

1987-1988 Bionomics of canopy mosquitoes during the dry season and their role in the trasmisión of yellow fever and St Louis encephlitis. Gorgas Memorial Laboratory. Panama.

1984‑1985 Oviposition rate and mortality of eggs and larvae of Ceratitis capitata, in coffee and oranges and the elaboration of life tables, United State Department of Agriculture, Guatemala.

2003-2005 Prevalence of mutations in the K76T of the pfcrt gene in P. falciparum isolates of Guatemala.

2002-2005 Sustainability and long term impact on the reduction in malaria cases in Guatemala with the use of insecticide treated bednets.

1992 Research on the evaluation of the insecticide‑repellency effect of permethrin impregnated bednets in An. albimanus in the northern region of Guatemala