Personaje del mes de febrero
El Dr. Klein
llegó a Guatemala en 1966, siendo de nacionalidad estadounidense y habiendo
completado su formación profesional en el área de psicología del desarrollo en
su país natal. Sus primeras actividades de investigación en Guatemala, las
desarrolló en asociación con el Instituto de Nutrición de Centro América y
Panamá (INCAP), en donde permaneció hasta 1983. Dentro del INCAP llegó a
ocupara diversos cargos: psicólogo investigador en la División de Desarrollo
Humano, Director de la misma división y posteriormente Coordinador de Desarrollo
de Recurso Humano. Posteriormente desarrolló diversas actividades entre la
cuales destaca la de Director Regional del Programa de Sobrevivencia Infantil y
Fertilidad para América Latina y el Caribe, del Consejo de Población.
En 1988 inició su trabajo relacionado con las principales enfermedades parasitarias transmitidas por insectos en Guatemala, a través de su colaboración en proyectos desarrollados por la Unidad de Investigación y Entrenamiento en Entomología Médica /Guatemala (MERTU/G por sus siglas en inglés). MERTU/G, una Unidad del Centro para la Prevención y Control de Enfermedades de Estados Unidos de América (CDC), venía operando en Guatemala desde 1976 en estrecha colaboración con la Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG). Desde 1990 hasta 2005, fungió como director de MERTU/G y a partir del 2006, como director de Oficina Regional del CDC para Centro América y Panamá (CDC-CAP), que surge de la reorganización de MERTU/G. Las oficinas del CDC en Guatemala han estado localizadas desde su inicio dentro del campus de la UVG. En sus programas ha contado, también desde su comienzo, con la participación de profesionales de la UVG especialmente aquellos afiliados al Centro de Enfermedades Tropicales, ahora nombrado Centro de Estudios en Salud (CES). El CES ha fungido como la principal contraparte institucional de la UVG en la cooperación con el CDC. Es así como desde 1988, el Dr. Klein inicia su colaboración con la UVG.
Durante estos años de actividad profesional ligada a Guatemala, 18 de un total de 40 años estrechamente asociados con la UVG, su liderazgo y prestigio científico son ampliamente reconocidos nacional e internacionalmente. Su labor ha contribuido a mejorar la salud pública de Guatemala al dirigir, desarrollar e impulsar trabajos de investigación de alta relevancia y excelencia científica. En especial a través de su cooperación con el CES, ha promovido el desarrollo local de la capacidad y los recursos humanos en investigación. Una muestra de su decidido interés por contribuir al desarrollo de la investigación localmente, ha sido su participación como Decano del Instituto de Investigaciones de la UVG durante el período de 1993 a 1997. Todas las personas que hemos tenido el gusto de trabajar con el Dr. Klein, hemos sido contagiados de su entusiasmo, dinamismo, optimismo y visión vanguardista. Su personal estilo de trabajo ha fomentado el valor del trabajo en equipo, la riqueza de la diversidad, la libertad y la creatividad. Estoy segura que una de sus mayores satisfacciones ha sido forjar siempre nuevas colaboraciones y acompañar a tantos compañeros en su desenvolvimiento profesional y personal. Gracias Dr. Klien por caminar todos estos años a nuestro lado, animándonos a recorrer nuevos rumbos.
Celia Cordón de Rosales
CURRICULUM VITAE
Robert E. Klein
Address: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
U.S. Embassy/Guatemala
Unit 3321
APO AA 34024-3321
Telephone: (502) 369-0791 through 5, Ext. 515
Fax: (502) 369-7539
E-Mail: rkk8@cdc.gov
EDUCATION:
Institution Degree Year
San Diego State Univ. BA Psychology 1956
Cornell University MA Speech Pathology 1963
Institute of Child PhD Developmental 1966
Development - University Psychology
of Minnesota
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
January 2006 – Present Director, Regional Office for Central America and Panama,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC-CAP), Department of Human Health
Services
January 1990 – 2005 Director, Medical Entomology Research and Training Unit/Guatemala,
National Centers for Infectious Disease, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Department of Human Health Services.
Responsibilities:
Responsible for the direction of the Medical Entomology Research and Training
Unit, Guatemala (MERTU/G), a research unit of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, Center for Infectious Diseases, Division of Parasitic Diseases,
Atlanta, Georgia. The MERTU/G laboratories and offices are located on the campus
of the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG). The staff includes 20
professionals and 75 field and laboratory technicians and administrative
personnel. Duties include:
1. Designing, obtaining financial support, supervising and evaluating field and
laboratory research on important human diseases prevalent in the Central
American region, e.g. malaria, leishmaniasis, dengue, Chagas’ disease,
onchocerciasis, diarrheal diseases, acute respiratory infections, West Nile
Virus, and development programs or studies focusing on the promotion of
treatment seeking behavior. In the same context, responsible of conducting
investigations on social aspects of knowledge, attitudes and practices of rural
community residents which directly affect their health status;
2. Conducting statistical analyses of data from these investigations, preparing
technical reports and publications for scientific books and journals, and the
organization and presentation of these data for program and policy purposes;
3. Organizing and supervising periodic training courses for university staff and
students, public health officials of Ministries of Health and other
investigators in areas of research methods, social sciences and epidemiology,
entomology, control of insect-borne parasitic tropical diseases, laboratory
diagnostic methods, and applications of Geographic Information Systems to
disease control;
4. Coordinates CDC research activities with the Ministry of Health in Guatemala,
and responds to requests for information and technical assistance from
Ministries of Health in the region, international agencies, and international
and national NGO’s.
June 2000 – 2003 Member of the Presidential Commission for Modernization and
Decentralization of the Republic of Guatemala
June 2000 – 2003 Member, Presidential Commission for the Formation Human
Resources
November 1997 – Present – Chairman of the Program Planning and Coordinating
Committee (PCC), Onchocerciasis and Elimination Program for the Americas (OEPA).
January 1997 – Present - Adjunct Professor – Masters’ Degree Program in Social
Science and Public Health, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala
April 1996 – March 2003 - Member of the Board of Directors, Fundación para el
Desarrollo Empresarial y Agrícola (FUNDEA), a non-governmental organization
which provides credit and technical assistance to small farmers and micro
entrepreneurs.
July 1993 to January 1997 – Dean of the Institute of Research, Universidad del
Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala. Responsible for the promotion of
research activities and coordination of research policies and priorities, review
of research proposals and provision of technical advice and support to Institute
research staff.
January 1988 – December 1994 – Consultant to various organizations including
Ford Foundation, Population Council, Centers for Disease Control, Government of
Guatemala (Ministry of Health, Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, and the
Congress of the Republic), Government of Nicaragua (Ministry of Health),
Government of Honduras (Ministry of Health), United States Agency for
International Development, and Plan International.
January 1986 – January 1988 - Senior Associate and Director of the Regional
Program on Child Survival and Adolescent Fertility for Latin America and the
Caribbean, the Population Council, Regional Office for Latin America and the
Caribbean, Mexico, D.F., Mexico.
Responsibilities –
Develop and manage a research program on Maternal and Child Health and
Adolescent Fertility.
1. Organize a research awards program focused on the determinants of child
health and adolescent fertility, as well as on developing and evaluating
intervention programs and on the evaluation of service strategies.
2. Provide technical assistance to regional institutions in the preparation of
research proposals and design of intervention projects, in the implementation of
research projects, and in the evaluation of intervention policies and projects.
3. Conceptualize and organize workshops/seminars to establish research
priorities, to exchange ideas, information and research findings; to discuss
research design and methods; and to promote the interaction among investigators,
program managers and policy-makers.
4. Organize the dissemination of research results flowing from the program to
professionals, policy-makers and to the general public, by way of professional
journals, mass-media, workshops and other appropriate channels.
5. Identify funding opportunities in the area of maternal and child health and
adolescent fertility and prepare grant proposals.
September – December, 1985 – Visiting Professor, School of Social Science,
University of California at Irvine, California
Responsibilities –
Taught a seminar on cross cultural studies of human growth and development.
August, 1985 – Consultant to USAID Project in Bangladesh
Responsibilities –
Feasibility study of a project designed to investigate hygiene and nutrition-related
child rearing practices of mothers in isolated rural villages whose children had
relatively better growth rates.
April 1983 – July 1985 – Coordinator Human Resource Development Institute of
Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), Pan American Health
Organization (PAHO)
Responsibilities –
1. Conduct surveys to determine national needs for human resources in health,
education and agriculture for health, food, nutrition and social development
projects in Central America and Panama.
2. Design, implement and evaluate training programs to fulfill national needs
defined in 1, above.
3. Provide technical assistance and consultation to national governments upon
request. Representative projects include:
(a) Development and implementation of a project monitoring system and an impact
evaluation format for World Food Program (WF) Project GUA-2547 “Desarrollo
Agrícola en la Franja Transversal del Norte.” (Guatemala)
(b) Evaluation of “Small Farmer Diversification Systems Project”, Ministry of
Agriculture. (Guatemala).
(c) World Health Organization (WHO) consultant to the governments of India,
Thailand, Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China on
“Development of Simplified Indicators of Developmental Disabilities in
Children for Use in Primary Health Care Systems”.
(d) INCAP/WHO Representative on Appraisal Mission of WFP Project GUA-
2705, “Request for a Food Supplementary Feeding Project for Mother and
Child Vulnerable Groups and Primary School Children.” (Guatemala)
February – March, 1983 – Consultant, World Food Program (WFP) Guatemala and
Costa Rica
Preparation and presentation of material for a workshop on design,
implementation and evaluation of social development projects at WFP training
seminar for field staff from the Latin American and the Caribbean Region.
January 1970 – January 1983 – Director, Division of Human Development, Institute
of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), Pan American Health
Organization (PAHO)
Responsibilities –
The Division of Human Development was responsible for social science research at
the Institute. The staff included 15 professionals and 150 technical and
clerical personnel. As Director of the Division, I was responsible for:
1) Overall policy decisions, budgetary planning, and the supervision of project
directors who included epidemiologists, pediatricians, nutritionists, social
psychologists, and anthropologists.
2) Designing, obtaining financial support, supervising and evaluating
investigation and action programs to improve the health, nutritional status and
social and economic conditions of the rural poor. The major foci of these
programs were: (a) systems of low-cost medical care using Medical Auxiliary
personnel for extension of primary health care services in rural areas; (b)
simple programs to be implemented at the family and community level, employing
techniques for small farmer agricultural production and community development,
aimed at improvement of health and nutrition status, and social and economic
conditions of the rural poor.
3) Conducting statistical analyses of the data from these investigations,
preparing technical reports and publications for scientific books and journals,
and the organization and presentation of these data to interested Ministries for
program and policy purposes. The interpretation of research results for policy
recommendations was a major responsibility.
4) Collaboration with other senior professional staff members in the development
of the general policy of the Institute and advised and participated in the Pan
American Health Organization’s activities in the hemisphere. These included
organization of conferences such as “The Measurement of Impact of Nutrition and
Related Health Programs in Latin America”, held in Contadora, Panama, and a
conference on “The Effects of Maternal Nutrition on Infant Health: Implications
for Action”, held in Panajachel, Guatemala.
EXAMPLES OF REPRESENTATIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS DURING THIS PERIOD INCLUDE:
Project Sponsor
Effect of Malnutrition on Mental Development National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development
Cross-Cultural Studies in Cognitive Development W. T. Grant Foundation
Impact of a Protein-Calorie Intervention on Human Growth and Development,
Morbidity and Mortality U. S. Agency for International Development
Evaluation of a Low-Cost Health Intervention Project in Solola, Guatemala
Omnichild Foundation
Evaluation of the Impact of a Major National Disaster (The 1976 Guatemalan
Earthquake) National Science Foundation
Emergency Food Programs Following the 1976 Guatemalan Earthquake: An Evaluation
U.S. Agency for International Development
The Effects of Formal Schooling on Mental Development and Competence from 8 to
14 years and the Continuity of Intellectual Ability from Birth to Adolescence in
Rural Guatemala National Science Foundation
Development of Cross-Cultural Indicators of Social Success National Science
Foundation
Evaluation of an Integrated System of Primary Health and Nutrition Care in Rural
Areas of Guatemala U. S. Agency for International Development
Evaluation of the Impact of an Agricultural Development Project in the Northern
Transversal Region of Guatemala World Food Program, Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO)
Evaluation of a Small Farmer Diversification Crop Project in Guatemala U.S.
Agency for International Development
CONSULTING ACTIVITIES DURING THIS PERIOD:
1984-1985 Consultant to the governments of India, Thailand, Hong Kong and the
People’s Republic of China, on detection of Development Disabilities in Children.
1983-1985 Consultant to the governments of the countries of Central America and
Panama on Development of Human Resources for Health, Food and Nutrition and
Social Development Projects.
1982-1985 Consultant to the Ministry of Health (Guatemala)/Centers for Disease
Control (USA) Program on Evaluation of Alternative Methods for Malaria Control.
1981-1985 Consultant to the Agricultural Sector Planning Unit, Ministry of
Agriculture, Guatemala, on Evaluation of Rural Agricultural Development Projects.
1980-1981 Consultant to the government of Brazil on extension and Evaluation of
Primary Mental Health Care Services in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
1980-1981 Consultant to the government of Panama on the Evaluation of the Impact
of Rural Health and Development Programs.
1980-1983 Editorial Board, Evaluation Studies Review Annual, Sage Publications,
Inc., Los Angeles, CA
1979-1980 Consultant to the government of Guatemala on the Evaluation of the
Nutrition Status of the Population of Guatemala.
1971-1979 Member, Committee on Malnutrition, Brain Development and Behavior,
National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences.
1978-1979 PAHO Consultant to the governments of Cuba, Barbados, and Jamaica on
UNDP sponsored program “Identification and Remediation of Major Factors
Affecting Child Development”.
1977-1979 Consultant to the government of El Salvador on the Evaluation of the
Nutritional Status of the Population in San Salvador, El Salvador.
1975-1976 PAHO Consultant to the Research Project on Iodine Deficiency, Endemic
Goiter and Cretinism, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
1974-1976 Consultant on Human Growth and Development to the National Institute
of Nutrition, Bogotá, Colombia
1973 Consultant to the National Evaluation of Sesame Street (Plaza Sesamo).
Mexico.
1972 Consultant to the governments of Costa Rica and Panama on programs of
social and nutritional rehabilitation of malnourished children.
September 1966-December 1969 - Staff Psychologist, Division of Human Development,
INCAP, Guatemala
Responsibilities –
Responsible for the design, development and implementation of infant, preschool
and school age cognitive tests for use in a longitudinal study of malnutrition,
physical growth and mental development, and for the development of socio-economic
surveys used in measuring family characteristics associated with the cognitive
development, physical growth, and nutritional status of mothers, infants and
preschool children. I also supervised the training, quality control and data
collection activities in the social sciences, and conducted the statistical
analyses of social science data and coordinated this with other aspects of the
study.
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
1990 to present Professor, Universidad el Valle de Guatemala (UVG)
September 1991 Visiting Lecturer, National Institute of Public Health, Mexico.
1970-1985 Professor, Maternal and Child Health, Universidad de San
Carlos de Guatemala.
1970 Visiting Lecturer, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala,
Guatemala. Social Psychology.
1969-1970 Visiting Lecturer, Department of Social Relations, Harvard
University.
1965 Visiting Lecturer, Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota.
Personality Development.
1965 Lecturer in Child Psychology, University of Minnesota.
Introductory Child Psychology.
MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES:
American Psychological Association
Society for Research in Child Development
Sociedad Latinoamericana de Nutrición
Sociedad Interamericana de Psicología
Evaluation Research Society
Society for Research in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
ACADEMIC AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS:
National Institute of Mental Health Fellow
University of Minnesota 1963-1966
Belding Fellow
Association for the Aid to Crippled Children 1969-1970
LANGUAGES:
Fluent in English and Spanish; reading and conversational knowledge of
Portuguese and reading knowledge of French