Research interests

As a family physician with expertise in healthcare economic evaluations, I am passionate about developing strategies to enhance evidence-based decision-making in primary care and population health. My research focuses on informing evidence-based policy-making through health systems research, epidemiological studies on disease burden, and health technology assessment. I am dedicated to educating healthcare professionals and policymakers on the importance of integrating clinical evidence and economic considerations into clinical practice and public health initiatives.

As a research fellow in clinical epidemiology and biostatistics at the Institute of Tropical Medicine's Department of Clinical Sciences in Antwerp, Belgium, I am currently focused on enhancing decision-making processes for tuberculosis screening and diagnosis. My work aims to optimize screening protocols and improve public health outcomes through data-driven approaches and advanced statistical analysis.

Teaching expertise

2023 – present. Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.

• Facilitator of the Algorithms and scoring systems development, Clinical guidelines, Critical Appraisal, Generic and Personal research protocol development in the Short Course in Clinical Research and Evidence-based Medicine – SCREM.
• Facilitator of the Data Cleaning module at the MSc in Tropical Medicine.
• Facilitator of the Economic Burden of Disease module at the Postgraduate Certificate - Introduction to Tropical Medicine and Challenges in International Health. October 2024.
• Facilitator of the Health Technology Assessment session at the Pharmaceutical policies in health systems short course. Edition 2024.
• Facilitator of the Academic Writing course delivered by the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Democratic Republic of the Congo and ITM. Editions 2023-2024.

2010 – 2022. Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium. Facilitator of the modules: Algorithms and scoring systems development and Clinical guidelines. Co-author of the Literature search and Evidence Appraisal with GRADE modules for the online version.

2017 – 2024. Master of Epidemiology and Collective Health, Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, Quito, Ecuador. Facilitator of the online module on health economics and management.

March 2014 – August 2022. Associate Professor. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Las Americas, Quito, Ecuador. Full-time professor at the School of Medicine in the modules of Bioethics, Doctor-Patient Relationship, Clinical Decision-Making, and Clinical Research. IRB chair for the period 2020-2021.