USF Health in Panama
USF Health and City of Knowledge representatives meeting in Panama during Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio's Trade Mission, 2005.
USF Health is also based at the City of Knowledge (CofK) in Panama, Central America. Since 2003, we have fostered cooperative research and academic relationships. A USF Health office is available in Panama to work with USF Health researchers and students in this Latin-American research paradise. Many opportunities await faculty and students interested in developing international research, cultural and academic capacities. We are even starting a USF Alumni Association Panamanian Chapter!
Why Panama?
Since its discovery in 1501, the Panamanian isthmus has been a cultural encounter point, given its strategic geographical position and its tradition of international services. Panama has also provided tremendous influence on international public health research efforts. During the construction of the Panama Canal, infectious diseases killed many workers and were a major barrier to progress on the canal's construction.
Upon completion of the canal's construction, the primary U.S. goal was to control the spread of infectious diseases in the area. Dr. William Gorgas, a U.S. Army Colonel who later became U.S. Surgeon General, was appointed to lead this effort. The Gorgas Memorial Research Institute in Panama, a USF Panama partner, stands as a renowned institution for international public health research. Notably, USF houses the Gorgas Memorial Institute partly in the United States, underscoring this as a formal and comprehensive collaboration.
Panama is politically stable, and it offers additional international public health influence including, international cervical cancer studies involving the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute. In addition, the flu sample for the development of the upcoming flu season vaccine, is taken in Panama. Panama is becoming an important regional clinical trial center for pharmaceutical companies due to the robust health care infrastructure and international researchers housed within the City of Knowledge (www.cds.panama.org). Key international organizations such as UNICEF, Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Food Program and university efforts such as University of Panama, McGill, Florida State University and Tulane are also housed in the City of Knowledge, offering an exceptional and unique environment to train future public health professionals and researchers on minority and global health issues.
On July 2004, the City of Knowledge signed an umbrella collaborative agreement with these key organizations (UNICEF, World Food Program, among others). Currently, a new USF Health office is in process of opening within the CofK. Local USF faculty members actively participate in research endeavors in Panama and will serve as liaisons with current and future collaborators for the USF Health Center Office. The CofK offers inexpensive housing for students and faculty and facilitates access for academic and research opportunities.
About the City of Knowledge(CofK)
The City of Knowledge is an international complex for education, research, and innovation, and was developed to "promote and facilitate synergy between universities, scientific research centers, businesses, and international organizations." Centrally located on the banks of the Panama Canal, the City of Knowledge, located on the former Fort Clayton military base, has the facilities and support essential to foundation of programs of excellence in education, research, technological development and innovation, while encouraging and promoting integration of institutions, businesses, and programs. It is a goal of the City of Knowledge to become a place in which people from various backgrounds, students, professors, scholars, scientists, and business people alike, can come together for the sharing of ideas and the exchange of knowledge.
- Abundant biological and socio-cultural diversity.
- Support services for scientific research and technological innovation.
- Access to the country's main higher education and scientific research centers.
- Access to the Panama Canal Watershed, a living laboratory for scientific research and the innovation of technology in the management of highly complex tropical ecosystems.
- Telecommunication, information, and educational technological services, including a center for teleconferences, education at distance and high-speed Internet connections.
- An international center of telecommunications.
- A Point of Presence - POP - on Campus with access to the land portion of the 5 submarine fiber optics cables that cross Panama (PAC, SAC, ARCOS, Pan-American and MAYA).
- Housing and food services for students and faculty.
USF HEALTH Panama: Goals & Objectives
The long-term goal of USF Health in Panama is to develop USF Health programs complementing existing Panamanian academic courses. The purpose of developing a formal USF Health presence in Panama, specifically within the CofK campus, is to build on local and international individual collaboration to create international partnerships which further expand health research and academic public health efforts. Specific goals include:
- 1. To educate leaders and practitioners for public health and the health professions across the Americas.
- 2. To develop and generate funding support for USF/CofK collaborative research projects that span basic science, clinical investigation, community intervention, and translational studies toward improvements in population health.
- 3. To link education and research in their application through community engagement that could include extended field experiences for USF Health students, partnerships with international and humanitarian agencies at the City of Knowledge, and advocacy for needed health improvements in the region.
Academic Program 2006
Proposed academic activities for 2006 include:
- International student Field Experience in Panama:
- Rural and urban locations at clinical and community settings
- City of Knowledge international NGOs (UNICEF, OCHA, ACHNUR,WFP)
- Clinical research sites
- Other Field Placement activities
- Faculty Spanish immersion and cultural competency course
- International conferences
- Short seminars
- Sabbaticals for faculty, including Fulbright scholars
Projected Research Program 2005-2006
Programs will be aimed at community, laboratory and translational research in Panama. Collaborative research proposals between USF and Panama-based scientists, clinical trials sponsored by pharmaceutical companies and private funding sources will provide the groundwork. Panama offers a unique opportunity to conduct research on both infectious and non-infectious diseases, including building-on the tradition of tropical disease research.
- Proposed projects focus on :
- Vaccinology
- International ethics in research
- HIV/AIDS
- Tropical diseases
- Reproductive health
- Disease surveillance
Calendar of Events 2006
| Month | Planned Activities |
| May | 1. International Health Education Class, in collaboration with St. Louis Univ. 2. Nursing Students marField Course |
| June | 1.COPH Summer field placement students arrive 2. Vaccinology and Infections in the Tropics Conference |
| July | USF Health Faculty Spanish Immersion course |
| September | Fall field placement students arrive |
Contact Information
In the U.S.
Ann C. DeBaldo, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President for International Programs USF HEALTH
Professor & Associate Dean for International Programs
College of Public Health
University of South Florida
13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33612
Tel: 813-974-6731
Associate Vice President for International Programs USF HEALTH
Professor & Associate Dean for International Programs
College of Public Health
University of South Florida
13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33612
Tel: 813-974-6731
In Panama
Arlene Calvo, Ph.D., MPH, CHES
Director, Health Research International
Assistant Professor, University of South Florida
Department of Global Health
City of Knowledge, 809-A
Panama, Panama
Tel: (507) 317-1830
Fax: (507) 317-1829 Mobile (507) 6671-2344
Director, Health Research International
Assistant Professor, University of South Florida
Department of Global Health
City of Knowledge, 809-A
Panama, Panama
Tel: (507) 317-1830
Fax: (507) 317-1829 Mobile (507) 6671-2344