Implementing Novel Strategies for Education and Chagas Testing (INSECT) | Latin American Studies

Implementing Novel Strategies for Education and Chagas Testing (INSECT)

We are excited to announce the awarding of a 5-year cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to co-PIs Dr. Natasha Hochberg (BMC/BUSM/BUSPH) and Maja Carrion, MPH (BU-Sargent) and Dr. David Hamer (BMC/BUSM/BUSPH) as co-investigator to study Chagas disease. Chagas disease, a vector-borne infection caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is endemic to Mexico, Central and South America. An estimated 100 million people are at risk for the disease, 8-10 million people worldwide are infected, and there are around 300,000 cases in the US. The award is part of the funding opportunity: Reducing The Burden Of Parasitic Infections In The United States Through Evidence-Based Prevention And Control Activities. The project, titled Implementing Novel Strategies for Education and Chagas Testing (INSECT), will focus on improving healthcare provider knowledge and awareness about Chagas disease across the United States. The team will also roll out screening programs for at-risk populations, including a focus on women of childbearing age to prevent congenital transmission.

Statement on Diversity and Inclusion

The Center for Latin American Studies at Boston University is proud of BU’s history of diversity and inclusion. BU’s founders opened the University’s doors to all students without regard to religion, race, or gender, and building and sustaining a vibrant community of scholars, students, and staff remains essential to its mission of contributing to and preparing students to thrive in, an increasingly interconnected world.

Success in a competitive, global milieu depends upon our ongoing commitment to welcome and engage the wisdom, creativity, and aspirations of all peoples and the Center for Latin American Studies is vital to the University’s mission of preparing global citizens. We forge concrete initiatives to integrate faculty and students across the university in the promotion of antiracism, diversity, and inclusion from a Latin American Studies perspective. Through our in-depth and interdisciplinary academic programs, as well as through a rich array of talks, lectures, round-table discussions, conferences, and other educational and cultural events, we assist the University in its efforts to create environments for learning, working, and living that are enriched by racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity.

At the Center for Latin American Studies, we believe in and practice respect for individual differences in life experience, sexual orientation, and religious belief, and we aspire to be free of intellectual parochialism, barriers to access, and ethnocentrism. We appreciate and deeply value the contributions and talents of every member of the Boston University community and invite you to learn more about us.