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Increasing capacity for environmental engineering in Salta, Argentina
Author(s) -
Rajal Verónica B.,
Cid Alicia G.,
Cruz Mercedes C.,
Poma Hugo R.,
Cacciabue Dolores Gutierrez,
Romano Neli,
Moraga Norma B.,
Last Jerold A.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.22044
Subject(s) - public health , work (physics) , research center , medicine , center (category theory) , training (meteorology) , environmental health , environmental protection , environmental planning , medical education , engineering , geography , nursing , mechanical engineering , chemistry , pathology , meteorology , crystallography
Background The Fogarty International Center (FIC) of the United States National Institutes of Health includes the International Training and Research in Environmental and Occupational Health (ITREOH) Program. The “International Training Program in Environmental Toxicology and Public Health” Center, funded in 2002 is based at the University of California, Davis, and is part of the ITREOH group of Centers. It has major efforts focused at the public universities in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Salta, Argentina. Results Training and research efforts in Salta begun in 2005 in the College of Engineering. A donated used real‐time PCR machine was the starting point and the initial FIC support was instrumental to face other problems including physical space, research projects and grants, trainees, training, networking, and distractions/opportunities in order to develop local capacities in Environmental Engineering using modern methodology. After 6 years of successful work, the Salta center has become a reference Center in the field, and is still growing and consolidating. Conclusions This program has had a significant impact locally and regionally. The model used in Argentina could be easily adapted to other fields or types of projects in Argentina and in other developing countries. Am. J. Ind. Med. 56:11–19, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.