José Suárez, MD

Dr. José Suárez earned his BA and MD at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador, and his MPH, PhD and Post-Doctoral Training in Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology at the University of Minnesota. His primary interest is in understanding the role of environmental pollutants and oxidative stress on human development and chronic disease.

Tracks:  Epidemiology, Global Health

Dr. José Suárez's main research interests involve understanding the role of environmental contaminants on brain development and metabolic alterations of children and adults. He is the principal investigator of the Secondary Pesticide Exposure on Infants, Children and Adolescents study (ESPINA – Estudio de la Exposicion Secundaria a Plaguicidas en Infantes, Niños y Adolescentes). The ESPINA study had the objective of understanding the associations between chronic, sub-clinical exposures to pesticides and physiological and neurobehavioral development alterations among children living in agricultural (floricultural) communities in Pedro Moncayo County, Ecuador. This study was developed in response to the county health priorities of the county and has substantial community involvement.

His recent work has focused on examining the associations between persistent organic pollutants and alterations in glucose metabolism, obesity and subclinical heart disease in middle age adults.

• International Health
• Environment
• Epidemiology