Marcos Espinal is currently the Director of th
Department of Communicable Diseases and Health Analysis
at the

Pan American Health Organization The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is an international public health agency working to improve the health and living standards of the people of the Americas. It is part of the United Nations system, serving as the Regional Office fo ...

(PAHO), Regional Office for the Americas of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

(WHO). Dr Espinal's portfolio includes several areas of work: neglected, tropical & vector-borne diseases; risk and outbreak communication;

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...

Hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...

& STIs; health information & analysis; water & sanitation, and

veterinary public health Veterinary public health (VPH) is a component of public health that focuses on the application of veterinary science to protect and improve the physical, mental and social well-being of humans. In several countries activities related to VPH are o ...

Biography

Education

Dr Espinal, a national of the Dominican Republic, holds a medical degree from the

Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo The Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) (Autonomous University of Santo Domingo) is the public university system in the Dominican Republic with its flagship campus in the Ciudad Universitaria (lit. University City) neighborhood of San ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

(1985); he is a pediatrician, with three years of residency at the Robert Reid Children's Hospital of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He obtained a master's degree in

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

(1990) and a doctorate in public health (1995) from the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

School of Public Health.

Career

Dr. Espinal's work experience includes positions in the Ministry of Health of the Dominican Republic and the National Center for Research on Maternal and Child Health; the New York City Public Health Department; and the WHO. Before joining PAHO, Dr Espinal served as Executive Secretary of the WH
Stop TB Partnership
a global movement aiming at the elimination of TB as a public health problem. Dr. Espinal has published more than 100 publications in the field of communicable diseases and is a recipient of the Scientific Prize of the

International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease or The Union, is a global scientific organization headquartered in Paris with the stated goals to "improve health for people in low- and middle-income Countries". The Union focuses its w ...

, the Albert and Mildred Krueger Memorial Fellowship, and a graduate scholarship from the

John E. Fogarty International Center The John E. Fogarty International Center was founded in 1968 by US President Lyndon Johnson at the National Institutes of Health to support international medical and behavioral research and to train international researchers. History On July 1, ...

. In 2008, Dr. Espinal was awarded the Walter and Elise A. Hass International Award by the

for a distinguished record of service in international health; and in 2012, he was awarded the Princess Chichibu Memorial TB Global Award by th
Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Espinal, Marcos Dominican Republic scientists Caribbean public health doctors Living people UC Berkeley School of Public Health alumni Year of birth missing (living people)