Center for Research on U.S Latino HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse
Bridging the gap between research and practice
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Center for Research on U.S Latino HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse Bridging the gap between research and practice |
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| About Us | Center News | |||||||
MISSION
To contribute to the reduction of health disparities among Latino populations in South Florida by increasing
community-based research in substance abuse and HIV/AIDS.
GOALS:
•To create and maintain a training model that increases the number of researchers working on substance abuse and HIV/AIDS in Latino populations.
•To build relationships with South Florida’s Latino communities in order to foster the development of evidence-based research in substance abuse and HIV/AIDS.
•To promote the utilization of evidence-based research on substance abuse and HIV/AIDS.
OUR STAFF
Mario De La Rosa, PhD, Director
delarosa@fiu.edu
Samuel Martinez, MBA, Associate Director
Samuel.Martinez@fiu.edu
Ramiro Martinez Jr., PhD, Principal Investigator Violence Study, Suicide Pilot Study
ramiro.martinez@fiu.edu
Patria Rojas, MSW, MPH, PhD- candidate, Director – Women Study
Patria.Rojas@fiu.edu
Associated Faculty:
Richard Beaulaurier, PhD richard.beaulaurier@fiu.edu
David Cohen, PhD David.cohen@fiu.edu
Sunny Kim, PhD Sunny.Kim@fiu.edu
Frederick Newman, PhD newmanf@fiu.edu
Christopher Rice, PhD, christopher.rice@fiu.edu
Mary Jo Trepka, MD, MSPH, Principal Investigator – Hepatitis C Pilot Study trepkam@fiu.edu
Mario De La Rosa, PhD
Director
Dr. De La Rosa is a tenured Professor in the College of Health and Urban Affairs (CHUA) at Florida International University. He holds a doctoral degree from Ohio State University, a Master’s degree from Case Western Reserve University, and a B.A. in Political Science from the State University of New York at Oswego. Dr. De La Rosa was a Visiting Associate Research Professor at Boston University’s School of Social Work, where he spearheaded the development of their Minority Research Development Drug Abuse Research Program. Prior to that time he was a Health Science Administrator at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where he worked for ten years, and a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University's David Rockefeller Center for Latin America Studies. Dr. De La Rosa’s research has resulted in the publication of a special issue of the journal Drugs and Society and numerous other scientific publications in peer review journals, book chapters, research monographs, as well as government reports. He has served as a member of FIU’s Human Subjects Institutional Review Board Committee, the Tenure and Promotions Committee, and the College of Health and Urban Affairs’ Research Committee.
Samuel Martinez, MBA
Associate Director
Samuel Martinez serves as an Associate Director for CRUSADA. He holds an MBA in Finance from Florida International University, as well as a BS in Engineering from Universidad del Norte in Colombia. Before joining CRUSADA, Mr. Martinez worked as a Graduate Assistant to the Associate Dean of Budget and Operations at the College of Health and Urban Affairs at FIU. He has also served as a statistical assistant for diverse business and organizations, both nationally and internationally.
Ramiro Martinez Jr., PhD
Principal Investigator – Violent Study, Suicide Pilot Study
Patria Rojas, MSW, MPH, PhD Candidate
Director – Women Study
Patria Rojas is a PhD Candidate in Social Welfare Administration at Florida International University. She has a Masters of Social Work in program planning and program evaluation from Boston University, and a Masters of Public Health from that same institution. Ms. Rojas has coordinated and facilitated an HIV/AIDS home based education program, HIV/AIDS support groups, as well as street outreach activities for homeless, drug users, and sex workers in Massachusetts and many other northeastern states. She has worked and provided technical assistance to at least 24 health promoting programs nationwide to prevent drug use and HIV infection among ethnic minorities. She has received numerous academic honors and awards, and is an active graduate member of the National Hispanic Science Network.
Associated Faculty
Dr. Beaulaurier is an Associate Professor with the School of Social Work at FIU and a Research Associate with FIU's Immigration and Ethnicity Institute and the Center on Aging. Dr Beaulaurier holds a PhD in Social Work from the University of Southern California and a Masters of Social Work from the University of Washington. He currently teaches doctoral, Master and undergraduate courses on community social work practice, social services administration and research. Dr. Beaulaurier is a co-investigator on the "Urban Change Project," a study of welfare reform in Miami sponsored by the Manpower Development Research Corporation. He is a consultant to the Human Services Coalition of Miami-Dade County (HSC) and has assisted in the development of projects that include the Families In Touch (FIT) program that assisted former welfare recipients to become self-advocates in regard to service and job-training bureaucracies. Prior to entering academia, he served as a social services manager and community organizer, as well as director of the Los Angeles office of the National Council on the Aging. Dr. Beaulaurier is a faculty fellow with CRUSADA’s training program.
David Cohen is a Professor of Social Work at Florida International University. He received his B.A. from McGill University, his MSW from Carleton University, and his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. His recent work focuses on describing and understanding the social, cultural, and clinical uses of prescribed psychiatric/psychotropic drugs. Dr. Cohen is author or co-author on more than 100 publications appearing in journals in social work, psychology, sociology, medicine, psychiatry, law, ethics, and nursing. He has edited or co-authored 8 books and given numerous conferences in academic, professional, and consumer settings in several countries to present his analyses and perspectives. In 2003, he received the Elliot Freidson Award from the American Sociological Association for outstanding publication in medical sociology. He has contributed to clinical practice by elaborating methods to help clients undergoing withdrawal from psychiatric drugs. Dr. Cohen is a faculty fellow with CRUSADA’s Training Program.
Coming soon!
Dr. Newman holds a PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, an MA from Kent State University and a BA from Allegheny College of Meadville, PA. He is a senior methodologist/statistician and Professor in the Health Services Administration program at Florida International University. Since 1966, he has been a member of the graduate faculty at a several universities, teaching graduate courses and either chairing, co-chairing, or serving on the committees of numerous masters’ theses or dissertations. He also served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, a position he held from 1991 to 1996 and again in 2004. Dr. Newman has worked on many National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded projects providing statistical advice related to the collection of data on the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention education programs. He was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (1971-72); and is currently a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Psychological Association, and American Psychological Society. Dr. Newman participates in CRUSADA’s Training Program as a mentor and trainer.Coming soon!
Christopher Rice is an Associate Professor at Florida International University. He holds a PhD in Social Welfare from Washington University, a Masters Degree in Social Work from Boston College, and a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts. Prior to joining FIU’s faculty, he was an Assistant Professor at the State University of New York- Buffalo and at the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University. He has received the William E. Gordon Research Excellence Award from Washington University, and has authored a wide number of publications in the field of social work. Dr. Rice participates in CRUSADA as mentor and trainer with the Training Program, and coordinates the Research Dissemination Program.
Mary Jo Trepka, MD, MSPH
Principal Investigator – Hepatitis C Pilot Study
Mary Jo Trepka has a BA in Chemistry and German from Grinnell College, an M. from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, and a MSPH. from the University of Colorado. She is an Associate Professor with the Robert Stempel School of Public Health at Florida International University. Prior to that, Dr. Trepka was the Director of the Office of Epidemiology and Disease Control with the Miami-Dade County Health Department. She was also an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer with the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, and an epidemiologist with the Institute of Epidemiology, GSF-Forschungszentrum fuhr Umwelt und Gesundheit (Research Center for the Environment and Health) in Munich, Germany. Dr. Trepka has been the PI for several Florida Department of Health researches. She is a fellow at the American College of Preventive Medicine, and a member of the American Board of Preventive Medicine in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine. She also belongs to the American Public Health Association, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, the American College of Epidemiology, and the Society for Epidemiologic Research. Dr. Trepka participates in CRUSADA as the Principal Investigator of the Hepatitis C Pilot Study.