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PLEASE JOIN ME IN CONGRATULATING TWO OF OUR SSPH FACULTY AND ONE
OF OUR FORMER CHUA COLLEAGUES, DR MARIANNA BAUM, DR ROBERT MALOW
AND DR LUIS SALAS.
Introduction
Today we recognize three outstanding researchers that have brought recognition to FIU through their successful research endeavors. All three have obtained extensive research funding from Federal agencies and other sources, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). They have conducted research with an international focus, and two of them conduct research focusing on health, specifically HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, and nutrition. These three outstanding researchers are Professors Marianna Baum, Robert Malow, and Luis Salas.
In terms of research funding, this is an outstanding group. Professor Salas has received approximately $34 million in funding since 1998. Professor Baum has received $7 million since joining FIU in 2001, and Professor Malow has received almost $13 million since he also joined in FIU in 2002.
Dr. Walker will briefly describe some specific research achievements of this outstanding group.
Marianna Baum, Ph.D.
Professor, Dietetics and Nutrition
Stempel School of Public Health
Dr. Marianna Baum received her Ph.D. from Florida State University in the field of Metabolism and Nutrition, and completed a Fellowship in Epidemiology at the University of Miami. Dr. Baum has led the research team that pioneered the concept on the relationship between plasma nutrients, disease progression, and mortality in HIV-1 infected cohorts for two decades. For over a decade, Dr. Baum was the Principal Investigator of the Fogarty International Training Grant in AIDS.
Dr. Baum’s research has been at the forefront on the role of nutrition, specifically micronutrients, on the survival of individuals infected with the HIV virus. Quoting from a report from the Director of NIH “Baum and her colleagues have found that low levels of selenium may be related to decreased survival of HIV-infected children… These data in children concur with Baum's earlier findings of increased mortality with low levels of selenium in HIV infected adults.” This line of research has the potential of positively impacting HIV-infected individuals in poor countries as well as the U.S. through the use of relatively low cost nutritional supplements that can increase HIV+ survival rates. As a result, some of Dr. Baum’s research is taking place in Botswana, Africa.
Dr. Baum has produced over 200 peer-reviewed publications. In recognition of her contributions to the scientific field, Dr. Baum received a Research Career Development Award from NIH.
As evidence of Dr. Baum’s continued work and success, we expect her most recent proposal to the NIH titled ”HIV and HIV/HCV-Infection, Disease Progression, Oxidative Stress and Antioxidants” to be funded in the coming months. This is a study with a proposed budget of $3 million.
Robert Malow, Ph.D., ABPP
Certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology
Research Professor
Stempel School of Public Health
Dr. Robert Malow is a Clinical Psychologist and a Diplomat in Health Psychology, having received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Malow joined FIU in 2002, and is the Director of the AIDS Prevention Program in the Stempel School of Public Health.
Dr. Malow has published over 100 HIV/AIDS related studies mostly focused on socio-economically disadvantaged and/or minority drug abusing populations affected by HIV. He has participated in over 150 scientific presentations in national and international meetings, and has been a reviewer and member of editorial boards of numerous scientific journals. He has been at the forefront of HIV/AIDS Prevention Research, with a major contribution of demonstrating that HIV+ individuals with multiple risk factors and co-morbid mental disorders can benefit from behavioral treatments focusing on HIV risk reduction.
In 1997, Dr. Malow began an HIV/AIDS LISTSERV that has become one of the most critical sources of information to the HIV treatment and research fields. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recently indicated it would provide financial support for maintenance and expansion of the LISTSERV.
We expect Dr. Malow to receive a new grant, titled “Intervening with HIV+ Alcohol Abusers: Influence of Neuro-Behavioral Factors.” This grant has a proposed budget of $3.5 million, and includes the first faculty member of the College of Medicine (Dr. Madhavan Nair) as a collaborator. Additionally, Dr. Malow is the Research Core PI for a P20 Center grant that Dr. Mario De La Rosa (PI) from the School of Social Work will receive this month. The P20 Center will have annual funding of approximately $1 million over five years and will focus on health disparities in drug abuse and HIV/AIDS among Hispanics, as well as the training of students and junior faculty researchers.
Luis Salas, J.D.
Professor, School of Criminal Justice
Director, Center for the Administration of Justice (CAJ)
Professor Luis Salas received his Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Wake Forest Law Review. He has been at FIU since 1975.
Professor Salas’ work has demonstrated that judicial reform is attainable in nations that have suffered from political conflicts, and many of his accomplishments in judicial reform in Latin America have served as a model for the region. His work has positively impacted the lives of millions through the development of more equitable legal systems, demonstrating that judicial reform can be accomplished in the midst of political turmoil.
Professor Salas has conducted technical assistance, training, and evaluation consultancies for USAID, and other international donors in almost every country in Central and South America, and beyond the region, in Jordan. As the lead technical consultant to the Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID), and the Harvard Law School Rule of Law Project in Central America, Salas worked on modernizing Central American property systems as well as linking them with land cadastres.
The Center for the Administration of Justice (CAJ) has conducted joint training programs with universities in Latin America and Spain. It is currently conducting an 80 hour certificate program for Honduran law faculty simultaneously at three sites using distance education technologies as well as developing a model curriculum for the law faculties in Honduras.
In recognition of his contributions and expertise, the Inter-American Development Bank, has awarded CAJ contracts for judicial reform in Honduras, and has recently selected CAJ to assist the Costa Rican judiciary in improving the education of its judges. CAJ implemented a six-year USAID/Nicaragua project that included drafting a new Administrative Code, a Law on Organization of the Courts, the modernization of the Criminal Code, and drafting a new accusatorial Code of Criminal Procedure.
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