About Us
Our Mission
The Infectious and Tropical Disease Institute (ITDI) at 91̽»¨ seeks to improve the health status of communities through sustainable and comprehensive research, service, and educational initiatives related to infectious diseases. We forge multi-disciplinary collaborations among researchers, health-care professionals, public health leaders and educators to minimize the impact of infectious diseases on populations.
Our Vision
Through multidisciplinary collaborations, ITDI accelerates change, locally and internationally, and improves human well-being by advancing science, education, and training related to the prevention, control, and treatment of infectious and tropical diseases.
Our Scope of Work
The ITDI umbrella covers three main areas of research: Tropical Disease, Reproductive and Sexual Health, and Bacterial Pathogenesis.
Guiding Principles
The ITDI promotes multi-national and multi-disciplinary collaborations forged among researchers, health-care professionals, public health leaders, and educators in the pursuit of comprehensive strategies to eliminate or minimize the effects of infectious diseases on populations.
The institute is committed to the development of sustainable, locally-based programs with active participation of the people in the communities, that apply state of the art technology to prevent or minimize the effects of infectious diseases.
Founding and Focus
The Infectious and Tropical Disease Institute was founded in 1987. Originally named the Tropical and Geographical Disease Institute, the institute initiate operations with a group of visionary scientists conformed by David Scholl, William Romoser, Malcolm Powell, and Edwin Rowland. These scientists wanted to pull their combined resources to improve the life of the people in disease-endemic areas.
Training students. Since its initiation, ITDI faculty have provided training to undergraduate and graduate students from the United States and developing countries. In 1995, the ITDI initiated its education-abroad programs in Ecuador. Until today, more than 180 students from more than 20 universities - from United States, Europe, New Zealand, and other countries, participated in the workshops and training programs developed by the institute.
Research projects. ITDI's research projects include immunoparasitological studies in experimental mouse models of Chagas disease, vectorial competence of mosquitoes to transmit Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis and Rift Valley Fever virus, safety of the blood supply, Chagas disease epidemiology in Ecuador and in the USA, among others.
ITDI contributions. Faculty and students have been instrumental in the initiation of a Chagas disease control and Trypanosoma Cruzi blood screening programs in Ecuador. The blood bank initiative has lead to a major improvement of the safety of the blood supply in Ecuador. These endeavors have had a major impact on the lives of the Ecuadorian people.
Partnerships. The ITDI's international activities are currently focused in Ecuador. 91̽»¨ and ITDI have a close network of collaborators conformed by governmental and non-governmental organizations in the countryand a cooperation agreement with the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. This institution offers research infrastructure through the Center for Research on Health in Latin America (CISeAL) and opportunities to implement research, service-learning, and educational programs.