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The University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT 06269
Tel : 860-486-5073
E-mail: rafael.perez-escamilla@uconn.edu
Area of Speciality:
Health disparities/inequities, Breastfeeding determinants and interventions, Child nutrition in HIV affected communities in Africa, Maternal nutrition during pregnancy, Household food insecurity measurement, Nutrition and food safety education, Domestic and international community nutrition program design & evaluation
Biographical Note:
Dr. Pérez-Escamilla is an internationally recognized scholar in the areas of domestic and international community nutrition. He is currently leading or co-leading four interdisciplinary capacity building projects, two in Connecticut (Latino community nutrition ( www.hispanichealth.com/pana.htm ), Latino Health Disparities ( www.cehdl.uconn.edu ), and one in Ghana (vertical transmission of HIV, www.fshn.hs.iastate.edu/riing/default.htm ) and Brazil (national household food security measurement project). All four projects have research, teaching & training, and extension & outreach components. He has published 70 scientific research articles in peer reviewed journals and over 200 conference proceeding abstracts, book chapters, and technical reports. His breastfeeding, food security, nutrition education, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and food safety research work has taken him to Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Senegal, South Korea, Spain, and the USA. He has been the principal mentor to over 30 graduate students from all over the world who are currently working in prestigious positions in academia, government, international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGO's), and industry. Dr. Pérez-Escamilla's work has been continuously supported with over $15 million in extramural funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and The Patrick & Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation. He has been a senior scientific advisor to maternal-child health & nutrition projects funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), The World Bank, The World Health Organization (WHO), and USDA. Dr. Pérez-Escamilla has also been a senior advisor in food and nutrition policy to the governments of Mexico and Brazil. In 1999 he received the Ehrlich-Koldovski Young Investigator Award from the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML), in 1999 he received the University of Connecticut College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Award (CANR) for Excellence in Research, in 2004 he received the CANR Award for Excellence in Outreach Education, and in 2006 he received the UConn Provost Diversity Award as well as the UConn Outstanding Engaged Scholar Award. He is currently the chair of the Community and Public Health Nutrition Research Interest Section of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences. Dr. Pérez-Escamilla is a former member of the Executive Committee of ISRHML. He is an advisory board member of the University of Texas-El Paso Hispanic Health Disparities Research Center, the Hispanic Health Council Strategic Planning Committee, the University of Connecticut Center for Health/HIV Prevention and Intervention (CHIP), the University of Connecticut Center for Health Communications, and the University of Connecticut Center for Public Health and Health Policy. He is also a member of the University of Connecticut-Storrs Human Subjects Institutional Review Board (IRB). He serves in the editorial boards of the Journal of Nutrition, the Journal of Human Lactation, and the Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition. Dr. Pérez-Escamilla has served in Federal grant review panels and has been an ad-hoc reviewer for over 20 scientific journals in his field.
Selected Publications:
2004 - Chapman, D.J., Damio, M.S., Pérez-Escamilla, R . Differential response to breastfeeding peer counseling within a low income, predominantly Latina population. J Hum Lact 2004;20:389-396
2005 - Himmelgreen DA, Perez-Escamilla R, Bretnall A, Peng YK, Bermudez A. Birth Place, Length of Time in the U.S., and Language are Associated with Diet among Inner-City Puerto Rican Women. Ecol Food Nutr 2005;44:105-122
2005 - Ferrari Audi, C. A., Corrêa, A.M.S., Latorre, M.R.D.O., Pérez-Escamilla, R. Factors associated with infant feeding practices on the first day at home after hospital discharge. Revista de Saúde Pública (Brazil), 2005;39:406-412
2005 - Aidam B, Pérez-Escamilla R , Lartey A, Aidam J. Factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding in Accra, Ghana. European J Clin Nutr 2005;59:789-796
2005 - Aidam B, Pérez-Escamilla R , Lartey A. Lactation counseling has an impact on exclusive breastfeeding in Ghana. J Nutr 2005;135:1691-1695
2005 - Anderson, AK, Damio G, Young S, Chapman DJ, Perez-Escamilla R .
A Randomized Trial Assessing the Efficacy of Peer Counseling on Exclusive Breastfeeding in a Predominantly Latina Low-income Community. Arch Ped Adol Med 2005;159:836-41
2005 - Marín-León L, Segall-Corrêa AM, Panigassi G, Maranha LK, Sampaio MFA, Pérez-Escamilla R . A percepção de insegurança alimentar em famílias com idosos em Campinas (Food insecurity perception in families with elderly in Campinas). Cadernos Saúde Pública (Brazil) 2005;21:1433-1440
2006 - Hromi-Fiedler AJ, Pérez-Escamilla R . Unintended pregnancies are associated with less likelihood of prolonged breastfeeding: An analysis of eighteen Demographic and Health Surveys. Public Health Nutrition 2006;9:306-12
2006 - Fitzgerald N, Himmelgreen D, Damio G, Segura-Pérez S, Peng Y-K, Pérez-Escamilla R. Acculturation, socioeconomic status, obesity, and lifestyle factors among low-income Puerto Rican women in Connecticut, 1998-1999. Panam J Pub Hlth 2006;19:306-13
2006 - Anderson AK, Damio G, Chapman DJ, Pérez-Escamilla R ., Differential Response to an Exclusive Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Intervention: The role of Ethnicity. J Hum Lact (accepted)
2006 - Maria de Fátima Archanjo Sampaio, Anne W. Kepple , Ana Maria Segall-Corrêa, Julieta T. A.de Oliveira, Giseli Panigassi, Lucia Kurdian Maranha, Letícia Marin-Leon, Sônia M. P. P. Bergamasco, Perez Escamilla R. (In) Segurança Alimentar em populações rurais do Estado de São Paulo: grupos focais com assentados, agricultores familiares tradicionais, trabalhadores assalariados e quilombolas. Rev Segur Alim Nutr (accepted, 2006) |
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