IVC - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Environmental Consultant for Lummus Consultants International

Dr. Isis E. Mejias is a passionate Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WaSH) advocate. She discovered this passion as a Rotary Global Grant Scholar and as a member of the EWB Houston Professionals chapter, where she led a project to build a gravity-fed water distribution system in Kenya. The success and visibility of this project resulted in an invitation from Rotary to lead a WASH program for 10 primary schools in Uganda. Dr. Mejias worked with over 500 stakeholders to implement a WASH education program to complement the WASH intervention. The education program focused on increasing awareness of WaSH impacts on reducing infectious diseases. After returning from Africa, she started her Environmental Engineering PhD. She now focuses on providing practical solutions to other NGOs, as a Rotary WaSRAG Ambassador and the Founder of Global WaSH. Besides her field work in WASH, during her Environmental Engineering PhD she developed innovative nanotechnology and biotechnology processes for the removal of heavy metals and pathogens from water. Dr. Mejias pioneered a metal biosorbent technology with complex microbial communities as an alternative to traditional heavy metal treatment technologies. She also worked in developing kinetic studies needed to create membranes in pathogen control. Throughout her humanitarian work, she now focuses on providing translational WASH research that results in practical solutions to bridge the WASH service delivery gap, where science can translate into immediate changes in the communities. Dr. Mejias is an Environmental Consultant for Lummus Consultants International, where she is involved in the environmental, social responsibility, health and safety, and security ("ESHS") areas: from initial planning and conceptual definition; through equipment design, procurement, construction; to operations. She is providing due diligence reviews for Environmental and Social Impact Assessments ("ESIAs"), permit applications and government approvals. Dr. Mejias is familiar with environmental and social standards adopted by multi-lateral, export credit and private finance institutions worldwide, including Equator Principles, the World Bank/IFC Environmental and Social Performance Standards, and the IFC Environmental Health and Safety Guidelines. Dr. Mejias has been a keynote speaker in various events worldwide, such as the Rotary International Convention in Toronto Canada in 2018. She is the coordinator of the Environmental Engineering/WASH Research Network at the Venezuelan Science Incubator, a Rotary WaSRAG Ambassador, and the Founder of Global WaSH.

Job Titles:

• Research Network Coordinator

Lourdes Delgado-Noguera (B.sC) obtained her Bachelor of Science in 2018 and is currently a 2nd year medical student at UCLA (Universidad Centro-Occidental Lisandro Alvarado - Barquisimeto, Venezuela). She has also performed specialized training in mycobacteriology at Biomedicine Institute (Caracas, Venezuela) and molecular detection of microorganisms at University of Rosario (Bogotá, Colombia). She has been part of the Incubadora Venezolana de la Ciencia (IVC) since 2018. Her undergraduate research has focused on studying infectious diseases like Chagas, Leishmania, Tuberculosis, Hemorrhagic fevers and Acute febrile syndromes associated with arboviruses, with special emphasis in vector-borne diseases in Venezuela. She has deepened her training in the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) aiming at forecasting zoonotic infectious diseases trends in response to various eco-epidemiological changes and variables. Her research interests focus on epidemiological modeling and the development of integrated surveillance systems for controlling vector-borne diseases mainly in projects with a Citizen science approach. She also has a strong interest in the study of aboriginal health and ethnobiology. Lourdes has published her research in journals such as Science, The Lancet, American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, PLOS NTDs, ID cases, among others.

Maryia Shaban is pursuing an M.A. in French at New York University after the recent completion of her two undergraduate bachelor's degrees (in Biochemistry and French literature). In the scientific sphere, Maryia focuses on integrating a multi-linguistic approach to an intended career in medicine. In 2020, Maryia received a scholarship under the auspices of Fulbright Canada to study immunology at the French-speaking University of Montreal. In line with an international approach to medicine, her research interests encompass studies of antibiotic therapies for infectious diseases and the proposal of new treatments for neglected tropical illnesses (like Malaria, Chagas' disease, and Leishmania). To this end, she has become an integral part of the Venezuelan Science Incubator (IVC)-a Zoonosis and Emerging Pathogens Regional Collaborative Network based in the state of Lara, Venezuela. Maryia intends to pursue the immunological perspective of tropical disease and integrate her extensive scholastic familiarity with mammalian metabolism, to further research collaborations with the IVC.

Maria Escalona-Rodriguez obtained her bachelor of science in 2016 and is currently in the First year in Lisandro Alvarado Centroccidental University (UCLA) in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. Her undergraduate research has focused on the study of the prevalence, risk factors and epidemiology of circulating arboviruses in the state of Lara, Venezuela. Her research interests focus on the different variants of endemic and re-emerging viruses in the Venezuelan population, as well as their possible congenital effects. Maria has published her research in journals such as Clinical Experimental Dermatology, Emerging Infectious Diseases, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents.

René Haddad, B.Sc, obtained his Bachelor of Science in 2015 and is currently a 4th year medical student at UCV (Universidad Central de Venezuela). He has also performed as a biochemistry and immunology facilitator for more than 4 years and is an active member of American Society for Microbiology. He is currently part of the team of the Cellular Biology Laboratory of the Biomedicine Institute (Caracas, Venezuela) He has been part of the Incubadora Venezolana de la Ciencia (IVC) since 2023. His undergraduate research has focused on studying infectious diseases like SARS-CoV-2 and the use of nanoparticles in immune therapies where in 2022 he was awarded as "best free student research work" at the congress of the Venezuelan Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. His research interests focus on epidemiological, immunological and clinical profile of infectious diseases and the development of integrated surveillance systems for controlling spread infections and vector-borne diseases mainly in projects with a Citizen science approach. He also has a strong interest in the study of tropical diseases