- Juan Carlos Velez Gonzalez, MD
Dr. Velez is a clinical researcher and rehabilitation specialist at Hospital del Trajabador in Santiago, Chile. Prior to that he was the Medical Director at the Centros de Rehabilitacion Club de Leones Cruz del Sur in Punta Arenas, Chile. He received his MD in 1993 from the Pontificcia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia. Dr. Velez has a MS in hospital management from the Escuela de Administracion de Negocios, Colombia. Dr. Velez’s research interests include rehabilitation medicine, developmental delays, sleep, obesity, and stress.
- Clarita Barbosa, MD
Dr. Barbosa is an experienced clinical researcher and pediatrician. She received her MD from Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia. One year after finishing her residency in pediatrics, she moved to Punta Arenas, Chile where she worked at a nonprofit rehabilitation clinic for 12 years. She cared for children with special needs like autism, Down’s syndrome, and other developmental disabilities. She has tutored MIRT fellows since 2006. Her research interests include the relationship of bottle feeding and other sucking behaviors with speech disorder in preschoolers, obesity in children with disabilities, and sleep disturbances in children with physical and developmental disabilities. Additionally, Dr. Barbosa enjoys sharing Chilean and Latin American culture with MIRT fellows and other foreign visitors. Dr. Barbosa currently runs a Pediatrics Private Practice in Santiago, Chile.
- Asterio Gallardo MD, MS
Dr. Gallardo is the executive director of Centros de Rehabilitacion Club De Lones “Cruz Del Sur ” in Punta Arenas, Chile and executive director of the Fudacion ESPERANZA in Bogotá, Colombia. Dr. Gallardo is also an associate professor at the Universidad De Magallanes in Punta Arenas, Chile. He received his MD in medicine from the Universidad de la Frontera in Temuco, Chile. Dr. Gallardo also holds MS degrees in Health Administration from the Universidad de Magallanes in Punta Arenas and in Education Universidad de la Republica in Santiago, Chile.
Dr. Juan Carlos Velez (back row, white coat) and Dr. Clarita Barbosa (2nd left) are co-investigators on the C-PASS projects.
Ms. Micah Pepper (in red shirt beside Dr. Chen) is the research coordinator.