UC San Diego Clinical Trials for Latin America International Seminar at Hospital Angeles in Tijuana

LA JOLLA, Calif., Nov. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of California San Diego Extension Certificate Program in Clinical Trials for Latin America will co-host an international seminar from 5 to 7 pm Thursday, December 8 along with Hospital Angeles in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The seminar on conducting clinical trials in Latin America, which will be in Spanish and English, is free but advance registration is required.

The certificate program was created to increase the administrative and regulatory skills of health professionals working in clinical trials in Latin America. From its beginning, the online and live versions of this program (in-person workshop taught in San Diego) have received excellent reviews and are becoming in great demand among professionals from Mexico, Dominican Republic, Chile, and Peru among other countries.

For registration in the U.S., contact Saytel Lopez at 858-534-9278 or email [email protected]. In Mexico, contact Fernanda Valdez at 01152+664-6351903 or email [email protected].

For more information on the UC San Diego Clinical Trials Program in Latin America, visit http://extension.ucsd.edu/programs/customprogram/estudiosclinicos/team.cfm?lang=EN.

"We are very excited about the progress we have made and what the future holds for this program," explains Leonel Villa-Caballero, MD, PhD, the director of the clinical trials certificate program in Spanish. "We are certain that our professional program is helping clinical trials professionals to better perform their daily activities and we are making a positive impact in the region."

According to Villa-Caballero, Latin America has become very attractive for large U.S., Canadian and European pharmaceuticals currently struggling with financial problems and it certainly represents an affordable solution for multi-site clinical studies.

"We are also thrilled now to partner with the Hospital Angeles group with the goal of updating the knowledge base among their health personnel interested in clinical trials," affirms Villa-Caballero.

Hospital Angeles group (HA) is the largest private hospital network in Mexico. It includes approximately twenty top-of-the-line hospitals in the most important cities across Mexico. HA group, with approximately 2,500 physicians in its network, represents a role model of modern and high quality medicine in Latin America. In 2006, Hospital Angeles launched a branch in Tijuana and has attracted many talented physicians and health professionals from the Baja California region.

"There are many well prepared clinical researchers and physicians from our group looking to become principal investigators or participate in multisite-clinical trials," states HA Tijuana Medical Director Cesar Amescua, MD. "At the same time, there is a clear perception of the need for educational programs in clinical trials to fulfill the demand of knowledge in this field. The certificate offered by UC San Diego Extension appeared at the perfect time for our academic growth."

A selected HA group of professionals attended the live workshop in San Diego offered last May.

"I discussed with HA education leaders the benefits of this program for my staff and we want to make this program available to the rest of our medical group and to other HA physicians from other sites in Mexico as well," concludes Amescua.

The seminar will be hosted by HA medical leaders and the agenda includes a lecture with preliminary results of a phase 1 study currently performed by Amescua, a lecture on angiotensin in translational medicine by Laurence Brunton, PhD, UC San Diego pharmacology professor and a presentation of the certificate program in clinical trials by Villa-Caballero.

Media contact:
Henry DeVries
[email protected]
858-534-9955 or 619-540-3031

SOURCE University of California San Diego Extension