Colombia Team
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (PUJ)
Is a private institution of higher education, founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest and most traditional universities in Colombia with its main headquarters in Bogotá and an additional one in Cali. It is part of the 31 universities entrusted to the “Compañía de Jesús” in Latin America and of the 186 institutions of higher education that exist in the world.
This study will be in charge of the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, as well as the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics of the PUJ. The Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, since 1971 has been at the forefront of scientific activities related to psychiatry, mental health, health promotion and disease prevention. On the other hand, the Clinical Epidemiology Unit was created in 1986, and after the recognition and support of the International Clinical Epidemiology Network (INCLEN), in 1994 it created the Master’s Program in Clinical Epidemiology, being the first training center in this discipline in the country and the second in Latin America. The Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics assumed responsibility before INCLEN to support the creation and development of other Clinical Epidemiology Units in the main universities of the country.
Principal Investigator
Carlos Gomez-Restrepo
Medical doctor, specialist in Psychiatry and Liaison Psychiatry. Psychoanalyst. Magister in Clinical Epidemiology and PhD in Public Health. He currently serves as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, as professor and psychiatrist at the San Ignacio University Hospital. President of LatinCLEN (Latin American Network of Clinical Epidemiology), Director of RAB – INCLEN (Scientific Committee of the International Clinical Epidemiology Network- INCLEN). Editor of journals on Health Sciences and books on Clinical Epidemiology and Clinical Psychiatry.
Study Coordinator
Karen Ariza Salaza
Social worker from the National University of Colombia with experience in managing, formulating, executing, and evaluating social and educational programs, as well as conducting research. She has extensive knowledge and skills in socio-emotional education, the prevention of psychoactive substance use, and trainer training. In addition, she has over 15 years of experience in interpreting and creating performing arts, with a particular focus on dance. Currently, she is pursuing a Master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.
Research Assistant
Angela Marcela Florez Varela
Ángela is a Social Worker and Specialist in Do No Harm and Peacebuilding of the National University of Colombia. She has skills for the collection, analysis and systematisation of information, database management, fieldwork and inter-institutional coordination with different entities. Her professional experience has been in the development of pedagogical material for the application of the gender perspective in land restitution policy; and in the planning, organization and collection of social evidence in territories affected by the Colombian internal armed conflict.
Research assistant
María Paula Jassir
General physician graduated from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana with a master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology at the same University, with special interest in psychiatry and epidemiology. She is currently working as a research assistant in some research projects focused towards mental health, including OLA. Additionally, she has a special interest in literature, from an early age, which she employs by writing fiction and poetry.
Research analyst
Juan Carlos Hernandez Parra
As a Business Administrator specialising in Project Management, he currently serves as a Research Analyst at the Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. With over five years of experience in this role, he has developed a strong focus on administrative project management within the faculty, accumulating extensive experience in coordinating initiatives supported by both national and international resources. His approach is dedicated to project execution and supervision, with a keen emphasis on ensuring that they meet predefined financial objectives and progress successfully.
Co-investigator
Miguel Uribe
Psychiatrist, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá. Psychoanalyst, Colombian Institute of Psychoanalysis. Liaison Psychiatrist, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. Master of Public Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. He has been Scientific Director of La Clínica La Inmaculada in Bogotá and attached member of La Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá. Consultant in public mental health for SaluDerecho of the World Bank. Currently Associate Professor and Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health of the Faculty of Medicine of the Javeriana University.
Research Assistant
Laura Estefania Cruz Marín
Laura is a Social worker of the Externado de Colombia and currently research assistant of the OLA Project at the Javeriana University. She has experience in psychosocial care with children, teenagers and young people. She has done investigative and community work with sexually exploited women, migrants and human trafficking in favour of their mental health, and she has investigative experience within the project of construction of guidelines for the Policy of Participation and Environmental Management of the SINA. Laura trained in work to prevent exploitation, commercialisation of girls, boys and adolescents and in prevention strategies for the use of psychoactive substances. She is a member of the Wayra Collective in mental health and individual and community psychosocial care.
Research assistant
Isabela Osorio Jaramillo
She is a sociologist with a focus on development, specializing in Conflict Resolution at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. She has experience in qualitative research, social and community work, with a focus on building cultures of peace among youth populations and conducting mental health research. She has actively participated in research on topics such as sexual exploitation in migrant women and its biopsychosocial effects, mental health among vulnerable adolescents and youth, and the integration of mental health in primary care.
Statistician
Jesús David Niño Torres
He is a statistician from the National University of Colombia and currently works as a research assistant in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. His areas of interest include biostatistics, epidemiology, genomics, technology, and the environment. He has been involved in various research projects related to the processing of biological, epidemiological, social data, and digital development indicators.
