< GLOBAL HEALTH: FACULTY

Dr. Maria Correa

Maria Correa, PhD

Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health

correa@ncsu.edu
Office: 919.513.6253
Department: Population Health and Pathobiology

Biography

Maria Correa is an expert in epidemiology and public health. She works in risk analysis with an emphasis on quantitative risk assessment and risk communication. Recently, she has been collaborating with FAO to develop rapid risk assessment guidelines on African swine fever in China, and with WHO to increase antimicrobial resistance awareness in middle-school children in Ecuador.

Correa has extensive experience in teaching and curriculum development. At the College of Veterinary Medicine, she teaches epidemiology to both DVM and graduate students, as well as public health and public policy throughout the DVM curriculum. Her specialist teaching also includes surveillance and monitoring programs, international trade, and Spanish-based courses.

Correa has developed educational modules for topics of trade and sanitary and phytosanitary measures of the World Trade Organization (WTO). She supports risk communication units in different countries, and creates online courses in Spanish for children and the public. As an extension of her teaching projects, Correa is creating an activity book series for children, covering topics such as zoonotic disease transmission and animal production. She is also collaborating with Sid Thakur to establish antimicrobial resistance training for minority students.

Outside of education, her research and outreach activities are centered in study design and analysis, zoonoses and food animal medicine, the application of medical anthropology to epidemiology, and public policy related to WTO and FAO/Codex/OIE. Within the college, she is currently collaborating with Gustavo Machado on swine and equine disease modeling to combat transboundary diseases.

Correa has authored more than 80 book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles, participated in radio and television interviews, and produced a wide range of outreach materials. Altogether, her work in education, outreach and research address critical global health issues to improve the protection of people around the world.

Global Health Research Fields

Epidemiology
Public health
Public policy

Main Areas of Expertise

Risk analysis, with an emphasis on quantitative risk assessment and risk communication
Study design
Data quality assurance
Biostatistics
Curriculum development

Global Health Research Interests

Developing online courses and modules in public policy for veterinary students
Developing educational modules for online access, covering topics such as international trade, the involvement of veterinarians in trade, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures of the World Trade Organization
Providing qualitative risk assessment for transboundary diseases

Countries of Experience

Latin America
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Costa Rica
- Ecuador
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
Asia
- India
- Vietnam

Ongoing Projects

Risk communication and public health education, including antimicrobial resistance, for children in Ecuador (pilot study, WHO collaboration)
Development of rapid risk assessment methodologies (FAO)
Risk assessment and risk communication (FAO/OIE/WHO Collaboration, Tripartite)

Children’s book series: Animal Production and Veterinary Medicine (available in English and Spanish)
- A series of coloring books for 7-9 year old children covering topics such as disease transmission and livestock production
  - Book 1: Why did the chicken cross the Arabian Sea?
  - Book 2: Rabies: The story of Billy and his dog, Charlie
Providing epidemiology and biostatistics support for research at the College of Veterinary Medicine
Minority student training in antimicrobial resistance, in collaboration with Dr. Sid Thakur
Swine infectious disease modeling and equine medicine, in collaboration with Dr. Gustavo Machado
Outreach to Latino community, in collaboration with 4-H, Cornell Cooperative Extension

Network (collaborators)

WHO
FAO
FAO/OIE/WHO Collaboration (Tripartite)
NC State University, North Carolina | United States
- Dr. Sid Thakur, Department of Population Health and Pathobiology
- Dr. Gustavo Machado, Department of Population Health and Pathobiology
4-H, Cornell Cooperative Extension, a worldwide youth development program

Selected Publications

Kreindel S, Pittiglio C, Pinto J, Lockhard C, Calistri P, Lubroth J, Correa M. African Swine Fever Threatens People’s Republic of China: A Rapid Risk Assessment of ASF Introduction. (Under review, FAO)

Palamar MB, Correa M, Peterson NM, DePerno S. Public preference for pet-rabies prohylaxis opportunities and information dissemination. Trop Med Infect Dis 2017 Sep; 2(3) (Pubmed)

Keelara S, Scott MH, Morrow WM, Gebreyes WA, Correa M, Nayak R, Stefavona R, Thakur S. Longitudinal study of distributions of similar antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella serovars in pigs and their environment in two distinct swine production systems. Appl Environ Microbiol 2013 Sep; 79(17): 5167-78 (Pubmed)

Global Health Memberships

Past memberships:

Organization of American States
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture
- Experience in trade, policy and risk communication
- Developed online training for veterinarians in Mercosur, the economic and political South American bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela

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