Dr. Magaly Blas, MD, MPH, PhD
"Throughout my academic journey, my primary focus has been on addressing disparities within vulnerable populations in my native country, Peru. I have spearheaded research initiatives examining the epidemiology of infectious diseases affecting marginalized communities, including men who have sex with men, female sex workers, and indigenous populations across diverse geographical regions such as the coastal areas, the Andean highlands, and the Amazon rainforest.
Through this work, I have discerned that indigenous communities residing in the Amazonian regions face profound inequalities stemming from inadequate access to essential services, limited healthcare resources, geographical remoteness, culturally insensitive governmental programs, and discrimination rooted in their indigenous heritage. Over the past decade, my commitment has centered on developing and evaluating interventions to enhance this neglected population's health outcomes.
My noteworthy contribution has been establishing and implementing a successful social innovation program "Mamás del Río" (Mothers of the River). This program is centered on building capacity, skills, and empowerment within indigenous communities. Mamás del Río trains community health workers, traditional birth attendants, and healthcare personnel to bolster maternal and child health. Mamás del Río has showed to enhance essential newborn care outcomes and increase institutional delivery rates, as evidenced by our recent publication in the Lancet Regional Health Americas."
Research Title: Mamás del Río (Mothers of the River): Improving maternal and infant health in the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon.
Faculty Mentors:
My collaboration with faculty and students at the University of Arizona has focused on broadening the scope of the Mamás del Río initiative to address critical issues such as adolescent pregnancy, community empowerment, and environmental health. A significant aspect of this collaboration involved working with Dr. Purnima Madhivanan and Dr. Lisa Labita Woodson. Together, we delved into the multifaceted causes behind the high rates of adolescent pregnancy in the Peruvian Amazon and investigated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent pregnancy and school dropout rates. This research not only formed the foundation of Dr. Woodson's PhD dissertation but also led to two publications in peer-reviewed journals. Additionally, Dr. Woodson and I secured a grant from the Australian embassy to explore potential interventions aimed at reducing adolescent pregnancy in the Amazon region.
My experience also extended to observing public health efforts along the Arizona-Mexico border. I closely followed the work led by Jill Guernsey De Zapien and Dr. Kate Ellingson with community health workers. Their successful integration of these workers into Arizona’s health system provided valuable insights, which I plan to apply in Peru.
Looking forward, I am excited to collaborate with Dr. Priscilla Magrath on a book chapter discussing the right to access to health. Moreover, alongside Dr. Madhivanan and Dr. Cooper, we have submitted a proposal for a grant to evaluate the impact of environmental factors on infant health, further expanding our ongoing research initiatives.
Bio: Dr. Magaly Blas is a professor and researcher at the School of Public Health and Administration at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH). She leads the Intercultural Citizenship and Indigenous Health Unit and the Mamás del Río Program. Recently, she was appointed to lead the political advocacy secretariat in medicine and health at the Peruvian Medical College. Dr. Blas graduated with honors as a medical doctor from UPCH and holds a master's and doctorate in Public Health, specializing in epidemiology from the University of Washington (UW). She has also completed two diplomas in HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections and Medical Informatics at the same institution. Since 2016, Dr. Blas has received multiple awards, including the international Elsevier Foundation award for women researchers, the L'Oreal-UNESCO-Concytec award for Peruvian scientists, the Women in Innovation award from UPCH, as well as the Eisenhower and Fulbright scholarships. Under her leadership, the Mamás del Río Program received the Good Practices in Public Management award from Citizens Today in 2016 and the Recognition for Social Innovation in Health by the Pan American Health Organization in 2019. In 2023, Forbes magazine nominated Dr. Blas as one of Peru's 50 most influential women.