• Collective Health and Sociocultural Epidemiology: Study of how social inequalities, gender, ethnicity, and territory act as social determinants of population health.
• Community Health and Primary Health Care (PHC): Community-level care management, family approaches, telemedicine/telehealth to support vulnerable populations, and social empowerment in health.
• Global Health and One Health Approach: Interconnection between human health, animal health, and the environment (basic sanitation, food sovereignty, impact of climate change on living conditions).
• Chronic Care, Disability, and Community-Based Health: Strategies and simplified technologies to improve the quality of life of individuals with chronic conditions (such as spinal cord injuries or non-communicable diseases) within their daily environment.

International Spinal Cord Injury Survey (InSCI).

Tele-oncology: Collaborative project between the University of Pereira and the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador.

Emergency and Disaster Nursing: Community response capacity and environmental resilience against adverse events.

Teaching Researcher, Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE).

• Cardiovascular diseases in Ecuador
  Saberes Plurais Educação na Saúde, 2026.
• Factors associated with non-adherence to pharmacological treatment in patients with chronic non-communicable diseases
  Saberes Plurais Educação na Saúde, 2026.
• Epidemiological profile of people with spinal cord injury in Ecuador: A population-based design and cohort profile
  The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 2026.
• Cabin Fever Syndrome Post-SARS-CoV-2: Design and Validation of a Scale
  Journal of Ecohumanism, 2025.
• Contributions to Nursing Education
  75 Anos da Enfermagem da UFRGS (book chapter), 2025.
• Health-related quality of life and healthcare systems in people with spinal cord injury: A cross-country comparison from the second InSCI community survey
  Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2025.
• Social Participation in Gualalcay Leaders Community According to the Elizabeth Anderson Model
  The Review of Diabetic Studies, 2025.
• Family-focused telementorship experience among rural nursing professionals in Ecuador
  Revista Cubana de Enfermería, 2024.
• Stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV-AIDS in the Ecuadorian health system
  Saberes Plurais Educação na Saúde, 2024.
• Explanatory Model of Self-Efficacy for Cervical Cancer Screening
  Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2024.

• Climate change.
• Air pollution.
• Volcanic activity.

Health Impact on the Ecuadorian Population due to the Volcanic Eruptions, from 2011 to Present (ECUAVOLCAN).

Research project led by Dr. Katherine Simbaña-Rivera, aimed at evaluating the impact of volcanic eruptions on the health of the Ecuadorian population from 2011 to the present, with a focus on public health and environmental epidemiology.

Scientific Methodology Technician.

Faculty of Health Sciences, Catholic University of Cuenca, Azogues, Ecuador.

• Oil Spill in Esmeraldas: A Public Health Emergency in the Context of Environmental Racism
  The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, 2026.
• Knowledge, Perceptions, and Practices on Risks and Disasters Among Medical Students: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study in 9 Latin American and Caribbean Countries
  Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 2023.
• Towards Clean Air and Health for All in the Andes
  The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, 2026.
• Genetic Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Genetic Testing Among Final-Year Medical Students at a Public University in Ecuador
  Frontiers in Medicine, 2024.
• Climate Change in Ecuadorian Undergraduate Medical Education Programs: Curricular Assessment and the Role of Medical Students’ Associations, 2019–2024
  BMC Medical Education, 2026.
• Perceived Fatality Prior to COVID-19 Infection in 13 Latin American Countries (FAT-LAT-COVID-19): Revalidation of a Shortened Scale
  Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2021.
• Mapping the Global Health Burden of Volcanic Exposure: A Scoping Review Approach
  Frontiers in Public Health, 2025.
• Evaluation of the First Standardized Registry of Approved Research Studies by the Research Ethics Committees in Ecuador
  BMC Medical Ethics, 2025.
• Volcanic Eruptions and Public Health in Ecuador: An Analysis of Institutional Gaps and Integrated Strategies
  Frontiers in Public Health, 2025.
• Biomonitoring of Inorganic Pollutants in Blood Samples of Population Affected by the Tajogaite Eruption: The ISVOLCAN Study in Spain
  Toxics, 2025.
• Revalidation of an Ultra-Short Scale for the Measurement of Perceived Job Security in Latin America
  Medwave, 2022.

My research focuses on understanding the diversity, evolution, ecology, and transmission dynamics of viruses affecting humans, animals, and vectors.

Current projects include the characterization of viromes in tropical and temperate ecosystems, genomic surveillance of emerging arboviruses, zoonotic spillover processes, and the development of metagenomics-based approaches for pathogen detection and outbreak preparedness.

A particular emphasis is placed on integrating genomic, ecological, environmental, and epidemiological data within a One Health framework.

By characterising the virome of humans, wildlife, livestock and sentinel species, we assess spillover risks and identify early warning signs.

We study how deforestation, agriculture and climate change alter ecosystems and intensify host–pathogen contact.

Using phylogeography, we trace viral spread across landscapes shaped by trade, migration and ecological barriers.

To anticipate threats like Disease X, we build predictive models and early-warning systems based on viral traits and ecological risk. Through global collaboration, we develop strategies to prevent spillovers, monitor outbreaks and protect planetary health.

Head of the Virus Metagenomics and Evolution Group and the Next-Generation Sequencing Core Facility (NGS Core Facility), Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM), Hamburg, Germany.

• A highly sensitive amplicon sequencing workflow for genomic surveillance of Usutu virus.
  Virology Journal, 2026.
• Transcriptional signatures of Ebola and Marburg virus infection in a bat-immune-system mouse model
  Advances in Virus Research, 2025.
• Assessment of the effectiveness of West Nile virus screening among blood donors in Germany
  Eurosurveillance, 2025.
• Fatal dengue virus infection in an unvaccinated traveler
  European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, 2025.
• Genomic characterization of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus outbreak in North Macedonia
  Microbiology Resource Announcements, 2024.
• Auto-antibodies neutralizing type I IFNs in severe arboviral disease
  Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2024.
• Vaccine-derived yellow fever in an immunocompromised patient
  International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2024.
• Lethal Borna disease virus 1 infections of humans and animals
  Nature Communications, 2024.
• Assessing viral metagenomics for diagnosis of acute fever in travellers
  Journal of Travel Medicine, 2024.
• Serologic and Genomic Investigation of West Nile Virus in Kosovo
  Viruses, 2024.

• Bioprospecting.
• Extremophilic microorganisms.
• Endophytic fungi.

2024: Evaluation of the chemical diversity of endophytic microorganisms associated with plants from the Andean altiplano of Ecuador with potential antibacterial properties.

2026: Actinobacteria from the Andean paramo as a source of photoprotective compounds and a new frontier in natural cosmetics.

Teaching staff and researcher, University of the Armed Forces ESPE, Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ESPE).

• Native microorganisms as natural enhancers in craft beer and wine production
  Frontiers in Microbiology, 2026.
• Validation of new equipment for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis in Ecuador: Detection of the virus and antibodies generated by disease and vaccines with one POC device
  PLoS ONE, 2025.
• Multicenter international assessment of a SARS-CoV-2 RT-LAMP test for point of care clinical application
  PLoS ONE, 2022.

• Design, evaluation, and validation of instruments to measure digital competencies, digital health literacy, learning agency, and the use of artificial intelligence in health sciences.
• Implementation and evaluation of digital health interventions, telenursing, and remote patient follow-up.
• Development of digital competencies in nursing and other health sciences careers.
• Educational innovation, virtual education, active methodologies, and interdisciplinary learning in digital health.
• Evaluation of digital technologies to strengthen patient care, therapeutic adherence, and continuity of care.

Cross-cultural validation and psychometric analysis of health literacy instruments in adult populations of Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

Profiles of artificial intelligence use, learning agency, cognitive dependence, and academic responsibility among health sciences students and faculty.

Evaluation of digital monitoring and remote tracking experiences in postoperative patients and individuals with chronic diseases.

Implementation of tele-education and teleclinic strategies, including ECHO experiences aimed at strengthening nursing capacity and care in rural contexts.

Principal Professor I, Faculty of Health and Well-being, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), Quito, Ecuador.

Leader of the Digital Health Research Group (eHealth) at PUCE.

Coordinator and founder of the Nursing Informatics Network, Ecuador Node.

• Health literacy: psychometric properties of the HLS-EU-Q16 questionnaire in a Peruvian adult population
  Frontiers in Public Health, 2026.
• Psychometric validation of the Spanish HLS-EU-Q16 in Ecuador: evidence for health literacy assessment and public health education
  Frontiers in Public Health, 2026.
• User experiences and perceptions on the use of digital health technologies in the management of type 2 diabetes: an integrative systematic review
  Frontiers in Clinical Diabetes and Healthcare, 2026.
• Patients’ usability experience with a postoperative follow-up web application
  Journal of Patient Experience, 2026.
• Psychometric properties and factorial structure of the Spanish version of the HLS-EU-Q16 questionnaire in Venezuelan adults
  PLOS ONE, 2025.
• Using Large Language Models (LLM) as virtual health assistants in Ecuador
  Latin American Journal of Telehealth, 2025.
• Functional requirements for a digital postoperative follow-up tool. A phenomenological study
  Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología, 2024.
• Family-focused telementorship experience among rural nursing professionals in Ecuador
  Revista Cubana de Enfermería, 2024.
• Care and robotics as health assistive technologies: an integrative literature review
  Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología, 2024.
• Patient safety in intensive care: A descriptive study of nursing perceptions
  Horizonte de Enfermería, 2024.

• Molecular epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance.
• Genotypic characterization of hospital and community pathogens.
• Bioprospecting of microorganisms from Andean ecosystems and bioactive compounds.

Actinobacteria from the Andean paramo as a source of photoprotective compounds and a new frontier in natural cosmetics.

Genotypic characterization of virulence factors in clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus from hospital and community-acquired infections at a public hospital in Quito, Ecuador.

Antimicrobial susceptibility profile and genotypic characterization of methicillin resistance through the detection of mecA and mecC genes in Staphylococcus aureus isolates from hospital and community-acquired infections at a second-level public hospital in Quito, Ecuador.

Evaluation of the chemical diversity of endophytic microorganisms associated with plants from the Andean Altiplano of Ecuador with potential antibacterial properties.

Teaching Researcher, School of Medicine, Universidad Iberoamericana del Ecuador (UNIB.E).

• Validation of new equipment for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis in Ecuador
  PLOS ONE, 2025.
• Multicenter international assessment of a SARS-CoV-2 RT-LAMP test for point of care clinical application
  PLOS ONE, 2022.
• Bioknowledgy of the Ecuadorian Flora. Some Medicinal Plants and Their Uses
  Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, 2022.
• Contribution of Deep-Learning Techniques Toward Fighting COVID-19
  IEEE Access, 2022.