Bolivia

Universidad Católica Boliviana “San Pablo” Santa Cruz and Clínica Foianini

Founded in 1966 in La Paz, Bolivia, Universidad Católica Boliviana “San Pablo” Santa Cruz (UCB-Santa Cruz) is the oldest private university in Bolivia, with formal integration into the Bolivian university system in 1974. The Santa Cruz de la Sierra campus was established in 1993, with additional campuses in Cochabamba and Tarija. UCB offers 70 degree programs to 14,500 undergraduate and graduate students with 11 research institutes, 17 research centers, and 108 research faculty. The UCB-Santa Cruz campus offers undergraduate degree courses in medicine, dentistry, physical therapy, and biomedical engineering and a PhD program in health sciences.

Clínica Foianini is one of the premier private medical institutions in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. Founded in 1981, the hospital employs 561 medical providers in 61 specialties, is internationally accredited by the Instituto Técnico para la Accreditación de Esablecimientos de Salud (ITAES), and has a well-established Department of Training, Research, and Ethics.

Since 2015, Dr. Marissa Boeck, faculty at University of California, San Francisco, Dr. German Toledo, Dean of the Medical School, Director of the Medical Research Institute, and Director of the Center for Public Health at UCB-Santa Cruz, and Dr. Esteban Foianini, Medical Director at Clínica Foianini, have collaborated on global public health projects, with a specific focus on trauma and surgical system strengthening. These projects have also involved leaders at local public hospitals, first responder groups, community members, and the municipal and regional health departments. Former U.S. research fellow projects have spanned the disciplines of surgery, trauma, emergency medicine, and public health, with the potential for involvement of additional fields in the future.

Site contacts: Dr. Marissa Boeck and Dr. German Toledo