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Benefits Obtained from the 

Central American and Swedish Collaboration

Several important achievements have been generated in the course of more than one decade of collaboration in research in biomedical sciences between the Central American countries and Sweden. Among the most significant accomplishments have been the graduation of 40 MSc. and 14 Ph.D. students of Central America that have followed the so-called “sandwich program”. This program supported training in Central America and Sweden under the supervision of two tutors, one local and one from Sweden. After conclusion of their thesis work, the title is granted by the Karolinska Institute, in Sweden.  

An important benefit of this program has been the strong research and academic links established between the Central American and Swedish scientists, who have produced more than 140 first class manuscripts published in international journals. Moreover, in less than ten years the Swedish-Central American scientific joint publications have come to second place in volume and the first one in efficiency, demonstrating by this the relevance of the collaboration (http://cariari.ucr.ac.cr/~blomonte/). Furthermore, in contrast to other training programs, the "sandwich" style has avoided the "brain drain" that siphons off some of the best Central American students who obtain fellowships abroad and remain there. To date, none of the students of the previous graduate programs supported by SAREC has migrated to other countries.  

Another very important achievement of the collaboration has been the strengthening of local and regional MSc. and Ph.D. programs in Microbiology, Epidemiology, Human Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, following similar profiles to the graduate programs in Sweden that served as a model. In some of these programs, there is a strong participation of Swedish counterparts as tutors and professors. The graduate programs in biomedical sciences in Central America and NeTropica have contributed to the integration of research projects at different levels. For instance, several of the former Central American graduates from the Karolinska Institute are participating in important research programs and have obtained funds from the European Commission, International Atomic Energy Agency, WHO, Institute National de la Santé et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM), TWAS, Fundacion Costa Rica-USA, JIICA, International Foundation for Science (IFS).

Within this perspective, NeTropica has supported already 10 collaborative research projects in Biomedical Sciences with the participation of several Central American laboratories and Swedish institutes. In all the projects there are several former Central American graduates who are part of the core of scientists collaborating with NeTropica. It is important to stress that several of the NeTropica projects initiated within the “sandwich” training program. The interactions between both parties has allowed collaborations in educational and postdoctoral training with several Swedish institutions, as well as the generation of relevant bilateral joint projects. In addition, international courses and international Symposia have been attained, under the framework of NeTropica. The Central American and Swedish interactions has facilitated the collaborative study of the basic public health problems of Central America. Former graduates from different countries have actively participated and exerted strong leadership in the diagnosis, control and eradication of outbreaks of dengue, malaria, AIDS, cholera, brucellosis, diarrheal diseases and envenomations in Central America. Several of our graduates and collaborating scientists maintain strong links with the Red Cross and local and regional Health Programs. It is precisely within this framework that NeTropica encourages collaborative efforts among Central American Scientist with other Latin American and Swedish investigators.