Cesar Ugarte-Gil is Assistant Professor at the Department of Epidemiology at SPPH at UTMB. He has PhD in Global Diseases Epidemiology and Control from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a MSc in Epidemiology at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and MD from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia. Dr. Ugarte-Gil´s work is focused on respiratory infections such as Tuberculosis, COVID-19, Influenza and others. His interest is validation of point-of-care diagnostic tools and their implementation at primary care level. Also, he has a specific interest in the association of comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus and depression with tuberculosis, and how this association can affect tuberculosis treatment outcomes. Another interest is research in Bartonella bacilliformis, a bacterial infection common in the Andean region, and other common tropical infections prevalent in Latin America. He has also served as an member of the Expert Board at the National Tuberculosis Program in Peru, independent consultant for PAHO and WHO in Tuberculosis.