Crossing Borders and Generating an International Network
Reinaldo Espindola - Hospital Universitario de Valme in Seville
Reinaldo Espindola joined COMBACTE-NET three years ago as a medical coordinator and lead in the WP9 ARTHR-IS study. ARTHR-IS (Arthroplasties’ infections due to Staphylococcus aureus) aims to characterize the frequency of prosthetic joint infections due to Staphylococcus aureus, and using a case-control methodology, to identify the risk factors for these infections and the predictors of treatment failure.
Reinaldo was born in Colombia, where he also finished his medical studies. Wanting to broaden his experience internationally, he collaborated with Médecins Sans Frontières in Malawi on an HIV and tuberculosis project. He then studied Public Health in Paris, and worked in the tropical medicine field in Guyana. For the last few years Seville has been his home. At the Hospital Universitario de Valme in Seville, Reinaldo combines being an infectious diseases doctor with research activities.
Role in ARTHR-IS
As the medical coordinator Reinaldo oversees all the clinical trial phases – from selecting the participating centers, to supervising the data collection tasks and data analysis. At the moment the ARTHR-IS team is in the process of disseminating the results, writing and submitting the manuscripts in specialized journals.
“COMBACTE is one of the main initiatives that have been developed in recent years to fight against bacterial resistance. The union of European hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry to work efficiently on the same goal makes it unique”
— Dr. Reinaldo Espindola, Hospital Universitario de Valme in Seville
Reinaldo has worked on research projects at a local and national level, but never on a European-scale project. “Crossing borders and generating an international network that allows optimizing time and resources” is what he finds most interesting in his work.
On the transition of COMBACTE into Ecraid he adds: “After the success of COMBACTE, the experience gained had to lead to the creation of a new organization that would be self-sustainable to guarantee its continuity over time.”
Next to his work as a medical coordinator, Reinaldo finds his relaxation in woodwork. “My goal is to replace all the furniture in my house with my handmade work”.