Dr Braulio Mark Valencia Arroyo
Associated Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), UK. 2024
PhD, Infection and Immunology.听UNSW Sydney, Kirby Institute. 2023
Infectious Diseases Specialist.听Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. 2016
Master of Science, Control of Tropical and Infectious Diseases.听Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. 2011
Medical Doctor.听Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. 2008
I am a clinically trained infectious diseases physician and an ECR (1.5-year post PhD) investigating host determinants of severity and outcome of infectious diseases, irrespectively of the pathogen. I am well-versed in the broad diversity of skills required to conduct this study, including project management (protocol development, ethics, governance, data management and databasing), biospecimen handling and library preparation for Omic methods, analyses with large datasets, and diverse bioinformatic pipelines based on R or web-based servers.听
My research focuses on translating experimental or cutting-edge methods into clinical practice. For example, I pioneered the molecular diagnosis of American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis (ATL), as evidenced by 57 citations by researchers in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa (Scopus). The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) adopted two approaches in their diagnosing and treating leishmaniasis guidelines. These experiences derived naturally into an interest in developing molecular-based point-of-care diagnostics, including a hand-held PCR device and next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach to identify atypical mycobacteria and dengue in Peru and Australia. My interests include biomarker discovery (>10 years) and broad, including molecular characterisation of pathogen determinants of severity or treatment failure, high-frequency ultrasound, and human genetic markers of disease severity.
I have participated as a biomedical lecturer in English and Spanish during the last 16 years, including undergraduate courses (genetics, immunology, pathology, and infectious diseases) and postgraduate courses (tropical diseases). This innate passion for lecturing is reinforced by my formal training, including the Foundations of University Learning and Teaching (FULT) program at UNSW and achieving recognition as AFHEA. Given my expertise in neglected tropical diseases, I have contributed to two technical reports in HTLV-1 (ISBN: 978-92-4-002022-1) and American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis (ISBN: 978-92-75-32191-1).
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- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
2022 - 2023: Kirby Institute Emerging Investigator Awards, UNSW ($ 7,000). Proposal: HESN-HCV: untangling the genetic basis of hepatitis C infection resistance.
2018 - 2022: PhD Scientia Scholarship, UNSW ($40,000 yearly stipend and annual educational fees of $43,440).
2016 - 2017: Grants for Innovation, Science, and Technology 鈥 Peruvian Government (US$ 125,000). Proposal: Early ultrasonographic detection of treatment response in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis patients.
2016 - 2017: Gorgas Memorial Foundation Research Grant Award, UAB, USA ($ 27,000). Proposal: Point of Care testing for confirmatory diagnosis of Tegumentary Leishmaniasis: usefulness of two molecular approaches in endemic villages from Peru.
2015 - 2016: Fogarty Global Health Fellows (Grant 5R25TW009340-04), USA ($ 82,000). Proposal: Parasite density as a biomarker of therapeutic response in cutaneous leishmaniasis: A multidisciplinary study based on volumetric and parasite load estimations.
2023: Grant Writing Award, International Union of Immunological Societies. First prize in the grant writing competition held during the course 鈥淓pigenetic Regulation of Immune Responses鈥. Proposal title: Elucidating the Influence of Epigenetic Regulation on Immune Cells in the Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection (PASC). Kerala, India, October 2023.
2023: Travel Award, International Union of Immunological Societies. Full scholarship to participate in the 鈥淓pigenetic Regulation of Immune Responses鈥 course. Kerala, India, October 2023.
2020 - 2021: Postgraduate Research Support Scheme (PRSS) funding for conference travel, UNSW ($ 2,800). To participate in the Genomics and Clinical Virology course, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK.
2018 - 2019: Exchange Fellowships for early career researchers, Sydney partnership for health education research and enterprise (SPHERE) ($ 5,000). Proposal: Next Generation Sequencing for Detection and Identification of neglected viral pathogens in low-income settings.
My Teaching
Lecturer 鈥 Society and Health (MFAC1527),听UNSW Sydney, School of Medicine听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听听February 2025 - Present
Tutor 鈥 Musculoskeletal diseases (PATH3207),听UNSW Sydney, School of Medical Sciences听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听July 2021 - Present
Mentor 鈥 Molecular Basis of Disease (PATH3205),听UNSW Sydney, School of Medical Sciences听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听February 2020 - Present
Tutor 鈥 Clinical Immunology (PATH3209),听UNSW Sydney, School of Medical Sciences听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听July 2021 - July 2022
Tutor 鈥 Cancer Pathology (PATH3206),听UNSW Sydney, School of Medical Sciences听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 July 2021听
Course Facilitator 鈥 Society and Health / Health maintenance A-B (Phase 1 courses),听UNSW Sydney, School of Medicine听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听February 2020 - 2021
Lecturer 鈥 Gorgas Course of Infectious Diseases,听The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), USA.听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 February 2012 - February 2018