Team Bio

AWÁ Science & Conservation, a non-profit association formed by biologists and veterinarians who work in research, education and social action in disease ecology, conservation and related topics in Costa Rica. Our intention is to study of infectious diseases in neotropical wildlife, with an ecological analysis from an interdisciplinary approach to generate data that favor the conservation of Neotropical environments.

Andrea Chaves

My investigations are focused on wildlife diseases and disease ecology, combining molecular, social and environmental analysis to understand the dynamics of infectious agents in animal wildlife. I have developed my research in various taxa, and with a broad spectrum of infectious agents (viruses, bacteria, parasites) primarily from environments in the wild of Latin America - Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica. These have provided the opportunity to develop critical questions with appropriate and diverse models of organisms and systems. The unifying theme of my research is to understand the general variables favoring the presence of infectious diseases, in diverse communities across multiple spatial scales affected by anthropogenic activities. I am president and founding partner of the AWA Science & Conservation Association for Costa Rica, which now has been active for over three years. I founded this organization together with other Costa Rican researchers. Through this non-profit, I fulfill part of my personal commitment to contribute my skills to the training of young people with interest in conservation and disease ecology, and develop programs that integrate society and science to solve challenges for the mesoamerican region.

Paloma Alcázar

I’m a peruvian wildlife veterinarian passionate for nature, and for the understanding of the human relationships with it. Following the dream of being a veterinarian and using my career and skills for working towards wildlife conservation.

I have followed studies on Conservation Medicine and Wild animal health, and participate on several research and conservation projects to better understand and generate information that supports the conservation of threatened wildlife species. Co-Founder and Vicepresident of Awá Science & Conservation, Member of BAWI - One Health & Coexistence, and director of the Proyecto Huangana, a research focused on the study of agents with the potential to threaten local communities and white lipped-peccary populations at the human-wildlife interface at the Peruvian Amazon.

Working with conservation projects has gave me the opportunity to learn from people of local communities about the values and traditions that outline their relationships with the environment, and understand the importance of the human dimensions on wildlife conservation. In Awá, I’m interested in studying the effects of anthropogenic activities on the health of wildlife populations; the development of strategies for the prevention of disease transmission on the human-wildlife interface, and outline projects that promote the coexistence of people and wildlife on healthy communities.