Roles
Professor, Clinical Pediatrics
Director, Pediatric Sickle Cell Program
Director, Hemoglobinopathy Newborn Screening Follow Up Program for Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties
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Biography
Dr. Ofelia Alvarez is a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University of Miami and the Director of the Pediatric Sickle Cell Program. During childhood, Dr. Alvarez discovered her calling to medicine. She completed a bachelor's degree in Biology and graduated from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine in San Juan. After training in pediatrics, Dr. Alvarez did a pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. She is board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology Oncology. Previous to joining the University of Miami, Dr. Alvarez was a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Loma Linda University, in Southern California, where she concentrated in a clinical career, with interest in supportive care, brain tumors, and benign hematology. In early 2001, Dr. Alvarez joined the University of Miami and became the director of the Pediatric Sickle Cell Program since late 2003. Her academic career and expertise is in both sickle cell disease (SCD) and hemoglobinopathies. Dr. Alvarez has published 70 papers, mostly in SCD, and has been the principal investigator or center investigator for many studies. The main topics of her research have been sickle cell nephropathy, prevention of organ damage with hydroxyurea or chronic blood transfusions, newborn screening, and lately global health. Currently, Dr. Alvarez has been the recipient of several HRSA, PCORI and NIH grants. -
Education & Training
Education
Post Graduate Training
Licensures and Certifications
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Honors & Awards
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Teaching Interests
Dr. Alvarez's teaching interest is to make sure that the medical students, pediatric residents and fellows she works with, end their rotation knowing more than when they began. She intends to increase their desire to be enthusiastic advocates for children and young adults with cancer and blood disorders, especially patients with sickle cell disease. She likes to teach with her example, role modeling for them during rounds, in her interactions with patients and families. Dr. Alvarez's teaching interests are in sickle cell disease, hemoglobinopathies, benign hematology, ethics, and pediatric oncology. -
Research Interests
Dr. Alvarez's research interest is in sickle cell disease (SCD). Her main current interest is the implementation of newborn screening (NBS), hydroxyurea utilization, and stroke screening with transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) in a low resource setting (Haiti). With her NIH grant, she started or expanded hemoglobinopathy NBS, having screened over 7,000 newborns since the spring of 2020. Previously, she led the screening of over 2,000 babies born at Hopital Universitaire Justinien in Cap Haitien, Haiti [Pediatrics, 2019]. Without this screening, children will likely die as preventive care cannot be implemented. Another research interest is quality improvement in the care of individuals with SCD in Florida including NBS follow up. With a HRSA grant, she has employed community health workers (CHWs) to assist the newborn screening follow up and those patients who might be lost to follow up, increasing access to health care. CHWs can improve barriers encountered by low resource population and minorities, such as the families impacted by SCD. Another research interest is the prevention and treatment of chronic organ damage. The latter research interest is in the early diagnosis and treatment of sickle cell nephropathy and cerebral vasculopathy. Dr. Alvarez designed and implemented studies in the early diagnosis of albuminuria, urinary markers, the role of cystatin C, and follow up of affected patients with SCD, and has participated in several multi-center clinical trials for kidney protection (BABY HUG, BABY HUG Follow Up and Follow Up II) and for the care of children with stroke or at risk of stroke (STOP2, SWiTCH, and TWiTCH). -
Publications
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Professional Activities
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