Our History
OUR FOUNDER
Dr. Ligia Peralta
Dr. Ligia Peralta is a clinician-scientist, Fellow of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and President and CEO of Casa Ruben Inc., an organization addressing health disparities in underserved communities. Dr. Peralta is an active member of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network and co-chair of the LatinX committee of the COVID-19 Prevention Network of the National Institute of Health. Currently, she leads a new initiative addressing health disparities, COVID-19 vaccination gaps, and the needs of individuals recovering from COVID-19. As a clinician-researcher and advocate her interest resides in health disparities, HIV, chronic illnesses, and vulnerable populations. She was awarded the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan Fellowship on Innovation and Global Leadership. Most recently, she served as the Co-Chair of the Incidence Committee of the United States Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS in Washington, DC. She served as a Commissioner of the Maryland Health Care Commission, a regulatory agency addressing health system needs and accountability. She served as the Chief of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine and the Director of its Adolescent HIV Program, and the founder of the Genomics Research Core at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She successfully combined her roles as physician professor, researcher, and patient and community advocate. She has addressed the health disparities of vulnerable populations by creating innovative programs to provide them with access to primary care services and research. Other community programs in Maryland include developing and evaluating COVID-19 prevention, education and testing initiatives at senior homes in partnership with housing authorities and food banks. Her “One Stop Shopping” model of service is successful in engaging and retaining individuals in care and has been recognized as a national and international model of care. Her strength is her unique skill in dealing with people at the community level of health care. She has successfully applied her training in Business Management to deal with the sustainability of organizations such as Casa Ruben, Inc. to address the health and emotional needs of the communities and improve access to health care. Dr. Peralta has worked on HIV/AIDS in Africa, Asia, South America and Haiti designing user-friendly programs to address the HIV epidemic. She is the recipient of the 2000 Latinos of Distinction Award conferred by the Food and Drug Administration and the White House. She is the first Hispanic American serving in the National HIV Task Force to establish treatment guidelines for children and adolescents. She has been the recipient of over 40 federally-funded awards from the United States National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has published over 100 original articles, textbook chapters and federal guidelines contributions. The Governor of the State of Maryland inducted her to the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011.
Dr. Ruben Peralta
Dr. Peralta Rosario, deputy medical director of the Qatar Hamad Trauma Center, has provided professional medical services to the citizens of that nation for more than a decade.
Professor Peralta was also recently awarded the international Harald Tscherne Teaching Award 2021, from the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery, during that organization's annual conference. Similarly, he received from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of Campinas, Brazil, recognition as a distinguished visitor, for his project Medical Simulation in Basic and Advanced Life Support for Trauma Patients.
The Dominican scientist, who is a native of Salcedo, Hermanas Mirabal province, is director of the Teaching Programs and Postgraduate Scholarships for Advanced Medicine in Trauma Surgery, Emergencies and Critical Care. Graduated with Honors from the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National University (UNPHU), in Santo Domingo, emigrated to the United States, where he trained at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
The Dominican Embassy in the State of Qatar recognized the professional and altruistic career of the eminent Dominican surgeon and scientist Dr. Rubén Peralta Rosario. The Dominican ambassador in this Islamic state, Georges Basha Hazim, when presenting the award, highlighted the illustrious career and humanitarian services of Dr. Peralta to his country, as well as the social and professional work in favor of the Dominican diaspora on three continents.