About the Speaker
Dr. Mario De La Rosa is a Professor in the School of Social Work at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work at Florida International University (FIU). He is an internationally recognized Latino health disparities researcher with more than 30 years of research experience as an administrator, researcher, and educator. Dr. De La Rosa is the founding director of the FIU Center for Research on U.S. Latino HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse (CRUSADA). He has co-authored 168 peer review papers, presented his research in over 200 peer-review scientific conferences, and received more than $60 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a principal and co-principal investigator. Dr. De La Rosa has served on numerous NIH national scientific review panels and scientific journal editorial boards. He is a past member of the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparity at NIH and current member of the Health Equity Roundtable of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain why there is a need for research on the nature and extent of substance abuse and HIV in Latino populations in Miami-Dade County
• Utilize the information provided as background information for future research grants or scientific papers that focus on substance abuse and sexual risk behaviors of vulnerable Latino populations in Miami-Dade County
• Describe and plan research studies that involve community partners in the development and implementation phases.

About the Speaker Series:
The Speaker Series presentations are designed to provide health and mental health professionals, educators, and students with current strategies for understanding, identifying, and treating children and adolescents with mental health problems.

All sessions are free and provide continuing education credits for mental health professionals.

The Speaker Series provides continuing education credits through: 

• The American Psychological Association
• The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
• The FIU Counselor Education Program, which is an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP™) and a co-sponsor of the CCF presentations.
• The National Association of School Psychologists
• Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling; Florida Board of Psychology and Florida Office of School Psychology.