When he was young, he believed that he would devote his life to pediatrics in a small town, where he would see patients in a small office and lead a relatively quiet life. He was mistaken, though, as his career, thirst for knowledge, and leadership would lead him to the US, where he eventually rose to become the Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
That man is Dr. José Rafael Romero, who has been dedicated to Pediatric Infectious Diseases with more than 40 years of experience in the field of medicine and a graduate of the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara in 1977. As Director of NCIRD, he leads efforts to prevent illnesses, disabilities, and deaths through immunization and control of respiratory diseases in the United States, a responsibility that, although he sees it as a great challenge, he is able to face due to his training and experience.
Born in 1955 in Mexico City, he had always dreamed of becoming a doctor ever since he was a child, and as a result, his family relocated to Guadalajara so he could pursue this dream and study medicine at UAG, where he received the fundamental training and education required to become a renowned doctor.
“If you prepare yourself here, you can be a doctor in any country, you receive training and knowledge to overcome any challenge and achieve your goals. I must say that it has gone very well for me and this is thanks to what I learned at UAG”, he said.
A Career as a Doctor, Researcher, and Professor
Dr. José Rafael Romero has postdoctoral training in Pediatrics at SUNY Stony Brook, University Hospital, where he was appointed Chief Resident. He then continued his medical training as a Fellow in Molecular Microbiology, Minority Medical College Development Program, and Neurovirology Training Program, and finally as a Clinical Fellow in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
In 2020 he was appointed Secretary of the Department of Health of Arkansas, United States, and held a position in the government cabinet of this state.
He served as Medical Director of the ADH and was appointed as Acting Secretary of Health by Governor Asa Hutchinson in May 2020. He was Director of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Section at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and Arkansas Children's Hospital from 2008 to 2020.
He is also a Professor of Pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics at UAMS.
The doctor's research interests include molecular pathogenesis, epidemiology, and diagnosis of enterovirus infections, clinical and therapeutic aspects of enteroviruses, herpes viruses, cytomegalovirus, pediatric tuberculosis, and pneumococcal infections.
In turn, he dedicated much of his life to providing quality medical care to society and ensuring that the importance of medical education is a priority.
"Primary care doctors with cultural knowledge of various countries are needed, they must be humanistic, who prepare themselves and provide the best medical care possible to their patients," he shared.
Dr. José Romero was awarded the “Lic. Antonio Leaño Álvarez del Castillo” in June 2022, a recognition granted by UAG to its distinguished graduates in the fields of humanities, sciences, and teaching, among other categories.
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