From Brazil to Baltimore and Back Again. Dr. Ricardo Arcêncio Forms a Lasting Partnership

The Beginning of A Beautiful Friendship

Ricardo A. Arcêncio PhD, MPH, RN is a full Professor at the University of São Paulo Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing in Brazil, but is a frequent visitor of Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. In 2022, Ricardo spent five months as a visiting professor at the School of Nursing, working with Dr. Nancy Reynolds in the Center for Infectious Disease and Nursing Innovation.

But Ricardo’s Johns Hopkins journey does not begin there. In fact, Ricardo’s first experience visiting Johns Hopkins came back in 2007.

“I was introduced to Hopkins through my research on tuberculosis.”

After his experiences at Hopkins in 2007, Ricardo defended his doctoral thesis and was hired by the University of São Paulo Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing as an associate professor. Ricardo realized the need to connect his research in epidemiology with nursing and in 2019 got in contact with Dr. Reynolds, who he invited for a seminar in Brazil. In 2022, Ricardo came to Hopkins as a visiting professor.

During his time teaching at Hopkins, Ricardo became close to Dr. Jason Farley, Director of The Center for Infectious Disease and Nursing Innovation. Ricardo learned a lot about Dr. Farley and his work on infectious diseases and nurse innovation.

“Jason Farley is the reason why I decided to start a new line of investigation of the research in Brazil.”

The experience Ricardo gained during his time as a visiting professor has been invaluable to him. After returning to Brazil, Ricardo was appointed to Full Professor and is now the president of the Brazilian Tuberculosis Research Network.

“One of the reasons I got this position is because of my partnership with the Hopkins School of Nursing…I could connect my research, my investigation with the nurse area and I learned to do that here, specifically with Dr. Jason Farley and Dr. Nancy Reynolds.”

Ricardo is the youngest person ever to achieve the title of Full Professor at his university. He credits his appointment as president of the Brazilian Tuberculosis Research Network to his ability to establish this partnership with Hopkins.

“It’s really, really important because usually this network is managed and coordinated by a doctor or a physician and this time they chose a nursing school professor as the president.”

Getting to Work

With all of this exciting progress happening, Ricardo was eager to get to work. Latent tuberculosis is an ongoing public health issue in Brazil. With Ricardo at the helm of the BTRN, he began work on how to combat Latent TB.

Ricardo’s work aims to educate nurses on diagnosing Latent TB so they can increase the rate of reported cases. Instead of waiting for a doctor to come diagnose the patient, nurses with the proper training can do so and increase reported cases. This leads to more patients being treated for the disease.

“We are developing this project in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. It’s a robust, robust project, a challenging project, but because of our partnership with Hopkins School of Nursing we are going ahead with this project.”

In addition, Ricardo is working on another project to address the impact COVID-19 has had on indicators of tuberculosis.

Where to Next?

For Ricardo, Hopkins has become a home away from home with him jumping at every opportunity to come back.

“When I have an opportunity to come to Hopkins, I apply and usually, I win the grant. I come back to Hopkins to emphasize our partnership.”

Ricardo uses his time at Hopkins wisely, strengthening his relationship abroad as well as connecting with faculty members to see if there is someone from his university that he can connect them with to further foster this partnership.

During his most recent Hopkins visit, Ricardo came to discuss and work on a new project that will bring an undergraduate student from the University of São Paulo Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing to The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.

The collaboration and connection that Ricardo has established between Hopkins and Ribeirão Preto continues to grow with each visit. Upon returning to Brazil, Ricardo is hoping to have several SON faculty join him for an international seminar to commemorate the university’s 70th anniversary.

About the Author: Sam DiStefano

Sam DiStefano is the Social Media and Digital Content Coordinator for the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. Sam works to bring the latest from JHUSON straight to your social media feeds and online reading.