Our Faculty and Staff

Dr. Jorge Cervantes is an Associate Professor in the Dr. Kiran Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Medical Education Department.

Dr. Cervantes obtained his M.D. degree from Cayetano Heredia University in Peru. He received research training in tropical medicine in Japan and conducted dengue surveillance in the Amazon, before pursuing a doctorate in biomedical sciences in Kagoshima University, Faculty of Medicine in Japan. Dr. Cervantes has worked on immunology and infectious diseases, focusing on the innate immune aspects of phagocytes as a postdoctoral fellow in Japan and later in UConn Health and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. His interests include antimicrobial peptides and hostpathogen interactions in the field of tuberculosis, leprosy and Lyme disease. Dr. Cervantes is an expert on the human lung microbiome in tuberculosis and how mucosa-associated microbiota can confer risk for the development of precancerous lesions in the colon. Dr. Cervantes also works on inflammatory processes occurring in microglia triggered by bacterial-derived peptides in the context of multiple sclerosis. Dr. Cervantes is passionate about translating his findings and applying his knowledge to public health problems like leprosy, tuberculosis, tick-borne diseases, and infectious diseases education. Dr. Cervantes is an advocate for scientific integration into medical education.

Dr. Cervantes believes that the assimilation of basic science and understanding of new technologies is paramount to how medical professionals can base clinical reasoning. When learners understand how basic science knowledge informs clinical practice, their confidence on foundational scientific underpinnings transcends assumptions and relies on learners’ intuitively practicing and advancing medicine on evidence-based foundations of science. The more that future health professionals can achieve excellence in clinical decision-making, the better the future of the health care systems will be to promote patients’ health and quality of life.