returning to bogatá in 1960, dussán took a job with the inter-american center for housing and planning (iachp) and later that year, she took a position as a research associate of the institute of andean research in washington, d. c. through 1962. these organizations allowed exploration to continue on the pacific coast, in an area ranging from panama's darién province to the colombia–ecuador border. very little archaeological work had been done in the area at the time. while studying in the area, "el hermanito" an apocalyptic prophet became the subject of one of her studies. "el hermanito"′s doomsday predictions affected both the customs and local economy, causing both indigenous and afro-colombian populations to sell off their belongings or sacrifice them into the river, and kill off their livestock. dussán's study of the movement was the first religiously based anthropological study of its kind in latin america. the association with the iachp allowed dussán to study urban problems, evaluating marginal neighborhoods. one such study focused on the el carmen neighborhood of bogotá.