Santiago Mas-Coma, full university professor of Parasitology of the Universitat de València, has been awarded with the prestigious Alphonse Laveran Medal given by the French Society of Exotic Parasitology. He has been the prize-winner thanks to his contributions and discoveries in Tropical Medicine. The award ceremony was held at Pasteur Institute in Paris. The professor of the Faculty of Pharmacy, current president of the International Federation of Tropical Medicine and expert of the World Health Organisation in tropical parasitic diseases.
The award ceremony was carried out during the homage to the recent deceased Pierre Ambroise-Thomas, a French teacher. This event has been organised by the hundred-year-old French Society of Exotic Pathology last 9 May at the Pasteur Institute in Paris (one of the most prestigious research centres for the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases in the world).
The presentation of the award was carried out after the introduction of the French entity president, Yves Buisson, and the exhibition of the curriculum, professional career and achievements of Santiago Coma-Mas. In his conference during the event, the full university professor of the Universitat de València updated the parasitological and serological diagnosis of the fascioliasis.
Alphonse Laveran Medal is an important recognition that carries the effigy of the Nobel Prize of French Medicine (1907) for his discoveries in parasites that caused the malaria and the sleeping sickness. The medal created in 1927 honours scientifics with exceptional contributions in Tropical Medicine and has been given on very few occasions.
Professor Jean Delmont emphasised the global recognition of the Mas-Coma contributions to the knowledge and global control of the fascioliasis and the vectors of the Chagas disease in Latin America, both included in the top 18 of the biggest diseases neglected by WHO.
The French specialists in Tropical Medicine have also awarded Mas-Comas for his positions of responsibility carried out in the last 30 years. Among others, he is the current president of the International Federation of Tropical Medicine (IFTM) until 2020, expert of the central HQ of the World Health Organisation (WHO), director of an official collaborating centre of the WHO and director of a reference centre of FAO/ United Nations. Mas-Coma has also been the president of the European Federation of Parasitology (EFP) during eight years, and member of the Steering Committee of the Worldwide Federation of Parasitology (WFP) during four years.
The production of the UV scientific comprises 800 conferences given around the world and more than 380 publications, the majority of them in prestigious journals. The World Health Organisation (WHO) bases its global fight against fascioliasis on its discoveries, which have changed completely the current acceptance of this disease in humans.
Last update: 19 de may de 2017 13:59.
News release
