The founder of IBioBA received the prize, awarded by the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI), the Argentine Association for the Advancement of Science and the Interciencia Association, in the category “Career in Exact, Natural, Biomedical and Technological Sciences”.
In a ceremony held last Thursday 21st in the auditorium of the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI) in Buenos Aires, Dr. Eduardo Arzt, founder of IBioBA, received the award in the category Trajectory in Exact, Natural, Biomedical and Technological Sciences, granted by the OEI together with the Argentine Association for the Advancement of Science (AAPC) and the Interciencia Association (AI).
“This project touches on two aspects of my professional life that I would like to highlight: the creation of the FOCEM-Mercosur Biomedicine Network more than 12 years ago, and the creation of the Buenos Aires Biomedical Research Institute (IBioBA), the only partner of the Max Planck Society in Latin America”, said Arzt upon receiving the award. He also highlighted the place that Dr. Charreau occupied in his life, both personally and professionally: “the fact that it bears his name is very significant for me: he signed the agreement for us to create the IBioBA”.
He also thanked the students and researchers in his group and the Institute’s administration and support team for their daily work.
The event was opened by the authorities of the organizing entities: Luis Scasso, director of OEI Argentina; Susana Hernández, president of AAPC; and Lidia Herrera, of Asociación Interciencia, who emphasized the regional nature of the award, which received nominations from institutions in Argentina, Chile, Spain, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay and Cuba.
After the award ceremony, a discussion on scientific diplomacy was held with the participation of the winners, Carlos Sersale di Cerisano, director of the National Foreign Service Institute, and Carlos Regazzoni, member of the Argentine Council for International Relations.
Eduardo Arzt shared the award with Dr. Bernardo Galvão Castro Filho, from Brazil. Also received the award Margarita Greene-Zúñiga, in the category “Trajectory in social sciences and humanities”; and Eduardo Undurraga in the category “Stimulus”, both from Chile. This year, it was also decided to award a special mention to Damasia Becú de Villalobos of the Institute of Biology and Experimental Medicine (IBYME, CONICET).
In addition to the awardees, Dr. Alicia Dickenstein, president of the National Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences; and Dr. Gabriel Rabinovich, researcher at IBYME, who received this award in 2020, were also present.
About the award
The award was created in 2020 with the aim not only to pay tribute to a notable figure of Ibero-American science such as Dr. Charreau, but also to distinguish outstanding Ibero-American researchers in three aspects of their careers: scientific production, training of new researchers and regional cooperation.
The jury was composed of representatives of the three organizing institutions: Luis Scasso, director of the OEI office in Argentina; Susana Hernández, president of AAPC; and Miguel Ángel Blesa, member of the Asociación Interciencia.
About Eduardo Arzt
Molecular biologist graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry of the University of Buenos Aires (FFyB-UBA), Master in Experimental Biology from the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico. Doctor in FFyB-UBA at the Instituto Lanari-UBA and postdoctorate at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, Germany.
He is the founder of the Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires (IBioBA, CONICET – Partner of the Max Planck Society), which he directed until 2022. He coordinates the Biomedicine Network of FOCEM-Mercosur and is an External Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society of Germany. He is a Senior researcher at CONICET and director of the Tumours of the Neuroendocrine System group at IBioBA. In addition, he is a Consultant Professor at the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA).
He is an international reference in his field of research, molecular neuroendocrinology. Throughout his career he has supervised 20 doctoral theses, published more than 170 papers in prestigious international journals and has been invited to give more than a hundred lectures abroad. He has organized numerous courses and conferences with an emphasis on the training of students from the region. His work has been awarded the Guggenheim NY-USA fellowship, the TWAS Award (The World Academy of Sciences), the Houssay Award, the Bunge y Born Award in Experimental Medicine and the Konex Award. He was named Outstanding Personality of Science of the City of Buenos Aires (Legislature of the CABA in 2013) and distinguished with the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2011.