July 2021
GAZETTE
EL DR. JOSE BELIZÁN, ARGENTINE OBSTETRIST DOCTOR AND RESEARCHER, WON THE CARLOS SLIM AWARD IN HEALTH 2021
THE PRESTIGIOUS RECOGNITION WAS AWARDED IN THE CATEGORY “TRACK IN RESEARCH” FOR ITS CONTRIBUTIONS TO HEALTH DURING PREGNANCY. BELIZEN OBSERVED THAT THE MAYAN'S WAY OF PREPARING CORN TORTILLA (WITH HIGH CALCIUM CONTENT) WAS THE KEY TO REDUCE THE CASES OF PREECLAMPIA, A HYPERTENSION DISORDER WHICH CONSTITUTES THE MAIN CAUSE OF MATERNAL DEATH IN THE WORLD. HE STUDYED THE SUBJECT FOR 4 DECADES. ITS FINDING CAUSED THE WHO TO INCORPORATE CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTATION AS AN INTERNATIONAL RECOMMENDATION.
El Carlos Slim Award in Health 2021 in the category "Research career” was awarded to Dr. José Belizan, an Argentine obstetrician who has carried out her work in four Latin American countries and led research that is very relevant to the health of pregnant women and their children.
The distinction of the Carlos Slim Foundation has recognized for 13 years people “whose work has allowed the generation of Innovative solutions for the main challenges in terms of public health of the region” and whose results “have been successfully applied, reducing the health gaps we face.”
With a PhD in Medicine and Reproductive Biology, Dr. Belizán is researcher at the Institute of Clinical and Health Effectiveness (IECS), an academic institution affiliated with the UBA Faculty of Medicine. It is also senior researcher at CONICET and associate professor at Chapel Hill and Tulane universities in the United States.
Belizean has focused on applied research in health during pregnancy, through which it was proven that calcium supplementation prevents hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. The finding has been replicated in more than 27 studies and led the World Health Organization (WHO) to adopt it as an international recommendation.
Dr. Belizán remembers that this research dates back to observations he made more than 40 years ago. "During my exile, which lasted between 1976 and 1981, I had the opportunity to work at an important research institute in Guatemala. I realized that, compared to other countries in the region, the incidence of preeclampsia, a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that represents the main cause of maternal death in the world (30.000 deaths per year), was very low. And even more so in indigenous populations with very low resources. It occurred to me that there could be a factor in Guatemala that prevented the appearance of that disease. And it turns out that one Mayan custom to prepare corn tortillas, A very common food, it consists of cooking corn with water and quicklime before grinding it. That means Women have a very high calcium intake, even if they do not drink milk. So they I thought there could be an inverse relationship between calcium consumption and the appearance of pregnancy hypertension", Explain.
Studies in animals and then clinical trials managed to prove this associationlarvae, nymphs, and adults, so “We were proud that, 40 years after the initial observation, the World Health Organization issued a global recommendation that all women with low basal calcium intake receive supplements to prevent the pathology", says Dr. Belizán, who is now embarking on a project to evaluate the effect of fortifying drinking water with calcium.
Regarding the recognition granted to him by the aforementioned Mexican foundation, Belizán assures: “It was a huge surprise and also pride because this Mexican entity recognizes people and institutions committed to improving the health of the population of Mexico and Latin America, where research often faces economic obstacles to advance. I am convinced that health research can change (and improve) people's lives and quality of life, and the work we have done on calcium contributes in this regard."
The IECS congratulates Belizán with immense pride and points out that it was not only able to observe the possible initial relationship between calcium and eclampsia, but that it later had the leadership and tenacity necessary to carry out different studies guided by that hypothesis, which resulted in policies that allowed improve women's health globally. Dr. Belizán, born, graduated and currently residing in the city of Rosario, He was director of the Latin American Center for Perinatology and Human Development (CLAP) of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and has with 260 publications indexed in PubMed, main database of scientific works. In the Scopus bibliographic reference database it has more than 10.000 scientific citations, while in the Google Scholar scientific publications database, 22.500 citations. Is chief editor of two international journals and member of the editorial board of various scientific journals, including The Lancet. Additionally, he has been a reviewer for 36 scientific journals and research institutions, including National Institutes of Health (NIH), Medical Research Council from the United Kingdom and Grand Challenges from Canada.
Likewise, he has been a consultant for 16 organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the United States and the Swedish International Cooperation Agency.
To access a video by Dr. Belizán about this distinction, click here
ABOUT IECS: The IECS is an independent, non-profit academic institution dedicated to research, education and technical cooperation in health. Founded in 2002, it is an institution affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) that houses a CONICET executing unit, a WHO Collaborating center and a Cochrane Center. The mission of the IECS is “to contribute to improving global health, generating and promoting the application of the best scientific evidence.”
IECS PRESS CONTACT:
Lic. Mariana Comolli, Coordinator of the Communication Unit.
Tel.: (011) 4777-8767 ext. 133. mcomolli@iecs.org.ar