30 2023 March
GAZETTE
AN ARGENTINE OBSTETRIST DOCTOR WINS PRESTIGIOUS CANADIAN AWARD WHICH LELOIR AND MILSTEIN ALSO RECEIVED
An Argentine obstetrician and researcher, Dr. José Belizan, has been awarded the prestigious Premio International Gairdner de Canada 2023 in the category Global Health, "a“contributed to science-based research that has improved the health and well-being of those facing health inequalities around the world.” “The Gairdner Awards of Canada recognize the Scientists biomedical most creative and outstanding in the world that advance humanity and the world”, as described on the website Gaidner Foundation official.
Dr. Belizán, an obstetrician from Rosario, senior researcher at the Institute of Clinical and Health Effectiveness (IECS), an institution affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of the UBA with 20 years of experience, receives today, March 30, the award in the category “overall health” “for the development of innovative, evidence-based, low-cost global interventions in maternal and child health during the perinatal period, improving well-being and care during pregnancy, reducing morbidity and mortality, and promoting equity in populations vulnerable”, highlighted in its foundations the Gairdner Foundation, based in Toronto, Canada.
Canada's Gairdner International Prize It has been delivered since 1959 and recognizes “world renowned scientists what did you do “transformative contributions to research that impacts human health”. Of the 460 winners, almost a quarter (96) later received the Nobel Prize, so, like the Lasker Prize, it is considered a kind of “advance payment” for those who will receive the award. The award this year will be broadcast live on Thursday March 30.
Dr. Belizán is going to be the seventh Latin American winner and the fifth Argentine, after those later awarded the Nobel Prize Luis Federico Leloir and César Milstein, the heart surgeon René Favaloro (creator of the coronary bypass technique) and the neuroscientist Alberto Aguayo (naturalized Canadian, but born in Bahía Blanca). The remaining winners from the region are the Brazilian epidemiologist César Victora (2017) and his Colombian colleague Nubia Muñoz (2009).
The list of previous winners includes Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, who developed the technology that allowed messenger RNA vaccines to exist; to Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease specialist who led the rational response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States; to Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuell Charpentier, who created the revolutionary CRISPR gene editing technique; to Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo, who discovered HIV; to Shinya Yamanaka, which managed to reprogram mature skin cells to transform them into embryonic-like cells; to James Watson, Francis Crick and Craig Venter, fathers of modern genetics and the Human Genome Project; already Stanley Prusiner, who discovered the unusual infective proteins or “prions,” among many other luminaries of science.
REASONS FOR THE DISTINCTION
Dr. Belizán, who is also senior researcher at CONICET and is part of the Bone Biology Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR), has worked in four countries in the region and has focused his work on applied research in health during pregnancy.
One of his main contributions to public health comes from an observation he made more than 40 years ago, when, exiled with his family during the Argentine dictatorship, he worked at the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), in Guatemala. “We were aware that in Latin America there was a very high frequency of hypertension in pregnancy or preeclampsia, a very serious complication that causes between 50.000 to 70.000 maternal deaths per year worldwide. However, collecting information from Guatemala, I observed that they had a very low frequency of preeclampsia. 'Is there some factor that explains this?' I asked myself. And it turns out that, from nutritional surveys, it emerged that the lowest-income women had a very high intake of calcium, and not because of the consumption of dairy products, but because of an ancient Mayan custom to prepare corn tortillas: nixtamalization, or adding lime to corn before grinding”explains Dr. Belizán.
The initial observation was transformed into a hypothesis and a series of studies over several decades, from animal models to supplementation interventions in women. “And it definitely found that calcium intake prevents preeclampsia, a complication that produces maternal deaths, deaths in children and long-term consequences. From our studies, the World Health Organization (WHO) I take one international recommendation that all women who have a low calcium intake should increase their intake", adds.
Dr. Belizán made other significant contributions that improved the birth experience of millions of women and the health of children in the womb. Through a study in Rosario, he verified that the episiotomy (incision made between the vaginal opening and the anus during childbirth) should not be done routinely. “It is a very aggressive procedure for women, very unpleasant. After each birth, in such a relevant period of the mother/child relationship, they suffer discomfort and pain due to this cut.”, describes. The work in Argentina was published in The Lancet in 1993 (see here) and, based on that evidence, The WHO also issued a recommendation against the routine use of this practice., “which caused it to reduce in both high-, low- and middle-income countries.” He also documented that many cesarean sections were not necessary. And he was able to prove that Poor maternal intake impacts the development of the fetus and has consequences on their daughters/children.
"As international expert, innovation and rigorous research of Dr. Belizán from basic science to implementation has had a profound impact on global health and has motivated the careers of researchers and actions around the world for the past five decades. His work has awakened and will continue to promote important developments in this sector, as it demonstrates the importance of low- and middle-income countries being represented in global health research,” The Gairdner Foundation highlights this in a statement released today.
“Throughout his 50-year career, Dr. Belizán's influence extends beyond his own research, inspiring a new generation of researchers and leading the change towards more equitable societies”, adds the entity.
To see a video about Dr. Belizán click here
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DR. BELIZEN
El Dr. José Belizan, born, graduated and currently residing in the city of Rosario, is a 77-year-old obstetrician and researcher. He was director of the Latin American Center for Perinatology and Human Development (CLAP) of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and has with 277 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. Furthermore, it has been reviewer in 36 scientific journals and research institutions, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom and Grand Challenges of 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.
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SOME OF HIS SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS:
About episiotomies:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(05)80085-6/fulltext
About cesarean sections:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(18)30241-9/fulltext
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(06)69616-5/fulltext
About calcium supplementation:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199111143252002?articleTools=true
Maternal intake and fetal development:
https://www.bmj.com/content/315/7103/281.long
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