CEDENNA received a visit from Dr. Fidel Antonio Castro Smirnov, Full Professor of Nuclear Physics at the University of Havana and member of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, who, as part of an international tour, asked to see the center’s laboratories together with Dr. Amaya Candia, head of the International Medical Society of ELAM graduates (Latin American School of Medicine), the international public university created by the Cuban government that trains general practitioners for more than 120 countries.
They were welcomed by the dean of the Faculty of Science of the Universidad de Santiago, Dr. Juan Escrig; the director of the CEDENNA Center Program, Dr. Juliano Casagrande; and the head of the Nanobiomedicine Laboratory, Patricia Díaz. The visitors were particularly interested in the community engagement initiatives CEDENNA has created, the interdisciplinary nature of its research, its relationship with teacher and student training, and the Nanotechnology course the center offers health professionals in agreement with the Chilean Medical Association.
On the occasion they toured some of the center’s laboratories, including Electron Microscopy, Nanobiomedicine, Nanosafety and Nanomagnetism. “It would be ideal to be able to work and research together within the framework of this international group of physicians (which, if it is not already, will soon become the largest in the world), since we are all moving towards new technologies that will impact global health and can also offer high technology to companies and countries on the continent”,
said Dr. Castro, referring to the reason for his visit, in the context of an extended meeting of ELAM graduates.
“Precisely one of the main objectives of the International Medical Society is to support the development of new knowledge and maintain the international link between
us,” said Dr. Candia. “In Chile there are 649 of us graduates, and the invitation to Dr. Castro is precisely to contribute to that goal,” Dr. Candia affirmed.
Particularly interested in the development of nanotechnology in health, he talked in detail with Dr. Patricia Díaz, who heads the Nanobiomedicine laboratory at
Cedenna. The Cuban physician is recognized for his research in biomedical nanotechnology, especially nanoparticle toxicity studies and their applications in
regenerative medicine and cell therapy. He has already carried out international collaborations, including projects in France (Institut Gustave Roussy) and with molecular biophysics teams in Europe and Latin America.
