CHICAGO, IL (July 18, 2008) - With the reemergence of discussions over U.S. relations with Cuba - notably Barack Obama’s statement at the primary debate on February 21 that he would support “the eventual normalization” of relations with Cuba – it is an excellent time to know more about the remarkable strides the Cuban scientific community has been accomplishing in the area of chemical and pharmaceutical research.
On Tuesday, July 22, the Institute of Science Education and Science Communication at Columbia College Chicago will host Dr. Alberto Julio Nunez Selles for a free public presentation on Science in Cuba: Past, Present and Future. The program begins at 11 a.m. in Columbia’s Hokin Lecture Hall, 623 S. Wabash, 1st floor.
Dr. Nunez, the General Director of the Centre of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, has been heavily involved in the development of a new line of natural health products derived from mango. These, and other medicinal products developed in Cuban research institutes, have been used world wide to treat cancer, high blood pressure and diabetes. They are unavailable to the U.S. public due to the long-term trade embargo against Cuba.
“I have been in Cuba several times (with licenses to travel from the U.S. Department of the Treasury) heading delegations for chemists,” says Dr. Zafra Lerman, head of Columbia’s ISESC. “We were very impressed with the advancement in medications developed by Cuban research institutions for high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, etc., These medications are apparently being used all over the world but, because of the embargo, U.S. citizens are unable to benefit from them. I personally encountered several Americans in Cuba who traveled to the country without licenses from the Treasury, and faced the legal risk to receive treatment for their various ailments. One lady told me: ‘I was paralyzed, I could not move, and now I am walking. So I do not care if I broke the law of the embargo.’ We were also extremely impressed by the high level of K-12 education in Cuba, particularly in science and math.”
Dr. Nunez was born in Havana, Cuba and holds a B.Sc. and Doctor in Sciences from the University of Havana and a Ph.D. from the Academy of Sciences of Czechoslovakia. Professor Nunez is widely published - having authored three textbooks on organic chemistry and many journal articles - and has received many honors for his scientific and educational efforts.
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