Maria Pena

Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC)

Manuel Elkin Patarroyo (born in 1946) received his M.D. degree from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (National University of Colombia, School of Medicine) in 1971, where he is Full Professor for Molecular Pathology. He did postdoctoral studies at Rockefeller University in the United States with Professor Henry Kunkel and on Tumor Immunology at Karolinska Institute, Sweden, with Professor George Klein. In 1976, he founded the Instituto de Inmunología at the San Juan de Dios Hospital, fully devoted to the development of chemically synthesized vaccines, with malaria being one of them, with the advice of Professors Bruce Merrifield and David Andreu (Rockefeller University) and Professor Richard Lerner (Scripps Research Institute). The first chemically synthesized vaccine against this scourging disease was published in Nature in 1987, followed by a large series of clinical and field trials in different parts of the world that allowed the conclusion of the feasibility of chemically synthesized vaccines. He has received numerous awards, including the Award of the Third World Academy of Science (TWAS) in 1988, the Prince of Asturias Award in Science and Technology (Spain) in 1994, the Robert Koch Award (Germany) in 1994, the Medicin de l'année Award (France) in 1995, the Edinburgh Medal (England) in 1995, the National Science Award (Colombia) in 1986, 1984, 1982, and 1978, and 26 Honoris Causa Doctor degrees from different universities throughout the world. He is founder and current director of the Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia since 2001