TRIBUTE TO DR. JULIA PRADO-FRANCESCHI

SIMIONI, L.R.(1)

(1)Departamento de Farmacologia, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brasil.

I am privileged to have this opportunity to present Dr. Julia Prado-Franceschi who is to be honored at this VI Symposium of the Brazilian Society of Toxinology (SBTX). For our contemporaries, this presentation is unnecessary, so I would like to present Julia to the younger toxinologists.

The Brazilian Society of Toxinology originated in Julia’s mind and heart.  In 1988, the Academy of Sciences of the State of São Paulo, in the person of the then president Prof. Watanabe, requested Julia’s help and that of our Department in organizing a symposium in honor of Prof. Oswaldo Vital Brazil. At lunch during this event, Julia put forward the idea of organizing a Brazilian branch of the International Society on Toxinology (IST). The proposal was accepted enthusiastically by those present. During the symposium, Prof. Dr. Vital Brazil and Julia were nominated president and vice-president, respectively, of the newly formed  SBTX. Initially, there was some resistance to the creation of this society on the part of some leading members of the IST. However, in 1992, four years after the  founding of the society, the IV Panamerican Symposium of the IST and the II Symposium of the SBTX were held jointly in Campinas, São Paulo state. The organization and success of this event were in large part due to Julia’s ability to present her arguments convincingly.  Those present at the event remember how productive and pleasing the meeting was.  Since that event, the number of Brazilian toxinologists, which until then had involved only a few individuals, has risen markedly, with an ever increasing participation in world congresses organized by the IST. As foreseen by Julia, the number of young Brazilian toxinologists contributing to the field has also increased.  We wish to say to our honored colleague that her effort and enthusiasm in founding the SBTX have paid off.  The Society has grown and is now in the hands of a group of competent and interested individuals.  In addition, the quality of toxinological research done by Brazilian toxinologists is continuously improving and is a source of satisfaction and pride for us as Brazilians.

CORRESPONDENCE TO:

Léa Rodrigues Simioni, Rua Fernão Lopez 456, Campinas, SP, Brasil, CEP: 13087-051, E-mail: simioni@unicamp.br