Julio A. Urbina

Dr. Urbina received a Licenciado degree in biophysics from the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) in 1970 and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975. From 1975 to 2006 he was Professor of Biophysics and Physical Chemistry at UCV and from 1991 to 2005 he also was the head of the Biological Chemistry Laboratory at the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research in Caracas, Venezuela, where he is currently an Emeritus Investigator. In 1996 he was named Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, in 1997 he was awarded the Lorenzo Mendoza Fleury Prize for Basic Sciences from the Polar Foundation, Caracas, Venezuela, and from 2000 to 2005 he was an International Research Scholar of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. Urbina has worked for over 35 years on biochemistry and physiology of protozoan parasites and fungi, with the strategic aim of developing new chemotherapeutic approaches for the etiological treatment of the diseases caused by these organisms and has published 148 articles in those topics in peer-reviewed journals and books. Dr. Urbina acted twice (1981-1984, 1994-1999) as member of the Superior Council of the National Research Council (CONICIT) of Venezuela, has been an advisor to the World Health Organization and the Pan-American Health Organization, and was a member and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi). He has been a Visiting Professor at many universities in Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, USA, Spain and Japan and currently acts as a consultant for several academic organizations and pharmaceutical companies.