Cuban vaccine doctor keeps children smiling<\/p>\n
A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The most beautiful smile is a child's smile, but how can children
\nsmile if they are sick?<\/p>\n
Keeping babies and children happy and healthy is the main
\nmotivation for Cuban Prof. Vicente Verez-Bencomo, who has
\ndeveloped a synthetic vaccine to combat Haemophilus Influenza
\nType B, which can cause pneumonia and meningitis among infants
\nand children.<\/p>\n
\"We have dedicated our research to the health of infants. The
\nsmile of a child is important,\" Verez-Bencomo said after a
\nlecture at the University of Indonesia recently.<\/p>\n
For the 51-year-old doctor, a child's smile is also an
\nimportant diagnostic tool -- a sign to measure the degree of
\nhealth of children in a given country.<\/p>\n
Keeping children well was an essential part of the social
\ncommitment of a scientist from a developing country, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We need this kind of mentality -- not just science for
\nscience's sake,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Verez-Bencomo, who received a Master's Degree in chemistry
\nfrom the Moscow Institute of Fine Chemical Technology in 1977,
\nlater earned his PhD in 1983 from the University of Orleans,
\nFrance. Now he is the director of the Center for Synthetic
\nAntigens at the University of Havana.<\/p>\n
He says many scientists from developing countries, who
\ngraduated from top universities in America and Europe, felt
\nhopeless and did little after returning home because of a lack of
\nfacilities there.<\/p>\n
\"I received many offers from top universities and large
\ncompanies from developed countries, but I chose to stay in my
\ncountry. It's not only about money,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Verez-Bencomo was invited to Indonesia by the Dharmais
\nNational Cancer Center to give a series of lectures. Center
\ndirector Samsuridjal Djauzi told the audience Verez-Bencomo could
\nhave become rich if he lived in a developed country as he and his
\ncolleagues had patented three important synthetic vaccines.<\/p>\n
One of the vaccines, the Haemophilus Influenza Type B, is
\ncurrently produced on a massive scale in Cuba and competes
\nglobally with conventional organic vaccines.<\/p>\n
Conventional vaccines are generally made from weakened
\npathogens, and are produced by large companies in developed
\ncountries. Vaccines are used to stimulate antibodies to fight
\ndiseases.<\/p>\n
Veres-Bencomo and his team developed the vaccine between 1996
\nand 2000. He said they had experienced many difficulties before
\ndeveloping an effective tool.<\/p>\n
\"The sweetest memory we have was finding that our vaccine had
\na positive (human) response. It's sweet, as sweet as the material
\nused for the vaccine, polysaccharide,\" he said with a smile.<\/p>\n
A similar method of producing synthetic drugs could also be
\napplied to develop medicines to treat other diseases such as
\ncancer or HIV\/AIDS.<\/p>\n
He said Indonesia and Cuba should cooperate in medical
\nresearch.<\/p>\n
\"We have much in common, including the types of diseases our
\npeople suffer.\"<\/p>\n
Married to Violeta Fernandez Santana, a doctor who specializes
\nin chemistry and the center's deputy director, Veres-Bencomo has
\na 20-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n
He has received many awards, including Cuban Academy of
\nSciences honors in 1993, 1994 and 1999, and the Carlos J. Finlay
\ndistinction in 1996.<\/p>\n
He is also an accomplished academic and writer, producing 57
\npapers, which have been published in local and international
\nscientific journals, and three books, including the well-known
\nIntroduction to Carbohydrate Chemistry, in 1983.<\/p>\n
With all his work, life is hectic for the scientist. He
\nfrequently speaks at universities around the world -- most
\nrecently in Spain, Germany, Canada and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, his busy tour schedule for Indonesia took him to
\nthe University of Indonesia, the Dharmais Cancer Center, the
\nBandung Institute of Technology and Gadjah Mada University in
\nYogyakarta.<\/p>\n
However, despite the work, Verez-Bencomo does admit to having
\nsome hobbies. His most important -- growing orchids in a small
\ngarden outside his house in Havana.<\/p>\n
\"I love orchids and I've heard that there are many kinds in
\nIndonesia. After this lecture, I plan to visit the orchid center
\nat the Indonesia miniature park (Taman Mini),\" he said.<\/p>",
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