Alberto Juan Dorta Contreras

A man of science, most learned, he is an unavoidable reference in the development of neuroimmunology in Cuba, who, furthermore, served as Secretary of the Cuban Society of Immunology from 2011 to 2019.

Linked to immunology since his time as a student in the Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry at the University of Havana, from which he graduated in 1975, he was a fellow of the International Immunology Training and Research Centre (ITR) in Amsterdam in the late 1970s.

He worked in the Laboratory of Neuroimmunology at the Pediatric Hospital of San Miguel del Padrón from 1981 to 2000. One of his most important professional projects was the creation, on April 14, 2004, of the Central Laboratory of Cerebrospinal Fluid (LABCEL), in which he carried out active work studying the patterns of antibody response in CSF in various infections and other diseases, with the introduction in the country of the reibergram technique.

He is responsible for the first description in the world of patients with mannose-binding protein deficiency (MBL), related to infection by Angioestrongilus cantonensis.

LABCEL has also been a unique model within the national health system due to its intense work in training students and professionals through research and the Quincke scholarship program, for both nationals and foreigners. Dorta himself referred to this work as "an innovative pedagogical experience."

Doctor in Health Sciences, Professor and Titular Researcher, he held the title of Extraordinary Professor of Neuroimmunology at the Catholic University San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM) in Spain.

His published work is extremely extensive, and ranks fifth among authors residing in Cuba with the most entries in PubMed; his work has been cited on more than 2,500 occasions, according to Google Scholar.

He presided over the Chair of Scientific Communication at the University of Medical Sciences in Havana, from where he promoted bibliometric studies of the medical sciences.

He played an invaluable role in coordinating health topics included in the Cuban Encyclopedia 1000 Questions 1000 Answers. His scientific versatility has as a particular milestone research surrounding the space voyage of Cuban cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez.

He received numerous recognitions, including awards from the Academy of Sciences of Cuba, Health Award and Immunology Award; in the latter case, he is the one who received it on the most occasions.

Tireless, doer, teacher, Dorta, as everyone called him, is an example to follow and honor in immunology, science, and Cuban intellectual life.