Javier Fernández de Castro

He completed his primary education at a private Jesuit school and his secondary education at Instituto Cisneros, affiliated with the Universidad Central de Madrid. He graduated as a University Bachelor in Science and Letters from the Universidad de Madrid in February 1934.

He began his studies for a Degree in Medicine at the Faculty of San Carlos at the Universidad Central de Madrid, where he completed two courses, but he went into exile in France due to the Spanish Civil War in September 1936, along with part of his family due to their left-wing ideas. He traveled to Cuba where he worked in a printing shop until he could resume his medical studies in the 1938-39 academic year, winning a course through competitive examination as an External Student at the "Calixto García" Hospital in 1943. He graduated as a Doctor in Medicine from the Universidad de La Habana in December 1945.

He is a founding member of the Cuban Society of Allergology since 1947 and the only one currently active, achieving the title of Second-Degree Specialist in Allergology in 1967.

With the triumph of the Revolution he abandons his work as a private physician and begins to represent our country at numerous events, becoming an Honorary Member of the Peruvian and Portuguese Allergy Societies, Board Member of the Society of Clinical Studies, the National Group of Allergology of MINSAP and Member of the International Interasma Society, in addition to the American College of Allergist, International Correspondence Society of Allergist and the International Association of Allergology.

He participates as a member on state boards for the training of Allergology specialists and in courses at the National level in the improvement of Internal Medicine and Dentistry. At the Provincial level he is a Professor in Allergology courses.

He works at the Provincial Blood Bank of Havana City where he was placed at the beginning of the Revolution occupying the positions of Head of Donations, Head of Quality Control, Sub-director and director of the center, until by order of the Ministry he is transferred to the National Hospital "Enrique Cabrera", of which he is founder and serves as Head of the Allergology Department for many years.

At the Hospital, he fulfills different functions, becoming Secretary of the Committee of Scientific Societies, coordinator of Scientific Improvement Courses, President of the Hospital Complaint Evaluation Commission, President of the Medical Expert Commission and the Disciplinary Court of the Labor Guard, as well as Member of the National Association of Innovators and Rationalizers, ANIR.

He also takes part in the Cuban delegation to the Congress of Allergology in Montreal, Canada, 1967, presides over the Cuban delegation on a trip to the former Socialist countries (USSR, GDR, Hungary, Bulgaria), establishing exchange relationships. In 1971, he presides over the delegation to the Latin-American Congress, where Cuba's readmission to the organization is achieved, 1972, he is invited to the Universidad de Pamplona by Professor Oehling, to give lectures on the specialty.

He presides over and organizes in Cuba the International Interasma meeting held in Havana (first in Latin America). In 1974, he is part of the Cuban delegation at the Interasma Congress in Vlissingen, Holland. In 1975 he is invited by academic Adov, director of the Institute of Immunology in Moscow, to the Moscow meeting of Allergologists from Socialist countries, held in Sochi, Georgia, 1979.

Professional Activities:
Co-author of the Book Allergic Syndromes and Intestinal Bacteriology, National Scientific Prize, 1950.
Author of more than 25 scientific articles published in National and International journals.
Author of numerous scientific papers for scientific conferences in the country, where he obtained numerous recognitions and awards.