Lydia Margarita Tablada Romero

Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Veterinary Sciences, Senior Researcher, Assistant Professor UNAH, Specialist of first and second degrees in Microbiology. President of the Scientific Council of CENSA and of the Permanent Court of Animal Health. Member of the Scientific Council of UNAH and Member of Honor of the Veterinary Society for Disasters in Cuba. Work specialty: Microbiology.

An energetic and gentle woman, capable of affirming that she formed a family that gives her enormous satisfaction, but she acknowledges being in debt with her children, who are always demanding a little more attention from her.

She was born in Havana, Cuba, on March 30, 1947.

She describes her childhood and youth as follows: "Studying medicine was a dream for someone like me who was born in a humble home, in Old Havana, surrounded by deprivation, but also by a mother and a grandmother who knew how to give me affection, understanding, and where they taught me that an honest life was the best of virtues," says Lydia as she lets her memories flow.

"My grandmother, who had learned to read and write on her own, and had an enormous love for reading, passed on to me her interest in reading and knowledge, which I solidified from my earliest years in the neighborhood school I attended, and whose principal has been for me an unforgettable figure." Thus, home and school complemented each other perfectly to transmit concerns and aspirations that, once Lydia passed the sixth grade, led her to take the entrance exam for high school.

"In my family there were no professionals. My mom didn't go beyond 6th grade and my grandmother was self-taught. They insisted, though, that I should study to become something more in life. And I understood. I am the result of those good examples and the discipline instilled in me, I would say equally, at home and at school, and it helped me greatly. That was the environment in which I began my education."

"I studied medicine driven by the circumstances of the country in the 1960s, and for that very reason, when I finished my degree and they asked us to move into research in the veterinary field, I didn't even question it. When you feel committed to that requirement and want to fulfill what is asked of you, you don't hesitate twice. That's how I became a doctor and researcher. But I never thought of becoming a scientist, despite how much I loved to read and study."

From the beginning, Lydia worked in the field of bacteriology and participated in national programs to fight diseases such as bovine brucellosis and bacillary icterohemoglobinuria and others, which led her to do fieldwork throughout the country.

Her leadership and dedication took her through various scientific management positions, from the ground level, until she held the position of General Director of CENSA when Dr. Rosa E. Simeón Negrín moved on to other responsibilities.

Lydia was the founder and director for 27 years (from 1985 to 2012) of the National Center for Agricultural and Livestock Health (CENSA), a collective with more than 400 workers, 60% of them women—which includes researchers, professionals, technicians, and workers—from which she worked intensively to detect or rule out diseases and pests of animal species and crops of economic interest. CENSA was the first center in the country that under her direction achieved the research-teaching category of the Ministry of Higher Education, and she succeeded in taking CENSA to the highest levels of agricultural sciences in the country, which made this center a leading institution in the Americas.

Her sustained improvement led her to obtain the status of Specialist of 1st and 2nd Degree in Microbiology by the Ministry of Public Health (1978, 1983) and later that of Senior Researcher (1985), Master of Sciences (1980), Doctor in Veterinary Sciences (1984), and Assistant Professor of the Agricultural University of Havana.

She was a Full Member of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba (ACC) since 1988 and Academic of Merit since 2000. To the ACC she gave all her experience, professionalism, enthusiasm, and unconditional support; she had outstanding activity not only in the Agricultural Section, of which she was vice-coordinator, but also in permanent and "ad hoc" central commissions with excellent and meritorious results.

She was also President of the Permanent Court of Scientific Degrees for Animal Health from 1989-2013 and a member of the national degrees commission, a trainer of generations of young scientists, revolutionaries and well-rounded individuals, transmitter of optimism and dedication to work even in the most difficult circumstances.

Her participation stood out as a Member of the FAO Group of Experts on Ethics in Food and Agriculture (2000-2002). In Cuba, she was a Member of the Technical Advisory Council of the Ministry of Agriculture since 1994.

Lydia was a member of the Academic Committee of the Animal Biotechnology Curriculum Program Cuba-Venezuela project. President of the Education, Science and Culture commission of the National Assembly of People's Power.

She participated in the founding and implementation of a training center for the prevention of veterinary disasters.

She was a member, during one term, of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba and of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba. She was a deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power, Vice President and President of the Permanent Commission for Education, Culture and Sciences of the Cuban Parliament.

She worked as an expert in numerous National Commissions of the Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Agriculture, and Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment and of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba. For her merits, she represented our country in multiple scientific and political missions abroad.

She published more than 30 articles and monographs and participated as a speaker in numerous national and international scientific events. She was a member of the collective of authors of the book Fidel Forever in Cuban Livestock.

She received numerous national recognitions and distinctions for her scientific and social work, among them the Carlos J. Finlay Orders, the Ana Betancourt Order, and the José Tey Medal (2002 and 2004). In 2008, she was named Honorary President of the Microbiology Society of the Veterinary Scientific Council of Cuba.

She was at the head of complex and important research and scientific-technical services for the country, which allowed for the diagnosis and prevention of devastating pests and diseases in Cuban agriculture. She was a driving force in the development of the ReDisasters network for the prevention and response to health emergencies.

Dr. Lydia Tablada passed away on September 27, 2019, after nearly four months of fighting brain cancer.