Pedro Kourí Esmeja

He was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and died on October 16, 1964 in the city of La Habana, Cuba.

In 1918 he graduated as a Bachelor of Science and Letters from the Instituto Provincial de Santiago de Cuba, becoming the top student of his class. This provided him with the opportunity to hold the position of assistant in the chairs of Physics, Chemistry and Natural History at the same institute.

He began his Medical studies at the Universidad de La Habana on October 1, 1919, graduating on July 1, 1925.

After obtaining outstanding grades in all subjects of his career, with 26 regular awards, 2 extraordinary awards and 31 outstanding marks, he was also the top student among the graduates of his class (Eminent Student), and was an intern student by competitive examination at various hospitals in La Habana.

On October 2, 1925 he took the position of graduate assistant of the Chair of Parasitology and Tropical Diseases at the Universidad de La Habana, for which he has been considered one of the founders of said chair.

In January 1934 he won by competitive examination the position of Auxiliary Professor and on February 10, 1938 he took the position of Full Professor.

As a result of his own initiative, he created the Instituto de Medicina Tropical of the Universidad de La Habana on December 8, 1937, serving as its director.

Professor Pedro Kourí represented Cuba at various national and international congresses. He presented to the III World Congress of Microbiology, held in New York in 1939, his discovery of a new parasite, the Inermicapsifer cubensis.

In 1940 he received the National Order of Honor and Merit, with the rank of officer, granted by the Government of Haiti, and in 1949 he was awarded the Cuban National Order of Merit "Carlos J. Finlay"

He was a member of several national and international scientific societies, founding vice president of the Sociedad Cubana de Biología y Medicina Tropical "Carlos J. Finlay" and founding director of the Revista Parasitología Clínica y Laboratorio (1935), later called Revista de Medicina Tropical y Parasitología, Bacteriología Clínica y Laboratorio; subsequently Revista Kuba and currently Revista Cubana de Medicina Tropical.

He published more than one hundred scientific works, some of research and others of dissemination and scientific education.

He created diagnostic methods and original treatments for numerous parasitic diseases in humans. He wrote in 4 volumes his "Lecciones de Parasitología y Medicina Tropical".

He was Vice Dean (1940-1953) and Dean (1953-1956) of the Faculty of Medicine at the Universidad de La Habana. He was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Summer School. He developed postgraduate courses for physicians, medical students and professors starting in 1937. He initiated cultural and educational exchange between the Universidad de La Habana and Cornell University Medical College in New York.

In the last decade of his life he directed his efforts toward the planning, organization and regulation of a vast teaching plan whose ultimate objective was the difficult task of eradicating parasitism in Cuba.

His scientific work encompassed three fundamental objectives: Teaching, Scientific Research and Healthcare Service, considering the first as the most current and to which he dedicated most of his time.

As can be seen, to his research and teaching work was also added creative work. The University exalts the scholar, one of its most modest workers, proclaiming him "Extraordinary Professor of the School of Medicine of the Bicentennial Universidad de La Habana".

Despite his years, he maintained youthful drive in any new initiative and lamented not being able to carry out some tasks due to his health not permitting it.

Some articles published on the life and work of Professor Pedro Kourí Esmeja:

- Delgado Garcia G. Dr. Pedro Kourí Esmeja, Extraordinary Professor: on the centennial of his birth (1900-2000). Rev Cubana Med Trop. 2001;53(2):74-84.

- Kourí, G. Summary of the intervention of Professor Gustavo Kourí at the Centennial of the Birth of Professor Pedro Kourí Esmeja (1900-2000). Rev Cubana Med Trop. 2001;53(2):85-9.

- Cabrera Cantelar N. A convinced Finlaísta: Pedro Kourí, teacher. Rev Cubana Med Trop. 2001;53(2):90-6.

- Lugo Suárez O, Busto Mesa A del, Suárez Moreno O. Development of tropical medicine in Cuba: life and work of its greatest exponent. Rev Cubana Med Trop. 2001;53(2):98-105.

- Kourí Flores G, Bedevia Santoyo A. Centennial of Pedro Kourí. Rev Cubana Med Trop. 2000;52(1):5-9.

Source: Instituto de Medicina Tropical "Pedro Kourí"