# Three Cubans Tania Crombet, Gerardo Guillén and Ernesto Altshuler Elected to the World Academy of Sciences

**Date:** 11/04/2021

Three Cuban scientists were elected as members of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), bringing the number of academics from the Island in that prestigious institution to eight.

The new members are Dr. Tania Crombet, director of Clinical Research at the Center for Molecular Immunology (CIM); Dr. Gerardo Guillén, Director of Biomedical Research at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) and Dr. Ernesto Altshuler, professor at the Faculty of Physics of the University of Havana, as confirmed by the Academy of Sciences of Cuba.

Both Dr. Crombet and Dr. Guillén have recognized prestige in the field of biotechnology and have participated in the study and development of therapies, vaccines and other drugs against various diseases. Their work has recently extended to fighting COVID-19, which has made them two of the most recognized faces of Cuban science during the pandemic.

For his part, Dr. Altshuler has outstanding work in the field of physics, both in teaching and research, which has made him stand out as one of Cuba's leading specialists in this field.

The membership of these three scientists from the Island in the World Academy will take effect as of January 2022, according to the digital site Cubadebate.

In this way they join Cuba's ranks in TWAS, which already includes Lilliam Álvarez, Academic Secretary of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba; Luis Herrera, member of the scientific team at CIGB and currently Scientific and Commercial Advisor to the BioCubaFarma Group, Lila Castellanos, First Grade Biotechnologist and founder of CIGB; Hugo Pérez Rojas, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Cybernetics, Mathematics and Physics; María Guadalupe Guzmán, Head of the Center for Diagnostic Research and Reference (CIDR) of the Institute of Tropical Medicine "Pedro Kourí", Manuel Limonta, vice president of TWAS; and Vicente Verez, Director of the Finlay Institute of Vaccines.

TWAS is an autonomous international organization, founded in Trieste, Italy, in 1983, and currently has 584 members. Among its fundamental missions is the advancement of science in developing countries, through the granting of scholarships and the funding of research, points out Cubadebate, according to which a Council elected every three years by members is responsible for overseeing all Academy matters.