Alberto Carlos Taquini (December 6, 1905 – March 4, 1998) was an Argentine

cardiologist Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...

, clinical researcher and academic.

Early life and education

Taquini was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

to Carlota Castiglioni and Alberto Taquini. He enrolled at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

, and graduated with a

Medical Degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

in 1929. His work on the University of Buenoes Aires School of Medicine research team earned Taquini a 1939 scholarship from the Argentine Society for the Advancement of Science, with which he completed further studies at the

Harvard School of Medicine Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the United States. It provides patient car ...

Career

University of Buenos Aires

School of Medicine research team

He joined the research team led by Dr.

Bernardo Houssay Bernardo Alberto Houssay (April 10, 1887 – September 21, 1971) was an Argentine physiologist. Houssay was a co-recipient of the 1947 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering the role played by pituitary hormones in regulating the ...

(who would earn the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...

in 1946), at the Department of Physiology of the University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine. Taquini worked with

Luis Leloir Luis Federico Leloir (September 6, 1906 – December 2, 1987) was an Argentine physician and biochemist who received the 1970 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of the metabolic pathways by which carbohydrates are synthesized and co ...

(

Nobel Prize in Chemistry The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...

, 1970), and in 1937, was named head of the research team. The team, which included

Eduardo Braun-Menéndez Eduardo Braun-Menéndez (January 16, 1903 – January 16, 1959) was a noted Argentine physiologist. Life and work Born in Punta Arenas, Chile, he was a naturalized Argentine citizen from a very early age, and was raised in Buenos Aires.

and Juan Carlos Fasciolo, discovered

angiotensin Angiotensin is a peptide hormone that causes vasoconstriction and an increase in blood pressure. It is part of the renin–angiotensin system, which regulates blood pressure. Angiotensin also stimulates the release of aldosterone from the adr ...

in 1939, and was the first to describe the enzymatic nature of the

renin–angiotensin system The renin–angiotensin system (RAS), or renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS), is a hormone system that regulates blood pressure, fluid, and electrolyte balance, and systemic vascular resistance. When renal blood flow is reduced, ...

and its role in

hypertension Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a Chronic condition, long-term Disease, medical condition in which the blood pressure in the artery, arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms i ...

. The renin–angiotensin system has since been demonstrated to be related to numerous physiological regulatory processes, both in normal and pathophysiological conditions, and to play critical roles in the

circulatory system In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart ...

.
''Hypertension'' (vol. 32, 1998). In Memoriam: Professor Alberto C. Taquini.

Cardiology Research director

He was appointed director of the new Institute of Cardiology Research at the University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine in 1944. The institute was created by Taquini's initiative and funding from local businessman Virginio Grego.Instituto de Investigaciones Cardiologicas Dr. Alberto C. Taquini

Educator and lecturer

Taquini continued to teach as Professor Emeritus at the University of Buenos Aires throughout his career. He also served as Visiting Professor in prestigious institutions around the world, including: the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

, Columbia, the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, and

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

, the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, the

University of Milan The University of Milan (; ), officially abbreviated as UNIMI, or colloquially referred to as La Statale ("the State niversity), is a public university, public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Eu ...

, the

University of San Marcos The National University of San Marcos (, UNMSM) is a public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. In the Americas, it is the first officially established ( privilege by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) and the oldest continu ...

in Peru, and the

University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

Argentine National Research Council

He was appointed Director of the Argentine National Research Council (

CONICET The National Scientific and Technical Research Council (, CONICET) is an Argentine government agency which directs and co-ordinates most of the scientific and technical research done in universities and institutes. History The National Scient ...

) in 1969, and served as the first Secretary of State for Science and Technology of Argentina (1968—1971).

Professional organizations

Taquini continued to direct the institute, while serving as chair of

Internal Medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

(1952—1956) and of

Physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

(1961—1970), earning national and international renown in the field of

cardiology Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...

and

. Dr. Taquini was elected President of the

World Heart Federation The World Heart Federation (WHF) is a non-governmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, formed in 1978. WHF is recognized by the World Health Organization as its leading NGO partner in cardiovascular disease prevention. History The Wo ...

(1954—1962), the International Council on Hypertension (1954—1968), the Argentine Society of Clinical Investigation, the Argentine Society of Cardiology, and the Argentine Association for the Advancement of Science (1967—1987). A member of the

Buenos Aires National Academy of Medicine The Buenos Aires National Academy of Medicine is an Argentine non-profit organization and learned society. Overview The National Academy of Medicine is the oldest medical Academy in Argentina and was founded in Buenos Aires in 1822, coinciding wi ...

, he received around 100 national and international awards and was named an Honorary Member of the

American College of Physicians The American College of Physicians (ACP) is a Philadelphia-based national organization of internal medicine physicians, who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and care of adults. With 161,000 members, ACP is the largest medical-specialty or ...

, the

American Physiological Society The American Physiological Society is a non-profit professional society for physiologists. It has nearly 10,000 members, most of whom hold doctoral degrees in medicine, physiology, or other health professions. Its mission is to support research ...

, the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate Heart, cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability ...

, and the

European Society of Cardiology The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) is an independent Nonprofit organisation, non-profit, non-governmental professional association that works to advance the prevention, diagnosis and management of diseases of the heart and blood vessels, a ...

Author

Taquini authored four books and collaborated in several others, as well as publishing over 350 scientific papers. He was a member of the editorial committees of many journals: ''Medicina'', ''Revista de la Sociedad Argentina de Cardiología'', ''Acta Physiologica et Pharmacologica Latino-Americana'', the '' American Heart Association Journal'', and ''Archives Internationales de Pharmacodynamie et Thérapie'', among others.

Personal life

Taquini married Haydée Azumendi, and they had three children.''La Nación'': Falleció el investigador Alberto C. Taquini
He remained active in both academia and on the

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

course in later years, and was head of the Institute of Cardiology Research when he died at the age of 92 in Buenos Aires in 1998.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taquini, Alberto Carlos 1905 births 1998 deaths Argentine people of Italian descent Physicians from Buenos Aires University of Buenos Aires alumni Academic staff of the University of Buenos Aires Argentine non-fiction writers Argentine cardiologists University of Michigan faculty Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Academic staff of the National University of San Marcos 20th-century non-fiction writers Harvard Medical School people