Nubia Muñoz
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Nubia Muñoz is a Colombian medical scientist and epidemiologist, whose research has been instrumental in establishing that
human papillomavirus Human papillomavirus infection (HPV infection) is caused by a DNA virus from the ''Papillomaviridae'' family. Many HPV infections cause no symptoms and 90% resolve spontaneously within two years. In some cases, an HPV infection persists and r ...
(HPV) infection is the primary cause of cervical cancer which has led to the development of a vaccine that is capable of preventing 70% of all cervical cancers.


Biography

Her father, a farm worker in
Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...
died of
diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...
when she was six years old. She would be the only one of her siblings to go to university when she was accepted into the medical school at Universidad del Valle, specializing in Pathology. After graduating, she completed a fellowship at the
National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...
in Bethesda, Maryland, USA with an emphasis in pathology and virology. She then earned a Master's Degree in Public Health (Cancer Epidemiology) from
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. In 1969, she joined the
International Agency for Research on Cancer The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC; ) is an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organization of the United Nations. Its role is to conduct and coordinate research into the causes of cancer. It also cance ...
(IARC) headquarters in
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
, France, where she researched cancers formed due to pathogens. In the 1980s, she led her own unit at the IARC, where she studied the link between HPV and
cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix or in any layer of the wall of the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that can invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later sympt ...
. In 1995, she was instrumental in the IARC's decision to classify HPVs 16 and 18 as group 1 human carcinogens. She retired from the IARC in 2001, but continues to work at the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Barcelona and the National Cancer Institute in Bogota where she is Emeritus Professor.


Recognition and awards

Honorary Degree, Doctor of Science (D.Sc.),
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
International Agency for Research on Cancer The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC; ) is an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organization of the United Nations. Its role is to conduct and coordinate research into the causes of cancer. It also cance ...
Medal of Honor Canada Gairdner Global Health Award Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher Prize for Cancer Research 2008
International Epidemiological Association The International Epidemiological Association (IEA) is a worldwide association with more than 2000 members in over 100 different countries, who follow the aims of the association to facilitate communication amongst those engaged in research and t ...
's
Richard Doll Sir William Richard Shaboe Doll (28 October 1912 – 24 July 2005) was a British physician who became an epidemiologist in the mid-20th century and made important contributions to that discipline. He was a pioneer in research linking smoking t ...
Prize 2018 Frontiers of Knowledge Award, Development Cooperation category Rumored to have been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 2008


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munoz, Nubia Living people Women epidemiologists Cancer researchers 1940 births Colombian women biologists People from Cali Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health alumni Colombian expatriates in the United States