JK
Jorge Kalil
Faculdade de Medicina da USP / InCor
Professor of Clinical Immunology and Allergy and Director of the Laboratory of Immunology, Heart Institute, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo
Jorge Kalil is Full Professor of Clinical Immunology and Allergy at
the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (FMUSP),
Director of the service of the same name at the Hospital das
Clínicas (HC), and Director of the Immunology Laboratory at the
Heart Institute (HC). He is an adjunct professor at the Medical
Schools of George Washington University, DC, and Case Western
Reserve University, Cleveland; both in the United States. Since
2001, he has coordinated the Immunology Research Institute (iii), one of the
National Institutes of Science and Technology (INCTs). He is a level 1A researcher
at CNPq. Additionally, he is Co-Director of the Center of Excellence of FOCIS/USA
(Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies) in São Paulo and Director of the
WAO (World Allergy Organization). He is a full member of the Brazilian Academy of
Sciences, the São Paulo Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine,
and the Lebanese-Brazilian Academy of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. He is also a
member of CTAI/PNI (Technical Advisory Committee on Immunizations of the
Ministry of Health). He serves as advisor or board member of biotechnology
companies in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, and Brazil.
Graduated in Medicine (UFRGS/1977), he holds a Master's degree in Immunology
and Immunogenetics and a PhD in Human Biology Sciences (Immunology), both
from the University of Paris; titles obtained while working in the laboratory of Jean
Dausset (Nobel Prize 1980 for the discovery of the HLA system). He was a pioneer
in France in the development of monoclonal antibodies, especially for the genetics,
structure, and function of HLA molecules, having trained numerous French
researchers in this revolutionary technology. By the end of his doctoral studies, he
had published 28 scientific papers in indexed journals. In his last two years in
France, he headed the laboratory where he worked and was invited to remain in
that position permanently. Since then, already in Brazil, he has maintained
constant scientific collaborations with French researchers through several
international scientific exchange programs. Kalil is dedicated to the study of
mechanisms of immune recognition and the distinction between self and non-self.
He contributed to the understanding of the mechanisms of organ transplant
rejection and tolerance. He described how microorganisms induce the breakdown
of tolerance leading to Rheumatic Fever, an unprecedented contribution to the
understanding of autoimmune disease mechanisms. As these discoveries evolved,
he became interested in vaccines. Currently, he develops vaccines against
streptococcus, dengue, and COVID-19, all at advanced scientific stages. His
scientific output includes more than 847 entries in the Web of Science (ISI) and
several patents. He was visiting professor and co-director of the HLA laboratory at
Stanford School of Medicine (1991-1992) and an International Scholar at the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1991-1995). He was a Distinguished Visiting
Professor at Harvard Medical School (2018-2019). He served as President of InCor
(2006-2008) and President of the Zerbini Foundation Board (2006-2017), having
recovered the institution, which was in severe organizational and financial
difficulties. He was Director of the Butantan Institute (2011-2017) and President of
the Butantan Foundation Board (2012-2015). At Butantan, he launched influenza
vaccine production, developed the dengue vaccine up to the start of Phase 3
clinical trials, and restructured the entire management of the Butantan Foundation,
increasing its revenue sixfold. He was President of the IUIS - International Union of
Immunological Societies (2013-2016), founder and first President of the Brazilian
Association of Organ Transplants (ABTO), founder and first Vice-President of ALAI
(Latin American Association of Immunology), President of the Brazilian Society of
Immunology, and board member of FOCIS - Federation of Clinical Immunology
Societies (2010-2016). He was Head of the Department of Internal Medicine at
FMUSP, Clinical Vice-Director of Hospital das Clínicas, and President of the
Research Ethics Committee (CAPPesq). He co-founded the Pasteur/USP platform
and was its first board president for several years. He was scientific advisor to the
Pasteur Institute of Senegal from 2017 to 2024, representing Latin America on the
Scientific Board of ICGEB - International Centre for Genetic Engineering and
Biotechnology (an UN institution), where he served as board president in recent
years. He chaired the Scientific Board of the DASA Institute for Teaching and
Research, the largest diagnostic and hospital conglomerate in Latin America. He
presided over the XIII International Congress of Immunology in Rio (2007). In
Brazilian science administration, Kalil served in the Scientific and Technological
Development Support Program (PADCT) of the World Bank as Coordinator of the
Biotechnology Technical Group and member of the Management Committee. At
CNPq, he was Coordinator of the Biomedicine Committee, Coordinator of the
PRONEX Evaluation Committee, and member of the Advisory Council of FINEP.
He was founder and first CEO of the Instituto Todos pela Saúde (ITpS). He served
as Immunobiological Advisor to Minister Adib Jatene (1993-1995). He was a
member of the Data and Safety Management Board of the U.S. government
overseeing all COVID-19 vaccines tested in the U.S., and of the IPG, Independent
Production Group of the COVAX initiative, WHO, CEPI, and GAVI for accelerating
COVID-19 vaccines worldwide. He was decorated by Presidents of Brazil, first as
Commander, then with the Grand Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit
and as Grand Officer of the Order of Medical Merit, and also by the President of
France as Knight of the National Order of Merit. Among the many awards received
in Brazil and abroad, notable are the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) award in
2005 for breaking tolerance by microbial agents, the First Unibanco Prize for work
on Rheumatic Fever (1997), and the Conrado Wessel Foundation Science Prize,
Brazil’s highest scientific award, for his contributions to transplantation. He was
honored by the Brazilian Society of Immunology for his lifetime contributions to the
development of immunology and its integration into the global scene. In 2013, he
received the Legislative Merit Medal awarded by the Chamber of Deputies. He
received the Victory Medal from the Minister of Defense, the Biotech-Space Award
chosen by a biotechnology network of over 2,000 researchers and students, and
the title of “Doctor of the Year” by Hospitalar. He was granted the distinction of
“Immunologist of the Year” by the Brazilian Society of Immunology for his scientific
contributions. He received the DocTalks award for his career as a researcher. He
holds honorary doctorates from Paris Sorbonne Universities, France, and the
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). He was made Fellow of the
Royal College of Physicians – London (FRCP). He was Owner-Director of the
Clinical Pathology Laboratory at Hospital Sírio-Libanês, member of the hospital’s
medical board, founder and first President of the Board of the Institute of Teaching
and Research at the same hospital. He also led clinical laboratories at Hospital
Mãe de Deus in Porto Alegre and Santa Helena in São Paulo. He created and
coordinated the Medical-Scientific Council of EMS, Brazil’s leading pharmaceutical
company, for 10 years. He actively worked during the pandemic on scientific
studies as well as combating misinformation and fake news.
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