Professor Pedro L. Alonso
Director and Research Professor, Centre de Recerca en Salut Internacional de Barcelona (CRESIB), Hospital clinic - University of Barcelona, Spain
Dr. Pedro Alonso started his career in International Health 25 years ago as a young physician working in West Africa. Since then his work has been focused in the key determinants of morbidity and mortality in the two most vulnerable population groups in Africa: young children and pregnant women. Building and trengthening human and institutional capacity in developing countries as well as in Spain, together with increasing support for other Global Health initiatives has become a growing area of activity.
Some of his most relevant work has been carried out in malaria, leading to the development and testing of new control tools for the prevention or treatment of P. falciparum. Specifically he carried out the first trials showing the impact of insecticide treated nets in the reduction of all cause mortality (Lancet 1991), the first phase 2b trials of a malaria vaccine candidate in Africa (Lancet 1994), the first proof of concept trials of RTS,S in African children and infants (Lancet 2004 and 2007). He has also been senior author on work showing the safety and efficacy of iron supplementation to young infants in malaria endemic areas (Lancet 1997) or the first proof of concept of intermittent preventive treatment in infants (IPTi) as a potential malaria control tool (Lancet 2001). He has published more than 200 papers in international peer reviewed journals.
In 1996 he led the creation of the Manhiça Health Research Centre (CISM) in Southern Mozambique. Despite its relative short life, the Centre has become one of the leading research infrastructure in Africa. In 2006, Dr. Alonso contributed to the establishment of the first centre for international health research in Spain, the Barcelona Centre for International Health Research (CRESIB). In 2010, he contributed to the creation of the Institute for Global Health of Barcelona (ISGLOBAL) which aims to consolidate a global node of excellence of International Health research, training, think tank and advocacy in Spain.
He has served in several national and international committees: Currently, he is a board member of the Medicines for Malaria Venture and Chair of the Tropical Disease Research Program of the World Health Organization Malaria Disease Reference Group. He is also cochair of the Steering Committee and the Secretariat of the Decade of Vaccines Collaboration, initiative promoted by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It is worth mentioning his participation as chair of the Steering Committee of the Malaria Eradication Research Agenda Initiative (2008-2010).
Last updated: 15 December 2011