Professor, doctor and scientific researcher Isaías Raw, former director of the Butantan Institute between 1991 and 1997, died today (14) in São Paulo, aged 95. The information was confirmed by the institute itself. “Isaías leaves behind children, grandchildren and countless students and admirers at Butantan and in the Brazilian and international scientific community”, wrote the institute, in his honor.
Raw was one of the greatest Brazilian scientists. A doctor graduated from the University of São Paulo (USP) in 1950, he was also a master and doctor in biochemistry and a professor at the same university, in addition to full professor and emeritus at the USP Faculty of Medicine. Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences in the area of biomedical sciences, his main activity was the development of vaccines and biopharmaceuticals. Raw was also the creator of the Carlos Chagas Foundation.
Persecuted during the Brazilian military dictatorship, he ended up in exile in Israel and the United States. On his return to Brazil, already in the period of re-democratization, he devoted himself to transforming the Butantan Institute into the largest producer of serums and vaccines in the country. He joined Butantan in 1984, having been responsible for creating the Biotechnology Center, the Microbiology Museum and the Historical Museum. He was also the founder of the Butantan Foundation – a support entity for the Butantan Institute that contributes to maintaining the organization’s production of immunobiologicals.
In addition, he founded the publishing houses of the universities of São Paulo and Brasília and, together with Walter Leser, unified the entrance exams in São Paulo. Among several awards, he was recognized as Commander of the National Order of Scientific Merit (1995) and received the Grand Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit (2001), both from the Presidency of the Republic.
Raw’s death was mourned by several entities and Brazilian scientists and researchers. In the Jornal da Ciência, the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science (SBPC) wrote “to express deep regret for the death of the doctor and researcher Isaías Raw”, who was the entity’s longest-serving member, having joined it in 1948. “The SBPC sympathizes with the friends, family and loved ones of Isaias Raw in this moment of sadness”, wrote the entity.
The Brazilian Academy of Sciences also mourned Raw’s death, noting that he was a “Brazilian public health hero”.
“His initiatives at Butantan have always sought equity and social benefit for the entire Brazilian and world population, with effective and safe products, of quality and low cost, for free use in health programs such as the PNI (National Immunization Program). enough to understand why the late academic is considered one of the great heroes of public health in the country”, wrote the academy.
