A tribute to José María ("Chema") Cantú

Abstract

José María (“Chema”) Cantú (1938–2007), born in Mexico, was a pioneering, loved and respected leader in medical and human genetics and bioethics in Latin America. He graduated as a physician in Mexico and then trained in medical and human genetics in France and the United States. He was instrumental in developing a first-rate research, training and genetic services program in medical and human genetics in Guadalajara, in northwestern Mexico. He acted forcefully at national, regional and international levels to promote scientific development through collaboration and education in science and humanities, while he simultaneously strived for justice, peace, love and human rights. He attained some of the highest honors a scientist and humanist could aspire to as well as the recognition of the communities he served. Hundreds of disciples throughout Latin America and the world have been inspired by his vision of a better world through the conjunction of science, respect for humankind, ethics and love.

Discovery of novel genetic syndromes in Latin America: Opportunities and challenges

“…LatAm has contributed with world-renowned medical geneticists throughout time. These include the Brazilians Antonio Richieri-Costa and Maria Leine Guion-Almeida, who described new syndromes and delineated many others ( Richieri-Costa and Guion-Almeida, 1992 ; Guion-Almeida et al , 2006 ; Gil‐da‐Silva‐Lopes, 2019 ); the Argentinian Eduardo E. Castilla, who started the Latin American Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECLAMC), a pioneering, observational, prospective study on congenital malformations across the continent ( Cavalcanti, 2018 ); the Mexican José María Cantú, who delineated several syndromes associated with camptodactyly and the syndrome with his name ( Penchaszadeh et al, 2014 ); and Luis Morquio, who delineated Mucopolysaccharidosis Type IVa for first time almost a hundred years ago ( Baujat and Valayannopoulos, 2014 ). More recently, the contribution of thousands of Venezuelans allowed mapping and subsequent discovery of the HTT gene, responsible of Huntington’s disease, where the contribution of Venezuelan geneticist Ernesto Bonilla was crucial ( Gusella et al, 1983 ; The Huntington’s Disease Collaborative Research Group, 1993 ).…”

Population Pharmacogenetics of Ibero-Latinoamerican Populations (MESTIFAR 2014)

“…The first symposium, 'Pharmacogenetics of indigenous and mestizo populations and its clinical implications' was chaired by Ronald Ramírez Roa (UNAN-Leon, Nicaragua). The first talk was given by Enrique Teran (USFQ, Ecuador) who presented a historical overview of the Ibero-American Program for Science, Technology and Development (CYTED), and how the late Mexican geneticist Jose María 'Chema' Cantú and a Spanish clinical pharmacologist, Adrián LLerena were the keystone for the Iberoamerican Network on Pharmacogenetics [6].…”