Prof. Eloisa Silva Dutra de Oliveira Bonfá, Director of the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP), is the newest immortal of the National Academy of Medicine (ANM). The solemn inauguration ceremony took place on Friday, May 26, 2023, at the institution's headquarters in the city of Rio de Janeiro. It was attended by Eleuses Vieira de Paiva, Secretary of Health of the State of São Paulo, Francisco José Barcellos Sampaio, President of the ANM, academics, physicians, family, and friends of the professor.

To start the ceremony, Prof. Eloisa Bonfá was escorted to the Miguel Couto Amphitheater by the Honorary Committee composed of Academics Pietro Novellino, Margareth Dalcolmo, Paulo Niemeyer Filho, Maurício Augusto Silva Magalhães Costa, Carlos Américo de Barros e Vasconcellos Giesta, and Jorge Elias Kalil Filho, who is a professor at FMUSP. The presentation was given by Giovanni Guido Cerri, a member of the academy and also a professor at FMUSP.

"Emotionally, I accept this nomination with profound joy and satisfaction. Becoming part of the oldest scientific and cultural institution in Latin America, with almost two centuries of uninterrupted activity, evokes in me a feeling of immeasurable gratitude and pride," proclaimed Prof. Eloisa Bonfá during her speech.

The professor now occupies Chair No. 11, which in the 194 years of the ANM had four illustrious Academics: José Rodrigues Coura, José Valente Collares Moreira, Affonso Gama e Costa Mac-Dowell, and the patron Antônio Austregésilo Rodrigues Lima.

During the ceremony, the National Anthem was performed, and Prof. Eloisa was invited by the president of the National Academy of Medicine to recite the Academic Oath and receive the Academic Medal and Collar, symbols of immortality conferred to all members of the ANM. She also received the Academic Diploma.

"I am grateful to the members of the National Academy of Medicine for the tremendous welcome I have received and for the honor of becoming a new member of this prestigious institution. I hope to contribute to the continued excellence, leadership, and transformation in people's lives", said Prof. Eloisa Bonfá.

Background

First woman to assume the Directorship of the School of Medicine at USP, serving from 2022 to 2026. Member of the São Paulo and Brazilian Rheumatology Societies. Served as Clinical Director of the Hospital das Clínicas Complex at FMUSP for over 10 years. At the age of 40, Prof. Eloisa Bonfá became a full professor at FMUSP, the same institution where she obtained her Ph.D. and postdoctoral degree. She completed a fellowship in Rheumatology in New York and did her residency in Internal Medicine and undergraduate studies at the School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto at USP. Prof. Eloisa Bonfá mainly works in the areas of biological therapy, systemic lupus erythematosus, and autoantibodies. She has authored 426 articles and has supervised over 20 undergraduate students, 34 Ph.D. students, 14 master's students, and 10 postdoctoral fellows.