Professor Marcello Barcinski FMedSci

Marcello André Barcinski’s outstanding international career encompasses clinical medicine, biophysics, immunology, immunoparasitology and has seen him advocate for science within the hostile environment of President Jair Bolsonaro’s Brazil.

Born in São Paulo to Polish parents, Marcello studied medicine at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, qualifying in 1965, and received his PhD in biophysics from the city’s Federal University in 1974. He then undertook post-doctoral training at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda.

Returning to Rio de Janeiro, Marcello continued his research at the Institute of Biophysics (now the Carlos Chagas Filho Biophysics Institute) at the Federal University, where, in 1988, he became full professor of biophysics.

Thriving within the institute’s multidisciplinary approach to science, he created the Laboratory of Immunogenetics which came to encompass several areas of immunology research, evolving into what is now the Program of Immunology, producing high quality research and training PhD students.

In 1991, Marcello moved to the Department of Parasitology at the University of São Paulo, to further the field of immunoparasitology research, with a special interest in programmed cell death by apoptosis. He created the concept of "apoptotic mimicry" demonstrating for the first time that attenuation of the immune response by apoptosis in single-celled pathogens plays an important role in the establishment of parasitic diseases, a mechanism which also operates in the establishment of tumours. In 1998, Marcello became Commander in Brazil’s National Order of Scientific Merit in honour of his work.

This accolade was followed by his appointment, by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, to assist in the reorganisation and expansion of research at the National Cancer Institute in Rio de Janeiro. Here, Marcello created the Division of Experimental Medicine and organised the graduate program in experimental oncology.

A member of both the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine, Marcello has been Vice-President of the Brazilian Federation of Experimental Biology Societies; President of the Brazilian Society of Immunology and a member of the Brazilian Commission of Biotechnology. He has also served as permanent or ad hoc member within several national and international policy-making agencies including the Brazilian National Research Council and the National Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education (CAPES). At the World Health Organization, he served for three years as a member, and then another three years as President of the Tropical Disease Research Steering Committee on Chagas Disease.

In the UK, reflecting Marcello’s wide scientific expertise, he has been a member of several sequential National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funding committees on Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation.

In 2008, Marcello received the Brazilian Grand Cross Class of the National Order of Scientific Merit, awarded to those who stand out for their work in the fields of science and technology. It is perhaps easy to see why this consummate proponent of the very best research and evidence became an outspoken critic of president Jair Bolsonaro’s approach to COVID-19.

In a country where sheer size, alongside social deprivation, put it so brutally at the mercy of the pandemic, Marcello said Bolsonaro “managed to turn the scientific discussion into an ideological one.”

Speaking in 2020, Marcello praised the work of the former Health Minister Luiz Mandetta, who had been sacked by Bolsonaro after disagreements over social distancing policies. As Marcello said, “One element of the Department's work that deserves to be highlighted was the absolute transparency and ability of former Minister Mandetta's team to communicate with the public during his management. Press conferences were frequent. The figures on the progression of the pandemic were shared daily on live television by the minister himself and two of his closest advisers, both very competent epidemiologists. These press releases were a huge success with society.”

But Marcello added “Unsurprisingly, the big obstacle to the Mandetta ministry's plan to combat COVID-19 was the erratic behaviour of President Bolsonaro himself. Not content with taking a stand against social distancing and publicly downplaying the pathogenic effects of the infection, the president repeatedly encouraged rallies and marches of his supporters, in which he took part, refusing to wear a mask and respect the recommended distance between people. He also supported the use of drugs without any evidence of efficacy and safety, setting a very bad example that ended up disorienting public opinion.”

Marcello reflects that this approach, in the midst of the pandemic, shook the public’s trust in the Ministry of Health. After Bolsonaro had lost two health ministers in the space of a month, replacing them with a military general, Marcello said “The current situation is absolutely chaotic. There is an absolute lack of leadership.”

In a country where 50% of the population does not have access to basic sanitation, and 30% lack access to treated water, the impact of the pandemic was always going to be especially harsh. Marcello’s praise where it was due, coupled with his vocal condemnation of Bolsonaro’s approach, is consistent with his long commitment to advocating for, and developing, the best in evidence-based, compassionate healthcare.

Reflecting on initiatives which saw some of his country’s poorest, and most vulnerable, people protected by locally-driven collaborations, such as those between private hospitals and hotels, to provide beds, Marcello’s words will strike a chord with many “There is no doubt about COVID-19 having awakened in human beings the best and worst of them."

On becoming a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, Marcello emphasised his belief that “Scientific research thrives when it is a globally collaborative effort, and the Academy’s international work demonstrates their commitment to this.” We are honoured to have him in our ranks.