Dr. Castaños Guzmán to become professor emeritus of Dominican medicine

Santo Domingo.- The Dominican College of Physicians (DCP)has announced it will confer upon Dr. Julio Amado Castaños Guzmán the title ofProfessor Emeritus of Dominican Medicine, which is the highest honor that theCollege confers upon Dominican physicians.

The event will take place on Thursday the 18th of august at7:00 in the evening in the Professor Juan Bosch Hall of the National Library.

The DCP states that Dr. Castaños Guzmán will receive thishighest honor for his service to the Dominican people through his work as aphysician and professional commitment to foster medical education, research,continuing education, and high quality medical services.

With this distinction, Dr. Castaños Guzmán joins the ranksof the most distinguished medical professionals in the country´s history.

Castaños Guzmán has distinguished himself for hisdedication to and promotion of organ transplants (liver, heart, kidneys, andbone marrow) at Hospital General Plaza de la Salud, which is the nationalpioneer in organ transplantation.

Dr. Castaños is Chairman of the Board of Hospital Generalde la Plaza de la Salud (HGPS) and President of Universidad Iberoamericana(UNIBE).

He began his medical studies in 1976 at the medical schoolof the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD, in Spanish), graduating in1983. In 1984 he began graduate studies in internal medicine in Madrid atClínica de la Concepción, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, and he completed hisresidency program in hematology at Clínica Puerta de Hierro, Madrid.

His academic career begins during his time in medicalschool as a teacher´s assistant in the field of pharmacology. In 1989, hereturns to the Dominican Republic from Spain where he becomes director ofUNIBE´s Medical School. In 1992 he became Dean of Health Sciences at UNIBE. Aposition he maintained until 1996 when he became president of the University.

He has also completed graduate programs in education,specifically a master’s degree in higher education from UASD and InternationalMasters in Medical Education from Universidad Castilla La Mancha (Spain).

From 1990 to 2002 his clinical practice was at the OncologyInstitute Dr. Heriberto Pieter and in 1992 he founded the Institute ofHematology and Bioanalysis. In 2003, he founded the Oncology and Bone MarrowTransplant Unit of Hospital General de la Plaza de la Salud.

He authors a medical education column for print media andtelevision titled Médico de Cabecera and has coproduced medical educationprograms for television.

Among his many awards are the Dominican Republic´s YoungOutstanding Student´s Awards and Jaycees 72; he also graduated with the highestgrades of his graduating class both in medical school and his masters degreefrom UASD.

He is a member of the European Medical EducationAssociation, the Dominican Academy of Medicine, and the Dominican Academy ofSciences.