Adonis de Carvalho
1928-2014
A tribute by Eduardo Santini-Araujo, IAP President, 2014-2016
Dr Adonis de Carvalho was the first Latin-American Pathologist who was President of The International Academy of Pathology -1986-1988. He was also the first Latin-American laureate to receive the IAP’s Gold Medal. Adonis de Carvalho was, without a doubt, one of the most relevant Brazilian and also Latin-American Pathologists.
Adonis de Carvalho was a Full Professor and Emeritus Professor of the Pernambuco University, and Chair of the Pathology Department of the Pernambuco Cancer Hospital. He also served as President of the Brazilian Society of Pathology and President of the Medical Regional Council. During his remarkable career, Adonis de Carvalho was a mentor of several generations of Brazilian and International Pathologists. Among them, last but not least, was his beloved daughter Maria do Carmo and granddaughter Paula.
Apart from having had an outstanding performance in the many and very well deserved academic and institutional positions that he occupied, Dr de Carvalho was an unpretentious man, who deeply loved his family and truly valued friendship above all things. Adonis de Carvalho was an indefatigable hard worker with a proverbial enthusiasm for each challenge and for each day. Hopelessness was a feeling completely unknown to him. A noble spirit who lived with a constant ethic attitude.
Those of us who had the pleasure of having worked with him, today, are fully aware of the privilege of having known him, of the responsibility derived from his example and of the deep sorrow for his absence. The latter might be mitigated by the certainty of knowing that this past
February 12, Adonis finished his fruitful life surrounded by the profound love of his family and friends and the sincere respect of his colleagues.
IAP News Bulletin Editor's Comment:
I think it is fitting that the formal farewell to this great man is written by the first South American pathologist to become President of the IAP after Adonis himself. On behalf of his many friends and associates from the IAP I would like to join Eduardo in offering our condolences to his daughter Maria and his grand daughter Paula. Also to his son Marcus who is a full professor of History in the University of Pernambuco. Adonis Carvalho's wife, Cecy Maciel, died two years ago in 2012.
from: IAP News Bulletin No 2 2014
Above: Adonis de Carvalho with his daughter Maria at the presentation of the IAP Gold Medal in 1998.
From: IAP News Bulletin No 2 2014
Below: Adonis de Carvalho with his beloved daughter Maria and granddaughter Paula who have followed him as pathologists. He received a special award from Marcello Franco the President of the International Congress of the IAP in Sao Paulo in 2010 for his distinguished service to Pathology in Brazil.
from: IAP News Bulletin No 2 2014Pathology Laboratory Oak Adonis
The Pathology Laboratory Oak Adonis, a pioneer in pathological diagnosis in Pernambuco and Brazil, began its story in 1955, through work Carvalho did over many years, which who inspired and prepared generations of pathologists in Pernambuco and outside the State. In 1956, Adonis Lira Reis de Carvalho introduced frozen section diagnosis to Northeastern Brazil. In 1958, he founded the first population based Cancer Registry in Brazil. Eventually, his daughter, Dr. Maria do Carmo Carvalho de Abreu e Lima, and his grand daughter, Paula Abreu e Lima Brito, joined his team .
The laboratory at Oak Adonis was modeled on procedures Adonis Carvalho acquired through the Department of Pathology in the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas in Houston, where he was a Resident in 1954. At the time, he was a fellow of the Institute of International Education in New York. The diagnostic quality and breakthrough role of the laboratory was recognized in 2006 as part of the International Academy of Pathology centenary celebration in Quebec, Canada. During the centenary, the IAP published a book recounting the last 100 years of Pathology throughout the World, crediting Dr, Adonis Carvalho for his work in Brazil. Adonis Carvalho is also cited for the work he did with respect to intra-surgical tests for rapid diagnosis without requiring a second surgery for definitive treatment.Reference: International Academy of Pathology: Scientific Medicine in the Twentieth Century , Robin A. Cooke, Ed, 2006, p 55-6.
The medical team led by Adonis de Carvalho , which has now extended beyond a third generation of pathologists, is traditionally known for excellence in diagnosing and training of international scope and has maintained a central histopathological consultancy role in Brazil. The consultancy always invested in quality, such as modern cryostats, now considered to be the gold standard for frozen section examinations.
Although the laboratory has the specific purpose of laboratory training, the model supports several pathologists, as well as providing grants for academic research. The activities carried out in the laboratory is characterized by the intense academic life in which its' members are engaged. This included Dr. Adonis de Carvalho, Professor Emeritus UFPE, former president of the International Academy of Pathology, the only South American to assume such a position, and many others.
Translated from: the Pathology Laboratory Adonis Carvalho website: http://www.adoniscarvalho.com.br