IGG is partners with universities in Porto, Lisbon, Milan and Lausanne
Clotet (L), Terra, city councillor Oliboni, Carla, City councillor Nedel, Moriguchi and president of TJ Militar, Colonel Paulo Roberto Rodrigues
Photo: Andielli Silveira/CMPA
On Mar 27, the Municipal Chamber of Porto Alegre handed a Certificate of Achievement to PUCRS by virtue of the pioneer and high-quality work that has been done by the Institute of Geriatrics and Gerontology (IGG) for 45 years. The Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, Dr Carla Bonan, former president Br. Joaquim Clotet, IGG’s director, Dr Newton Terra, and the founder of the Institute, Dr Yukio Moriguchi, represented the University.
Terra commemorated the pioneering role played by Moriguchi and then President Br. José Otão in the area of Geriatrics and Gerontology. The University implemented the residency program in Geriatrics in 1975 and a specialization program in 1980, thus contributing to professional development in the aforementioned areas. “It was the expertise of a Japanese physician and a Brazilian religious that resulted in the materialization of this center.”
Throughout this time, the institute has served more than 100,000 individuals, 3,000 investigations and 800 scientific papers on aging. Today, it is partners with Universidade do Porto, Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal), Università di Milano (Italy) and Université de Lausanne (Switzerland).
A professor of the first Geriatrics course in Latin America, in the Medicine program of PUCRS, in 1971, Dr Moriguchi created IGG through a medical and scientific exchange between the governments of Brazil and Japan, which was made possible by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The Land of the Rising Sun gave 5 million dollars to be used in the purchase of equipment and personnel training. “As Japan still suffered the consequences of the post-war, not many of its citizens would be called overseas. In a response to the invitation, the government wanted to give back to PUCRS, as education is a priority in the Asian country”, once said Dr Moriguchi, who is now 92 years of age.
