Jorge Alcocer Varela (born 8 February 1946) is a Mexican immunologist, researcher, teacher and healthcare professional. Since 1 December 2018 he has served as the head of

Secretariat of Health The Secretariat of Health (Spanish Language, Spanish: ''Secretaría de Salud'') is the Ministry (government department), government department in charge of all social health services in Mexico, and an integral part of the Healthcare in Mexico, Mexi ...

of Mexico, appointed by President

Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican politician who has been serving as the 65th president of Mexico since 1 December 2018. He previously served as Head of Government of Mexico ...

. As a physician and emeritus researcher at the

Salvador Zubirán National Institute of Health Sciences and Nutrition The National Institute of Health Sciences and Nutrition “Salvador Zubirán” (Spanish: Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán) is one of the twelve national institutes part of the Mexican Secretariat of Health. ...

, Alcocer Varela has served Mexican public health in various capacities for more than 30 years.

Early life and education

In 1970 Alcocer Varela received a degree in Medicine from the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

(UNAM). He completed his specialty in Internal Medicine, Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology at the

. In 1980 he obtained a Postgraduate Degree in Immunology from the

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

(formerly ICRF) at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, and later in 2007 he obtained the Ph.D. in medical sciences from the UNAM. He has also a Certification in Rheumatology obtained from Mexican Council of Rheumatology, an organisation which was led by Alcocer Varela in 1992.

Career

As a teacher Alcocer Varela was associate professor at Postgraduate course in Rheumatology (1981-1999 and 2000-2004); professor of the specialization course in Rheumatology (2004 to 2016); academic advisor and professor in the Masters Degree and Doctorate program in Medical Sciences from 1994 to date at National Autonomous University of Mexico. He was also Tutors Coordinator for the Immunology Area and the Biochemistry Specialization Program of UNAM Faculty of Chemistry. As a researcher his main lines are immunopathogenesis of diffuse connective tissue diseases, immune tolerance and autoimmunity and ubiquitins and autoimmunity. He was accepted on National System of Researchers of Mexico (SNI) in 1989. As a peer-reviewer of that system from 1998 to 2000 he was member of the Biomedicine Dictaminating Commission; member of the Academic Council of the Biological Sciences and Health Area, and member of the dictaminating commission of the Institute of Biomedical Investigations from 2002 to 2006. From 1998 to 2000 he was member of the dictaminating commission in Biomedicine of the system and from 2009 to 2012 he was president of the Board of Honor of the SNI. Alcocer Varela reached in 2011 the distinction as National Emeritus Investigator.

Other activities

Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health Established in 2005, The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) is the world’s largest alliance for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and well-being, with 1,250 partner organizations working together through 1 ...

(PMNCH), Member of the BoardBoard

(PMNCH).

References

1946 births Living people National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Mexican Secretaries of Health Cabinet of Andrés Manuel López Obrador 21st-century Mexican politicians {{Andrés Manuel López Obrador Cabinet