José María Mainetti (March 5, 1909 – February 9, 2006) was an Argentine physician, surgeon and

oncologist Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

. Mainetti was born in Hinojo,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. He spent most of his childhood and youth in La Plata, were his family moved in 1911. He finished his medicine studies in 1932. Since 1940 he started working also as a professor at the

Universidad Nacional de La Plata The La Plata National University ( es, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, UNLP) is one of the most important Argentine national universities and the biggest one situated in the city of La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires Province. It has over ...

. In 1969 he created the ''Fundación para el Progreso'' ("Foundation for Progress") which later became ''Fundación Dr. José María Mainetti'', and in 1971 the ''Escuela de Oncología'' (Oncology School). In 1986 he started the ''Centro Oncológico de Excelencia'' teaching, research, diagnosis and attention centre against cancer, and in 1993 the ''Instituto de Trasplante de Médula Osea'' ( Bone Marrow Transplant Institute) Mainetti is well known in Argentina as the mentor of

René Favaloro René Gerónimo Favaloro (July 12, 1923 – July 29, 2000) was an Argentine cardiac surgeon and educator best known for his pioneering work on coronary artery bypass surgery using the great saphenous vein. Early life Favaloro was born in 1 ...

, and a pioneer of

bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, m ...

in the country. As well as Favaloro, he had to struggle against the lack of financial support. José María Mainetti died in 2006 in Manuel Gonnet, Buenos Aires.

External links

Fundación Dr. José María Mainetti
* Clarín
On his death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mainetti, Jose Maria 1909 births 2006 deaths People from Buenos Aires Province Argentine people of Italian descent Argentine oncologists Argentine scientists Burials at La Plata Cemetery