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Henrique da Rocha Lima

Henrique da Rocha Lima (1879–1956) was a Brazilian physician, pathologist and infectologist. Working in Germany, he discovered Rickettsia prowazekii, the pathogen of endemic typhus. Rickettsia prowazekii was named after German zoologist Stanislaus von Prowazek.

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Henrique da Rocha Lima received his M.D. degree from the Medical School of Rio de Janeiro in 1905. He was one of the founders of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, where he worked with other famous Brazilian researchers, such as Oswaldo Cruz himself, Adolfo Lutz and Carlos Chagas (the discoverer of Chagas disease) in the areas of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases. Rocha Lima developed an international career in medical research, successively in the chair of pathological anatomy of the University of Munich, and in the Tropical Diseases Institute of Hamburg, both in Germany. In Brazil, he was a great scientific and educational leader, having participated in the foundation of the Paulista School of Medicine, and of the University of São Paulo. Rocha Lima was also a president of the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science. He received many awards and distinctions, such as the Iron Cross of the German Empire, the Benemerence Medal by Pope Pius XI, the Nocht Medal for distinguished researchers on Tropical Diseases, and the effective membership of the German Academy of Natural Sciences. His name has been given to the Student Union (Centro Acadêmico) of the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.

In 2007, a new strain of Gram-negative bacteria was named after Rocha Lima, Bartonella rochalimae. ^[1]

Bibliography

Falcão, E.C. A Vida Científica de Henrique da Rocha Lima. Rev Bras Malariol Doencas Trop. 1967 Apr-Jun;19(2):353-8. (Article in Portuguese)
Falcão, E.C. Henrique Rocha Lima e a Descoberta da Rickettsia prowazekii. Rev Inst Med Trop São Paulo. 1966 Mar-Apr;8(2):55-9. (Article in Portuguese)