Carlos Gual Castro, 1927-2024

Carlos Gual Castro was a pioneer and visionary in Reproductive Biology. He established the Department of Reproductive Biology, the medical specialty in this field, and the first Family Planning Clinic in the public sector at the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán. He was also a leader and mentor of many generations of endocrinologists and reproductive biologists, who provided the knowledge and practice of contraceptive methods and neuroendocrine and reproductive physiology. Dr. Gual inspired us with his dedication and perseverance, and we are grateful for his goals, virtues, and qualities that made him stand out.

The legacy left by Dr. Gual, in addition to his scientific contributions, is the development and consolidation of a biomedical discipline whose mission was to provide initiatives and solutions to socio-demographic concerns resulting from population growth, enabling women to enjoy the freedom of their sexual and reproductive rights. With Dr. Gual, our Institute, in its early days, acquired the necessary facilities for developing research and teaching programs, leading to the establishment of reproductive biology as a biomedical specialty. In the 1960s, under Dr. Gual's leadership, Mexico advanced by creating infrastructure for fertility regulation services and addressing the diagnosis and treatment of reproductive disorders. These efforts laid the foundation for designing and creating research and teaching programs to improve reproductive health in Mexico and other countries in Latin America. Dr. Gual's social commitment, scientific quality, enthusiasm, and passion for research and teaching were eventually crystallized in many professionals who have continued the work he initiated almost 60 years ago.

Among his scientific achievements and contributions, Dr. Gual was a member of various national and international scientific societies and President of the following: The Mexican Society of Nutrition and Endocrinology (1965), The Pan-American Federation of Endocrine Societies (1970), The Academy of Scientific Research (1974), and the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico (1983). From 1988 to 1993, he served as the Executive Director of the Latin American Association for Training and Research in Human Reproduction (PLACIRH). He served as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Board of Directors of the International Society of Neuroendocrinology. He organized several scientific events, including the VI Pan-American Congress of Endocrinology in 1965 and the International Congress of Endocrinology in 1968. In 1976, he was appointed Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health and President of the Interinstitutional Commission of the Basic Table of Drugs and Medications of the Health Sector. From 1980 to 1985, he successively held the positions of General Director of the Instituto Nacional de Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, now Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán and Director of the Medical Services of the Mexican Oil Company. He received numerous awards and distinctions, including the Carnot Prize from the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico (1970), the Syntex Prize (1972), the Commemorative Gregory Pincus Medal (1974), the Miguel Otero (1976) and Eduardo Liceaga (2015) Awards from the Mexican General Health Council, the Salvador Zubirán (2002) and the Reproductive Biology (2005) Awards from the Mexican Society of Nutrition and Endocrinology and the National Academy of Medicine, respectively, among others. In 1977, he was a special guest at the Nobel Prize Ceremony in Physiology and Medicine to recognize his contributions to research on hypothalamic hormones. He authored or co-authored many scientific articles in internationally renowned journals, conference proceedings, and book chapters, and delivered numerous talks and lectures at various universities in the country and abroad.

Many of his colleagues and students, including Dr. Andrew V. Schally, the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, paid him a well-deserved tribute on the occasion of the 50^th Anniversary of his professional reception in a special symposium organized by the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico, which was published in a special issue of the Gaceta Médica de México in 2003.

I would like to take this opportunity to express, on behalf of all those who have belonged to or currently belong to the Department of Reproductive Biology, graduates of the University Specialty Course in Reproductive Biology, medical interns, and postgraduate students, our deepest and sincerest sympathies to his family and friends for the loss of such an eminent and beloved teacher.

Finally, I would like to say we all were lucky for the privilege of having a mentor who introduced us to the wonder of science, who taught us that nothing is impossible if we believe in ourselves, and that someone like him can lead the way to any successful adventure.

Mexico City, January 2, 2024