The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Development Cooperation category goes, in this tenth edition, to the Colombian epidemiologist Nubia Muñoz, whose work was instrumental in establishing that infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is the principal and necessary cause of cervical cancer. Her studies played a catalytic role in the development of anti-virus vaccines capable of preventing 70% of all cervical cancers, a disease where 80% of cases involve women in developing countries.
The nomination of the laureate was proposed by the Barcelona Institute for Globla Health (ISGlobal) together with the Catalan Institute of Oncology, where Muñoz is visiting scientist.
Dr. Muñoz (Cali, Colombia, 1940), says the jury, “established the epidemiological relationship between papillomavirus and cervical cancer,” and her work “has been a true catalyst for vaccine development and subsequent application throughout the world, including the most affected countries.” The HPV vaccine was the first vaccine specifically targeting the prevention of cancer. Moreover, the jury adds, “Muñoz is an example of a woman scientist working on diseases that affect women, particularly in the developing world.”
The HPV vaccine has been available since 2006. All versions on the market confer protection against HPVs 16 and 18, with some also effective against other strains. The vaccine is considered of paramount importance in developing countries, where few women have access to techniques to detect pre-cancerous lesions – through regular smear tests – meaning the disease only shows up in its later stages. As we write, over 80% of cervical cancer cases are in developing countries. And the disease is among the three top causes of cancer deaths among women living there.
Nubia Muñoz (Cali, Colombia, 1940) earned a medical degree from the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia, going on to specialize in pathology. She completed a fellowship in pathology and virology at the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, United States) and earned a Master’s Degree in Public Health (Cancer Epidemiology) from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore (United States). In 1969 she joined the International Agency for Research on Cancer (Lyon, France), where she rose to the rank of Chief of the Unit of Field and Intervention Studies. She is currently Emeritus Professor of the National Cancer Institute of Colombia and a consultant to the Epidemiology Research Program at the Catalan Institute of Oncology (Barcelona, Spain), the Ministry of Health and Social Protection in Colombia and the Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (Cuernavaca, Mexico).
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