Kamran Rafiq
2023; Elsevier BV; Volume: 23; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/s1473-3099(23)00621-7
ISSN1474-4457
Autores Tópico(s)Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment
ResumoThe torchbearer for the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) fight was the International Society for NTDs' Co-Founder. He died on June 28, 2023, aged 51 years. Kamran Rafiq was a celebrity in the field of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The community remembers him not only for his cordiality and humane demeanour but also for his unabated commitment towards tackling diseases of the poor and empowering patients as leaders at the forefront of the fight against NTDs. “He was a person that was extremely welcoming, very bold in his approach, with an extraordinary smile and tender eyes”, recalls Eric Stobbaerts (Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), London, UK). Rafiq has worked with DNDi in various capacities for many years. As a natural communicator, Rafiq turned to storytelling in his speeches, raising awareness about NTDs. Be it advocating for the little-understood noma's disfiguring effects, sharing anecdotes of Chagas patients in the Andes, shedding light on the debilitating consequences of filariasis, or highlighting the plight of those afflicted by visceral leishmaniasis in war-torn regions, the NTD community recalls Rafiq's compelling passion and generosity with his time and energy in working towards halting these diseases. “The global effort to control and eliminate NTDs has benefited enormously from Kamran's work and personal commitment, and he has been a steady partner to DNDi through the years”, says Luis Pizarro, Executive Director of DNDi, in a Memoriam. “We will miss him dearly”. Born in Lancashire, UK, Rafiq had a robust academic foundation in pharmacology & toxicology and neuroscience. He commenced his career as a research scientist at the Schering-Plough Research Center in Milan, Italy, where he studied neuropeptides and innovative approaches to understanding pain transmission and modelling Parkinson's Disease. After his return to the UK, he embarked on a path with Reuters Business Insights, spearheading the establishment of their drug discovery intelligence unit. Following this, he assumed the role of Sales Director at Datamonitor, where he played a pivotal role in acquiring and seamlessly integrating a Life Science Analytics company. Subsequently, he took on the position of Managing Director at Global Data, overseeing both Pharma/Biotech and Medical Device Diagnostics market teams. In 2012, Rafiq co-founded the International Society for NTDs (ISNTD) as an independent organisation with his wife, Marianne Comparet, to provide an international forum for NTD stakeholders, including patients and patient advocates, to openly discuss the research and practice of global NTDs and their management, respectively, from both the perspectives of sustainable universal healthcare and international development aimed at poverty reduction. According to the community members, Rafiq's global experience in academic and commercial research combined with Comparet's global development expertise brought an interdisciplinary nature to the meetings and their approach to fighting NTDs. “I first met Kamran not long after the ISNTD was founded, and I must say I got quite fond of the forum since it has been filling a gap— connecting the science, communities, and development”, recalls Stobbaerts. “Kamran and Marianne were inseparable when it was about ISNTD, and they were able to bring people of different backgrounds around one table in one room or on Zoom during COVID-19 to have the hard talk about NTDs”. “Kamran's loss was especially depressing and tragic for our community of NTD scientists, healthcare workers and public health professionals”, says Peter Hotez (Baylor College of Medicine, Texas, USA). “As it is, we have very few champions for our diseases, the NTDs, and Kamran stood out as someone who understood both the medical and policy aspects”, Hotez recalls. “He will be hard to replace; I will personally miss him as a colleague and friend”, Hotez says. Rafiq's lasting impact on NTD research and development is undeniable. His exceptional talent for forming partnerships in uncharted territories, coupled with his insatiable curiosity and relentless pursuit of knowledge, evidently played a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of these intricate diseases, according to a Memoriam published by PLoS' Speaking of Medicine and Health Blog. The NTD community vows that his contributions will continue to shape and elevate the NTD research and advocacy field. Rafiq is survived by his wife and their three children. “Kamran left us too early, but let us remember him as a visionary, a changemaker, and an inspiration”, writes Carolina Batista (Global Health Affairs, Geneva, Switzerland) on her LinkedIn page, “It is our collective responsibility to carry forward his dream of eliminating NTDs, ending suffering, and breaking the cycle of neglect that traps vulnerable populations in poverty and disease”.
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