Quique Bassat, new president of the Spanish Society of Tropical Medicine and International Health

Quique Bassat, ISGlobal’s Director General and Scientific Director, has been elected President of the Spanish Society of Tropical Medicine and International Health (SEMTSI). The appointment was announced at the 14th SEMTSI Congress, held in Salamanca, where the society’s Board of Directors was also renewed. Bassat succeeds Agustín Benito Llanes of the National Centre for Tropical Medicine at the Carlos III Health Institute (Madrid). 

Quique Bassat is a paediatrician specialising in infectious diseases and holds a PhD in Medicine from the University of Barcelona. His research career has focused on malaria, child mortality and paediatric infectious diseases, with strong ties to sub-Saharan Africa through his work at the Manhiça Health Research Centre (CISM) in Mozambique. He is an ICREA Research Professor and has led ISGlobal since January 2024. The institute is recognised as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence. 

“It is an honour and a great responsibility to chair SEMTSI, a leading society founded 28 years ago by the pioneers of tropical medicine and global health in our country. I would especially like to thank Agustín Benito and the previous Board for their work, and I will strive to ensure that the society remains a space for meeting, training and a common voice for those working on the most neglected diseases, which predominantly affect the most vulnerable populations, at a time when global health challenges require more cooperation than ever,” Bassat said following the announcement. 

The SEMTSI is a non-profit scientific society that promotes knowledge, training and collaboration in tropical medicine and international health in Spain. It is governed by a seven-member Board of Directors (Presidency, Vice-Presidency, Secretary, Treasurer and three board members), whose positions are renewed every four years through elections held at the General Assembly of Members, the society’s decision-making body.