Dear colleagues,
It was with great sadness that I learned that former TDR Director Professor Adetokunbo Lucas had passed away on 25 December 2020. He was 89 years old.
 | Professor Lucas served as Director of TDR from 1976 to 1986 and was
responsible for laying much of the foundation for what TDR is today. At a
time when treatments for neglected tropical diseases were severely
lacking, he was at the forefront of efforts to improve the health of
the most vulnerable populations. Most notably, he established
successful partnerships between TDR and pharmaceutical companies to
develop life-saving treatments that were made available
at low or no cost for malaria, leprosy and river blindness.
Accompanying this work were groundbreaking efforts to strengthen
research capacity through the training of hundreds of scientists
fighting these diseases in their countries.While I did not know
him as well as many of you did, I had the great pleasure of meeting
Professor Lucas at a Joint Coordinating Board meeting as well as during
TDR’s 40th anniversary celebrations. I have been inspired by his legacy
of firmly establishing
TDR’s core values of serving the most neglected. Even as our
research agenda has evolved, these founding principles continue to be
part of our DNA. He will always be remembered for being a true statesman
and a major figure in global health. |
For more on his outstanding career, I urge you to read this interview, where he reflects on his motivations to dedicate his life to public health and research.
Our deepest sympathies and condolences are with Professor
Lucas’s family, friends and past colleagues.
Sincerely,
John Reeder