David Kershenobich Stalnikowitz

david.kershenobichs@incmnsz.mx
54 87 09 00 ext. 6900. 6901, 6902, 6903, 6904, 6905, 6906, 6907

He was born in Mexico City on November 20th, of 1942, his parents where Jacobo Kersenobich and Flora Stalnikowitz. At an early age he moved to the city of Tampico, Tamaulipas where he studied elementary school, secondary school and college.

Studies

He studied Medicine at the National Autonomus University of Mexico (UNAM), where he obtained his degree as Medical Surgeon. His professional thesis was “fetal haemoglobin in the newborn”. He completed his residency in the divisions of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology at the Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubirán under the genealogy of Maestro Salvador Zubirán and Dr. José de Jesús Villalobos. Later on he undertook the medical specialty,Hepatology at the Royal Free Hospital of London under the tutorial of Professor Dame Sheila Sherlock. He obtained his doctorate degree in Medicine at the London University. The subject of his thesis: “Metabolism of Transferrin”.

Upon his return to Mexico in 1970, alongside Dr. Luis Guevara González and Dr. Enrique Wolpert Barraza he created the first Liver Clinic in the country, where most of the hepatologists in Mexico have been trained.

Ever since, he focused his studies on the physiopathology of hepatic cirrhosis mainly in the field of fibrosis. Alongside with doctors Marcos Rodkind and Ruy Pérez Tamayo he verified that hepatic cirrhosis may be reversible. These investigations have had wide recognition on a national and international level, his research work has been published in 172 original articles, 4 books and several book chapters. He is an emeritus researcher (level III) of the National System for Investigators.

He was President of the Mexican Association of Internal Medicine, the Mexican Association of Gastroenterology and the Mexican Association of Hepatology. From 2001 to 2002 he was President of the International Association of Liver Studies. He has been a member of the working team on hepatic fibrosis of the American Association of Hepatology and a frequent collaborator of the editorial group of several national and international magazines. He has given conferences throughout the Mexican Republic as well as abroad, among others at the University of Groningen in Holland, the University of Omaha in Nebraska, U.S.A., at the New England Medical Center in Boston, U.S.A. and the University of BarIlan in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Teaching and Academy

He has been teaching since 1975 the gastroenterology specialty at the National Autonomus University of Mexico (UNAM). He founded the Research Pavillion for Liver and Pancreas at the General Hospital of Mexico while tutoring the Research Division in the same hospital. Since 2007 he has been the head of the Research Interdisciplinary Seminar in Biomedicine at the National Autonomus University of Mexico, (UNAM). He was a member of the Government’s Board of the National Autonomus University of Mexico (UNAM) from 2005 to 2012. Additionally he has led 22 post-graduate thesis and has participated in the shaping of many national and international specialists in the field of Gastroenterology.

He has been a spokesperson of the Government’s Board of the National Institute of Public Health, of the National Institute of Cardiology and of the National Institute of Cancer Research.

He was President of the National Academy of Medicine from 2010 to 2012. During the period of 2011-2012 he was appointed Secretary of the Public Health General Board. While holding these positions he focused his activities mainly to design actions for the prevention of not contagious chronic deseases which gave way to actions such as the reduction of salt in bread, the promotion of breast feeding, the increasement of reactives on prevention in examinations of new doctors looking for medical residences. Doctor Kershenobich and the former Minister of Public Health Maestro Salomón Chertorivski Woldenberg published a book dealing with the prevention of such deseases. As a promoter he achieved that the National Academy of Medicine published the work of multiple disciplinary groups. He fostered the publication of the first two investigations on aging and obesity.

He is a full member of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the Mexican Institute of Culture.

In 1998 in the company of Mister Antonio Ariza Cañadilla he created the Mexican Foundation for Hepatic Health. The first line of action alongside the Minister of Public Health Doctor Juan Ramón de la Fuente, was the official launching of the universal vaccination campaign for mexican children against hepatitis B with the collaboration among others of Mister Rubén Aguilar Monteverde, Antonio Ariza Alduncin and Luz Maria Aguilar Valenzuela; the foundation has become a social reference for hepatic health.

Awards and Recognitions

He has received several recognitions , among them the Award appointed to research “Miguel Otero Arce” , the Medal “Eduardo Liceaga” granted by the Council General of Public Health of the Mexican Government, and by the Council General of the Mexican Government ,the University Award for Clinic Research “Donato Alarcón Segovia”, granted by the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomus University of Mexico (UNAM),the Award for Research on Biological Sciences and Health granted by the Autonomus Metropolitan University, the ABC Award to Medical Excellency and the Award to Universal Excellency René Casinn.

In October 2014, he was granted the “Award to Medical Achievement 2014” by the president of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto.

In the Institute (INCMNSZ) he was head of the Clinical Service for 30 years, assuming at the same time other responsibilities such as Teaching Coordinator, member of the Ethics and Research Committee, Head of the Gastroenterology Division and sposkesman of the Government Board. Since 2012 he is the General Director of the Institute.