The Academies of Sciences of Cuba and Bulgaria join forces in solving global challenges

On October 12, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) solemnly celebrated the 155th anniversary of its founding with an official reception and concert at the Sofia Opera and Ballet. It was this special occasion, as well as the 64th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Cuba, that was the reason for the first visit of Dr. Luis Velázquez Pérez, president of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, to Bulgaria, at the invitation of the BAS.

From Radio Bulgaria, we had the honor to meet this distinguished researcher in the field of neuroscience, specialized neurologist and current president of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, who gave us the opportunity to look into the vast world of science and to get acquainted with the deep scientific motivation that history has bequeathed to Cuba.

Today, the need to strengthen bilateral relations with our neighbors and with the whole world seems to be even more urgent.

Prof. Luis Velazquez Perez, president of the Cuban Academy of Sciences

"Today, more than ever, we need integration - this is one of the goals of my visit. Integration is a necessity at this moment, because humanity is facing great global challenges" - with these words our conversation with Dr. Velazquez at the round table in the Cuban embassy in Sofia began.

Among the reasons for his visit to Bulgaria are issues related to scientific development and communication, the spread of technology, the development of artificial intelligence and, of course, everything related to research in the field of neurology, neurotechnology and biomedicine, in order to be prepared for the various challenges facing humanity today.

It is the common challenges facing science at this moment in which we are destined to live that most drive institutions like the Academies of Sciences to unite and collaborate.

The ceremony marking the 155th anniversary of the BAS

In our conversation, we talked about the prevention of environmental phenomena and health crises and predicting their consequences, about the search for resources in the field of energy and renewable energy sources, as well as about new ways of researching various problems in the field of social sciences and humanities, national identity and quality of life, among many other current topics.

"A classic example is the COVID-19 pandemic - it affected humanity, leaving behind deep traces, among which is depression, which today affects practically 13% of the population... To this we add the phenomena related to climate change, which has a direct impact on human health and leads to the emergence of new diseases and an increase in premature mortality. There is also the problem of the international economic recession, which also has serious global consequences."

According to Dr. Velazquez, the problems don't stop there:

"To all this we must add the issue of an aging population, which creates new challenges and leads to an increase in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, which has also become a global epidemic. Neurological diseases in general are now the leading cause of disability in over 40% of the world's population."

Cubans are facing an even more complicated situation due to the economic and financial blockade imposed by the United States for more than 60 years. "That is why for Cuba the development of science, technology and innovation represent an exceptional value, because today they are essential to be able to meet all these challenges that we are talking about here," explains Dr. Velázquez.

Many people do not suspect that Cuba has an enviable system of science and technological innovation: "We have about 240 scientific research institutions, 50 universities, 25,000 professors and over 86,400 scientific workers, 53% of whom are women. And about 19,000 of these workers hold a PhD degree. We have over 8,300 researchers and more than 100 programs where scientists present their projects."

Of course, the Cuban Academy of Sciences is a powerful link in this system, as it is the first academy on the American continent, with a long history dating back to the 19th century - since the time of Spanish colonization. Today the Cuban Academy of Sciences can be proud of a 162-year history and represents one of the strongest institutions in the American region, bringing together more than 500 high-level scientists, including 60 international Nobel laureates.

The memorial plaque about Albert Einstein's visit to the Cuban Academy of Sciences, in 1930

Scientific development has not ceased to be a driving force in Cuba despite the many challenges. The Cuban biopharmaceutical industry, for example, has made significant progress in the development of vaccines, such as those for COVID-19 developed by BioCubaPharma, or in the development of drugs for the prevention and treatment of degenerative neurological diseases, such as hereditary ataxias or Alzheimer's disease.

"The Cuban Academy of Sciences also worked hard to create temporary and permanent working groups of experts, similar to those created to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. These groups then played a crucial role, helping to contain the pandemic and facilitating the favorable development of many patients who were in a severe stage of the disease. Today, many more such groups have been created in different priority areas - the aforementioned demographic changes, climate change, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, food security, energy transition and decarbonization..."

The visit of Dr. Velazquez at the Institute of Neurology and Molecular Biology in Sofia

It is here that the role of the Academy of Sciences is of paramount importance. According to Dr. Velazquez, academies are scientific structures that have the function of integrating science on an international scale. In this sense, there is a long-standing relationship of friendship and science between Cuba and Bulgaria. The history of cooperation between the two academies of sciences dates back to the 1990s. Today, this bilateral cooperation continues, adapting to a new reality and its problems - which, as we said, no longer affect a single nation, but all of them together. "That's why today we need to stand firmly on one basic concept: that humanity is threatened in an extremely complex way by problems that are not just of one country or another. An example of this is epidemics. These are the problems we call "global".

It is for this purpose that the chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Julian Revalski, will travel to Cuba on October 20 (the National Day of Cuban Culture), where an agreement will be signed between the two academies for the preparation of a work plan for scientific research, as a joint goal.

Academician Julian Revalski, president of the BAS

As we have seen, there are many unanswered questions that present challenges to the great network of scientific minds in our world. How will we prepare for the future? How will we meet new epidemics? How to deal with new diseases arising from population aging or environmental phenomena? How to diagnose early cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and reduce their consequences for the individual, for families and for society?...

The visit of Dr. Luis Velázquez takes on additional importance as it underlines, as he himself expressed, "the importance of continuing international scientific cooperation and affirming the role of the Academy of Sciences as a unifying nucleus in the complex times which we live in."

Today we look to the future with hope. A shared future that is no longer just "the future of the people of science" – it is already the present.

From Radio Bulgaria, we express special thanks to H.E. Mrs. Marieta Garcia Jordan, Ambassador of Cuba to Bulgaria, who helped make this meeting happen and made us feel at home.

Photos: BAS, Facebook/Cuban Academy of Sciences, official webpage of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, BTA, X/Dr.Cs. Luis C. Velázquez Pérez, personal archive

* Dr. Luis Velázquez Pérez is MD, PhD, specialist in neurology and neurophysiology, president of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, member of the board of directors of the Cuban Society of Neurology, and founding director of the Pan American Network of Hereditary Ataxias and the Research Center and rehabilitation of hereditary ataxias.