Elected as minister in 2019, Salvarezza graduated as a Biochemist in 1977 and a Doctor in Biochemistry in 1981 from the University of Buenos Aires.
After the defeat of Front of All in the primary elections (STEP) Sunday, the national government lives tense days. The electoral defeat generated a great power dispute in the Frente de Todos among the members of La Cámpora and a large part of the ministerial team.
While the president Alberto Fernandez he let it be known that he plans to support his main ministers, there are already several national officials who have resigned, and there could still be more.
- Eduardo “Wado” De Pedro – Minister of the Interior
- Fernanda Raverta – Executive Director of the National Social Security Administration (ANSES)
- Luana Volnovich – Executive Director of the National Institute of Social Services for Retirees and Pensioners (PAMI)
- Roberto Salvarezza – Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation
- Martín Soria – Minister of Justice and Human Rights
The National Government lives days of turbulence, with multiple ministerial resignations from Alberto Fernández’s cabinet
Salvarezza’s management at the head of the Ministry of Science and Technology
Of the listings, one of the most surprising was that of Salvarezza in the category of Science, where it carried out research and technological development tasks with the capacity to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, from the development of diagnostic kits, research on the disease and the development of technological and computer solutions.
To do this, they created the entity known as Coronavirus Unit, which stood out for launching the following instruments to combat the effects of the pandemic:
- Rapid molecular tests Neokit-Covid-19 and Ela-Chemstrip,
- COVIDAR serological tests
- Hyperimmune serum treatment
- Cover for social use, commercially distributed under the name Atom-Protect
- Financing for the development of vaccines against the coronavirus in the preclinical phase, among which is the ArVac.
“I think that Roberto’s management, perhaps even more than that of almost any ministry, with the exception of Health, was very marked by the pandemic,” explains the iProUP Diego Colasurdo, post-doctoral fellow of the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET).
Linked to the above, he adds: “Efforts were put into various national developments related to COVID: CO2 detectors, various lines of national vaccines, negotiations with laboratories for transfer and local production.”
And he adds: “If you ask me about high points, basically, they were all related to technology transfer to provide solutions in the pandemic. I think everything else took a back seat in everyone’s priorities.”
Roberto Salvarezza, Minister of Science and Technology since December 2019, was one of the senior government officials to present the resignation
In addition, the fellow highlights the recovery of roots program, destined to establish connection networks between Argentine scientists abroad and the science that develops in the country and to favor the repatriation of scientists.
Also, it highlights the task carried out at the work level: “The problem of the retention of human resources diminished a lot. The first years of Macri left many people out of careers despite their admission being recommended.”
“Initially it was very conflictive in the community and it was necessary to go out to solve many problems of people who stayed on the street. Retention programs were carried out with funding from national universities, among other strategies to remedy it. It is so notorious and the entry to the race is ‘less complex’, remember
On the other hand, one of the first actions of his tenure as minister was to rebuild the stipend of scholarship holders financed by the National Agency for the Promotion of Research, Technological Development and Innovation (R + D + i Agency) with an initial increase of 7% for its beneficiaries.
In contrast, another source consulted – who preferred to keep his name anonymous – warns that “What did not improve in management was the salary of the CONICET researchers.” “When I talk about improvements, I mean something that improves with respect to what was agreed in joint, to rebuild part of the purchasing power “, he points out.
The management of Roberto Salvarezza at the head of Science, was marked in large part by the coronavirus pandemic
About Roberto Salvarezza
Roberto Salvarezza graduated as Biochemical in 1977 and Doctor in Biochemistry in 1981 from the University of Buenos Aires. At the end of the 1980s he specialized in new scanning microscopy techniques at the Autonomous University of Madrid and oriented his scientific career towards nanotechnology.
In 1992, he founded the Nanoscopy Laboratory of the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Physicochemical Research (INIFTA) de La Plata. He was director of said laboratory and also of the INIFTA.
Within the area of nanotechnology, he has made contributions in two microscopy technologies: tunneling and atomic forces. It has also provided new nano- and microfabrication methods and nanomaterial synthesis.
His laboratory was the first to apply techniques of this type in Latin America and it was also the place where the first courses in the area were taught in the region.
Salvarezza was appointed president of CONICET in 2012, a position he held until 2015
Its predecessor, Lino Barañao, named it after president of CONICET, but did not accompany him during Macri’s presidency: he resigned on December 4, 2015 because the Cambiemos administration did not guarantee scientific policies.
In July 2016, Salvarezza was chosen by his peers as representative of the Exact and Natural Sciences area in the CONICET board of directors, but the Government did not approve his appointment, a fact hitherto unprecedented in the history of the entity. The scientific community described the fact as an act of “political discrimination”.
