Dear colleagues, dear friends,
It is with deep sadness that we learned of the passing on March 12th of Professor Martin DANIS, an exemplary physician, but also a man of science and commitment.
He dedicated his life to parasitology and mycology, disciplines in which he left his mark on research and teaching. Born on May 12, 1941, in Chambéry, he studied at the Faculty of Medicine in Paris. After receiving his doctorate in medicine in 1970, he joined the team of Professor Marc Gentilini at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, succeeding him as Head of the Parasitology and Mycology Department in 1993, following a distinguished academic career: Lecturer in 1981, University Professor in 1985, and then First Class Professor in 1993 at the Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris VI).
Deeply involved in public health, he was a member of the French High Council of Public Hygiene, Communicable Disease Prevention section, and later President of the Committee for Travel-Related and Imported Diseases (CMVI) of the High Council of Public Health. He was also a member of the Medical Commission of the Raoul Follereau Associations, which fight against all forms of exclusion caused by disease, including leprosy, ignorance, and poverty.
His name will remain associated with major advances in the field of tropical and parasitic diseases, particularly the fight against malaria and opportunistic parasitic infections. As co-leader of an INSERM research team, he actively participated in the development of new diagnostic methods and antiparasitic treatments, while also being involved in the scientific and ethics committees that shaped modern medicine.
Beyond a physician and researcher, Martin Danis was a passionate educator. Responsible for teaching his discipline at the Pitié-Salpétrière Faculty of Medicine, he trained generations of students, physicians, and researchers and played a major role in the reform of medical education in France. His involvement in numerous learned societies, including the French Society of Parasitology, the Society of Exotic Pathology, and the American Association of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, is a testament to his national and international scientific influence.
His commitment was not limited to lecture halls and hospitals. He traveled the world, from Mauritania to Vietnam, from Cameroon to French Guiana, participating in research, teaching, and health cooperation missions. His expertise was invaluable in the fight against tropical diseases in the most affected countries.
Even after his official retirement, he continued his work of dissemination and publication; in 2022, he participated in a conference on Alphonse Laveran, reminding us that the fight against malaria was far from over. Until recent years, he continued to publish and advise his colleagues on advances in antiparasitic and antifungal treatments.
Those who were fortunate enough to work with him daily know that behind his apparent austerity hid a warm, rigorous, and upright man of absolute moral integrity, open-minded, and attentive to the staff in his department and to his colleagues.
Martin Danis leaves us, leaving a legacy of knowledge, humanity, and a passion for medicine. His memory will continue to guide those who, in turn, will devote themselves to the fight against infectious and parasitic diseases.
We express our gratitude and respect to him. Luc Paris, Marc Thellier, Renaud Piarroux, and his colleagues and former colleagues from the Parasitology-Mycology Department at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital.
