Tito Ureta

Option 2:

Tito Ureta was born in Iquique, 1935. He was one of the main promoters, diffusers and initiators of experimental Biochemistry in Chile. His first profession was medicine, however, over the years focused on his work in research and experimental work. In 1960 he joined a group with Dr. Hermann Niemeyer, with whom he carried out his thesis on the purification and characterization of the enzyme responsible for glucose phosphorylation in mammalian liver. Throughout his career he described 4 hexokinase isoenzymes and investigated in the field of metabolic regulation in vivo. Later he was president of the Society of Biology (1977 - 1978) and the Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Chile (1983-1984). He worked in our faculty until he passed away.

 I admire him mainly because I feel that he did incredible things in a country where science isn’t a priority. In his time biochemistry practically didn’t exist in Chile, and without he perhaps science in our country would not be as we know it today. Tito Ureta makes me feel that I can achieve great things, He drives me to continue studying every time I’m about to give up because I don’t understand my subjects, it’s a great motivator for me.