Dr. Rafael Burgos Aguilera elected Dean of the College of Veterinary Sciences UACh – UACh News

In a vote held on Tuesday, June 25, in the ceremonial room of the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences of the Austral University of Chile, Dr. Rafael Burgos Aguilera was elected Dean of the said faculty unit for the period 2024-2027.

Dr. Aguilera, Director of the Institute of Pharmacology and Morphological Physiology, and Dr. Marcelo Gomez, current Brodian and academic at the same institute, applied for this position, in elections that included in-person and electronic voting.

The Secretary General of the University, Dr. Pablo Marshall, acted as Minister of Faith in this process as 35 academics cast their votes and the final tally was 19 votes for Dr. Burgos, 14 votes for Dr. Gomez and two blank votes.

During the afternoon of Monday and in front of the faculty of the College, both candidates presented their programs of work and key guidelines in the field of undergraduate and graduate study, research and links with the environment and institutional management.

University support

“It is a matter of pride to be dean again because of the prestige that the college has,” said Dr. Burgos, adding that this college unit “enjoys excellent indicators of scientific productivity, very good rates of project grants and graduate programs and a series of initiatives that we can Continue to contribute to it, such as diplomas and the establishment of professional professors.

Along these lines, he highlighted that the work of the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences is very much in line with the recovery plan implemented by UACh. “There is an internal recovery plan that we have prepared with the Deanship of Dr. Enriquez that specifically contributes to achieving significant progress in the indicators to which the university has committed. In this sense, a distinctive feature of my way of working will also be to align our teaching staff with these indicators.

He stressed that it is important to “support the university with what we are doing to confront the crisis. I believe that the major crises that human groups suffer from must be addressed collectively to move forward, and that is why I believe that the college must be part of the solution.”

In this regard, he stated that the college “also needs to continue developing, so we have to take care of the most important thing, which is its students, its academic staff and its non-academic support staff, who together support veterinary medical training and the projection of our discipline at the national level.”

The team that will accompany Dr. Burgos in this period consists of Dr. Gerardo Acosta who will take over as Prodican, Dr. Tamara Tadic who will be Director of the Graduate School and Dr. Javiera Bahamonde as Academic Secretary.

a path

Dr. Rafael Burgos is a veterinarian who graduated in 1990 from the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences of the Austral University of Chile and obtained a Master of Science degree in Pharmacology from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Chile.

His academic career was marked by dedication to teaching and research in the fields of pharmacy and veterinary medicine. He has taught courses in various specialties and has been responsible for multiple investigations in the field of pharmacology and immunology, 6 regular projects of FONDECYT, 1 INNOVA-CORFO, 1 FONDEF, 1 FONDEQUIP as responsible researcher, as well as various projects as co-investigator. – Researcher who published 104 articles in WoS journals and 3 patents granted in the United States of America.

Dr. Burgos’s line of research focuses on the study of natural product pharmacology, toxicology, and immune responses in animals and humans. This work had an impact on the immunological effects of natural compounds and the implementation of specialized laboratories in the analysis of mediators of inflammation and metabolic disorders.

A full professor since 2007, he has sponsored several undergraduate and postgraduate theses (MA and PhD), contributing to the training of new professionals in his area. He also held several administrative positions at the university, as he was Director of the Institute of Pharmacy (2003-2005), Director of the College of Graduate Studies (2004-2005), Prodicano (2006-2011) and Dean of the College of Veterinary Sciences. (2012-2015). In addition, he has been a member of numerous panels and committees, including the Committee of Citation for the Doctor of Veterinary Science Program and the Self-Evaluation Committee for the Veterinary Profession, among others.