After surviving Covid, Brazilian is among the most influential scientists in the world

Congratulations messages keep arriving on the cell phone of surgeon Angelita Habr-Gama, 89, who this week was recognized by Stanford University (USA) as one of the doctors who most contributed to the development of science in the world.

“It was a recognition I didn’t expect. I hope it will be an incentive for Brazilian researchers, especially for women. The first thing a woman needs is self-confidence and showing that to others. And not taking no for an answer”, she says. professor emeritus at USP, in an interview with sheet in his apartment, in Moema (south zone of São Paulo).

The doctor was included among the 2% of scientists most cited in various disciplines in the world. The report was prepared by a team of experts led by Stanford professor John Ioannidis, in partnership with publisher Elsevier BV.

Angelita is one of the most awarded Brazilian researchers and has published more than 200 scientific articles in journals indexed in the PubMed database.

For the surgeon, her scientific production reflects the quality of medicine and the Brazilian surgical school. “It’s a pity that the country doesn’t value science, culture, education. The funds, which were already few, are decreasing even more. Did you see that this week they cut more funds from culture? Outside of here, you’re already ashamed to say is Brazilian.”

The award comes two years after the surgeon contracted Covid-19 and spent 50 days sedated in the ICU of Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz, an institution to which she has been linked for over 60 years.

“I got to the hospital, had the CT scan and the lungs were completely taken over. When my colleagues saw it, I bet they said: ‘Oh, now the doctor is going’. And I thought: ‘I’m going to die, but I lived a very good life, I got the I want and what I didn’t even imagine’. I was sedated immediately and I remember the last thing I thought was, ‘I don’t want to die.’

After discharge, she says that she resumed activities in ten days and has not stopped. She continues to attend the office and operate. After hospitalization, she added chess lessons to her routine on Wednesdays at Clube Paulistano. In the past, she played volleyball and tennis at the same club, during which time she participated in championships and collected several medals.

“I like to fight. I’ve always liked to fight since I was little. But I know how to lose too, I find it delicious when the opponent is better than me. But when [o adversário] it’s mixed and I lose it silly, then I get annoyed.”

Today, she says it was a “good experience” to go through a near death due to Covid because she learned to value life even more.

“I enjoy life, I don’t miss anything. I enjoy everyday life, I enjoy my house, I enjoy the food, I enjoy the company of relatives and friends, I enjoy the newspapers, I enjoy the magazines.”

Married to another surgeon, Joaquim Gama, the doctor believes that she inherited from her mother the immense will to live. “My mother died at the age of 97. She used to say to me: ‘You go to so many medical conferences. I don’t want to die. I still have so much to do!’ I think I’ll be like her. When I have to die, I’ll die under protest.”

According to Angelita, the loss of loved ones, such as her parents, five of her six siblings and several friends, is the main pain she carries. “O [empresário] Antonio Ermirio de Moraes [1928-2014] he was my friend, my great friend. O [jornalista] Julio Mesquita [1922-1996] was another dear friend. Now I understand why a lot of people get sad when they get older. You will lose the friends of your generation, you will lose references.”

At the same time, the surgeon loves to surround herself with younger people, like her assistants and great-nephews.

“We go out with them, we go out to dinner, we travel. With their great-nephews and their friends, all aged 25, 30. They call me Tia Gê. I don’t go out with my old friends. The conversations are always the same: ‘It hurts here, it hurts there’.”

About possible future projects, the doctor says that the main thing is to continue living the day to day well. “If you go through death like I did, you don’t do many projects. You know you could die soon. If you do a lot of projects, you’re missing the moment, today.”

Born on Marajó Island (PA), Gama entered the USP School of Medicine in 1952, at the age of 19. She has won more than 50 scientific awards and is a world reference in coloproctology, a specialty that takes care of diseases of the large intestine, rectum and anus.

Since arriving at college, Angelita has been collecting pioneering ideas. She is the first female holder of surgery at USP, the first to be accepted by the American Society of Surgery and the first awarded by the European Society of Surgery.

In addition, he was president of the Brazilian Society and the Latin American Society of Coloproctology and the Brazilian College of Digestive Surgery.

Shortly before being infected by Covid in 2020, the doctor released the biography “O Não é Answer” (DBA Editora), written by Ignácio de Loyola Brandão. In the book, she reports the barriers faced and the achievements in the surgical area, which is still one of the areas with the lowest number of women.

“The first ‘no’ I heard was from my parents, when I chose medicine and they wanted me to be a teacher, like my sisters. Then, when I decided to have surgery, the head of the residency said it was better for me to go to the area clinic, that the surgery was for men. I went ahead, took the exam and passed.”

When he decided on the specialty of coloproctology, he faced resistance again. After getting a scholarship to intern at a London hospital specializing in colorectal surgery, she was initially barred on the grounds that the institution only accepted men. “I was the first woman to intern there.”

Upon entering the job market, things became simpler, according to her. “I’ve always worked on an equal footing, at the same level of work as men, or even more,” she says.