Carlos Chagas

Carlos Chagas
Carlos Chagas
Born	9 July 1879; Oliveira, Minas Gerais, Empire of Brazil
Died	8 November 1934 (aged 55); Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Alma mater	Medical School of Rio de Janeiro
Known for	Chagas disease
Parents	José Justiniano das Chagas (father); Mariana Cândida Chagas (mother);
Awards	Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy (1920); Commander of the Order of the Crown of Belgium (1923); Knight of the Legion of Honour (1923); Officer of the Order of St. James of the Sword (1924); Commander of the Order of Alfonso XII (1925); Commander of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (1926); Knight of the Order of the Crown of Romania (1929);
	Scientific career
Fields	Microbiology; Medicine
Institutions	Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
Thesis	Estudos hematológicos no impaludismo (1903)
Doctoral advisor	Francisco Fajardo

Carlos Justiniano Ribeiro Chagas (Portuguese: [ˈkaʁluz ʒustʃĩniˈɐ̃nu ʁiˈbejɾu ˈʃaɡɐs]; 9 July 1879 – 8 November 1934), was a Brazilian sanitary physician, scientist, and microbiologist who worked as a clinician and researcher. Best known for the discovery of an eponymous protozoal infection called Chagas disease, also called American trypanosomiasis, he also discovered the causative fungi of the pneumocystis pneumonia. He described the two pathogens in 1909, while he was working at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute in Rio de Janeiro, and named the former Trypanosoma cruzi to honour his friend Oswaldo Cruz.

Chagas's work holds a unique place in the history of medicine, Chagas described in detail a previously-unknown infectious disease, its pathogen, vector (Triatominae), host, clinical manifestations, and epidemiology. Chagas was also the first to discover and illustrate the parasitic fungal genus Pneumocystis, which later became infamous for being linked to pneumocystis pneumonia in AIDS patients.