Dr Eduardo Bruera is director of the Department of Palliative Medicine, Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine at MD Anderson, which he founded in 1999, and is a specialist in alleviating suffering of people with advanced disease. He is also executive director of the Palliative Research Group and a professor at the University of Texas School of Biomedical Sciences. 

A pioneer in the clinical assessment of symptoms and patient needs, Bruera designed the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) in the 80s, which has been validated and translated into more than twenty languages and used worldwide in clinical practice. Furthermore, he has dedicated part of his research to analyse the effectiveness of palliative intervention and has concluded that good care for the patient in the final stage of their life allows the use of futile high-cost therapies to be reduced, in addition to improving patient well-being and helping them cope with their own death.

He has promoted the development of programmes in developing countries in Latin America, India and different parts of Europe, and has trained hundreds of doctors, nurses and other health professionals in the supportive end-of-life patient care. He has also presented over 900 papers and is a regular guest at the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) Congress and the Spanish Society of Palliative Care (SECPAL) National Conference.

Since his career began, the palliative care expert has received more than 30 international awards and recognitions, among which are the National Leadership Award of the American Association of Hospice & Palliative Medicine and doctor honoris causa in Medicine from the University of Montreal. Bruera has more than 1,400 scientific publications in international journals with nearly 40,000 citations and has edited more than 30 books.

The investiture ceremony will also mark the beginning of the Symposium on People, Care and Society. “Reenvisioning care for a more humane society” which, from 18 to 20 May, will allow us to reflect on the human dimension of the care and the work of those who care for others as an essential aspect of our lives as individuals and as a society.