He sips mate, the bitter brew of his native Uruguay as he converses at PAHO's offices in Havana. Yet, he already feels at home here, says Dr Di Fabio, who took up his post in July of 2011. This is not surprising, since his connection to Cuban health care and research predates his arrival by two decades. In 1992-93, he worked on the Americas' vaccine system (SIREVA) for PAHO and became involved in monitoring cooperation in vaccine regulatory issues, quality and production. From that period emerged one of Latin America's great achievements: Vicente Verez Bencomo's development at the University of Havana of the world's first Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) synthetic-antigen vaccine. Dr Di Fabio came to Cuba often to follow up on the vaccine's regulatory process, production, and quality control for PAHO. Later, he continued working on access to vaccine technology at PAHO headquarters in Washington, DC. It's a journey that has taken him not only far from home, but also from his professional beginnings in Vancouver, Canada, as a PhD in organic chemistry. But it's Dr Di Fabio's "chemistry" with Cuba that is the subject of our conversation, his openness incongruent with the stiff antique furniture in his upstairs PAHO quarters-which nevertheless offer one of the best tree-top views of the Cuban capital.
