Carlos Alberto de Barros Franco

Carlos Alberto de Barros Franco is a Brazilian physician. He was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1946. He initiated his studies in Colégio Brasil América and in 1966 was approved to the medicine graduation in the Universidade Federal Fluminense called at the time Faculdade Nacional de Medicina.

During his academic years, he had particular interest for the physiology of the human body, being monitor of the Physiology Course of the Biomedic Science Institute.

As of his forth year as a medical student he demonstrated special interest for the clinical medicine, having his first contacts with patients through his internship in the Clinical Medicine Service of the Hospital Souza Aguiar.

He was approved for a Academic Medicine Scholarship from the Health Department of the old Guanabara State. The interest for mechanical ventilation arouse during this period as a necessity of keeping alive the critical patients with low-grade equipment, what demanded artisan habilities and deep knowledge of the physiopathological changes.

For his interest in the critically ill patients and in the breathing physiopathology he was apporved for an internship in the Intensive Care Unit of Hospital do Andaraí. Consecutively with this internship he held his official internship in Medical Clinic in Santa Casa da Misericódia do Rio de Janeiro.

He graduated in December 1971, being ranking in 8th in the global classification of the Medical School.

After graduation he continued his studies in the area of Pneumology, in the physiopneumology department of the IASERJ Hospital.

He continued his improvement in Brazil with a Master in Physiology and Pneumology in UFRJ's Physiology and Pneumology Institute.

As part of his improvement abroad he has been visiting physicist of various hospitals as Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, Canada's Toronto General Hospital, Los Angeles County Hospital, Houston's MD Anderson Hospital and Buenos Aires' Hospital Español.

He began teaching just after his medical graduation, when he started to collaborate with the lecture of the first class of Medical Clinic in UFRJ. On July 3, 1975 his position as a professor was officialized and he was admitted as Auxiliary Professor.

Dr. Barros Franco went through many commanding posts as Medical Clinic Supervisor, Shift Chief of the Intensive Care Unit of UFRJ's Clementino Fraga Filho Hospital, responsible for the Pneumology Discipline in UFRJ's Medical School, Chief of Pneumology in UFRJ's HUCFF, etc.

In 1998 he was awarded the Tiradentes Medal by Alice Tamborindeguy, member of the house of representatives.

He is a member of the Academia Nacional de Medicina where he occupies chair #59.