Dr. Quique Bassat is a medical doctor specialized in pediatrics, tropical medicine, and epidemiology, and holds a PhD in Medical Sciences from the University of Barcelona. He is currently Director General of ISGlobal and an ICREA Research Professor, and previously served as Head of the Malaria and Neglected Parasitic Diseases Programme at ISGlobal (2019–2024).
As a pediatrician and global health researcher, his work is driven by the goal of reducing child mortality, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. He has conducted extensive research in Africa, Asia, and Latin America on malaria, respiratory infections, yaws, pneumonia, neonatal sepsis, and other major causes of childhood mortality. His work on Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax malaria has contributed to improved characterization of disease severity, as well as to the development and evaluation of new treatment, prevention, and eradication strategies, including vaccines and novel antimalarial drugs.
Dr. Bassat has also led research on host and prognostic biomarkers to improve diagnosis, risk stratification, and triage of febrile children in resource-limited settings, and has played a key role in validating minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) as an innovative and widely adopted approach to determining causes of death in low-income countries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he contributed to studies on prevention and treatment strategies, pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infection, and advised the Spanish Government on pediatric COVID-19 and school reopening policies.
He has authored more than 570 scientific publications and over 25 book chapters. His contributions have been recognized with the Narcís Monturiol Medal for scientific and technological merit and the ASTMH Distinguished International Fellow award.