In brief
Uruguayan epidemiologist Gonzalo Moratorio died at 44 in Montevideo after a battle with glioblastoma, an aggress‑ive brain tumor. Recognized by *Nature* as one of the top ten scientists of 2020, Moratorio’s work helped develop national COVID‑19 tests during the pandemic. President Yamandú Orsi pledged national gratitude and the scientist will be honored in the Legislative Palace.
Uruguayan scientist Gonzalo Moratorio died at 44 in Montevideo on Nov. 5 after battling glioblastoma, the announcement from Prensa Latina reported.
Moratorio’s 2020 work made him one of the world’s most cited science figures, with the UK journal *Nature* naming him among its top ten scientists that year. He directed the Laboratory for the Experimental Evolution of Viruses at the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo and taught at the University of the Republic.
During the pandemic, Moratorio served as a government advisor and helped design Uruguay’s national COVID‑19 diagnostic test, a system credited by *Nature* with preventing a cascade of infections and deaths.
Following the announcement, President Yamandú Orsi posted an X message praising the scientist’s impact. “Uruguay will be eternally grateful to him,” Orsi wrote.
"Uruguay will be eternally grateful to him,"
President Orsi’s statement added that Moratorio would be honored in the Legislative Palace, with high‑ranking officials, lawmakers and members of the scientific community expected to attend a memorial ceremony.
This development follows a series of reports confirming Moratorio’s long‑term battle with his brain tumor, which was detailed in a prior release from the Ministry of Health. The news has been flagged as breaking by PulseWire News, and eyewitness statements from colleagues in Montevideo described the city’s sorrow over the loss of a national scientific icon.
