We have recently received the very sad and unexpected news that our Advisory Board member Professor Lauro Kubota, a distinguished scientist and pioneer in the field of electrochemical sensing has passed. Lauro most recently served as an Advisory Board member for Sensors & Diagnostics and previously for Analytical Methods.
Professor Lauro Kubota, Photograph: University of Campinas, Brazil
Lauro received his PhD in Chemistry from the State University of Campinas in 1993 and joined the Institute of Chemistry at Unicamp as an Assistant Professor of Analytical Chemistry in 1994, becoming a Full Professor in 2009. During this time, he participated in multiple scientific endeavors including acting as the Coordinator of the Central Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry at Unicamp and the Research Coordinator of the Institute of Chemistry. He had also been the Coordinator of the National Institute of Science and Technology of Bioanalytics (INCTBio) since 2008 and was named as the Director of the Institute of Chemistry at Unicamp in 2014 and held this position for 4 years.
Lauro was a brilliant leader in the field of electrochemical sensing, receiving numerous accolades as a result of his contributions towards the development of sensors and biosensors. He pioneered innovative electrode modification techniques for the advancement of biosensor technologies for clinical, environmental and food-related applications. Additionally, he published outstanding work centered on utilising novel electrochemical methods for point-of-care diagnostics and bioassays.
As a result of his scientific and academic excellence Lauro received several awards and honours, including being awarded the Inventor of the Year in 2000 by the government of the state of São Paulo and the Zeferino Vaz Award for Academic Recognition which he was awarded in 2004 and 2023. Lauro was also awarded the Rheinboldt-Hauptmann Award in 2023.
Besides being a fantastic scientist, Lauro acted as a supervisor to the next generation of scientists, supervising numerous students at various stages of their academic career. He was a very well respected and liked teacher, colleague and supervisor who will be dearly missed.
Sensors & Diagnostics and Analytical Methods truly appreciated Lauro’s efforts with each journal and his passing is a tremendous loss for the scientific community. Our thoughts are with his family, colleagues and friends.