Prof. Dr. Irinel Popescu, corresponding member of the Romanian Academy and full member of the Academy of Romanian Scientists, surgeon with international reputation, received the title of associate member abroad of the French National Academy of Medicine, within the Surgical Sciences Section. The ceremony of awarding the title and the official insignia took place at the festive meeting on 9 January 2024. The election vote took place eight months ago, in May 2023.
Professor Irinel Popescu generously dedicates this title to Romania and the national surgical field: “Romania has received a recognition of the merits of surgery!”
The French National Academy of Medicine, one of Europe’s most renowned scientific institutions, brings together doctors, surgeons, biologists, pharmacists and veterinarians recognised for their scientific work and their responsibilities in the field of health.
The National Academy of Medicine in France has carried this title since 29 January 1947, but the institution has a long history. It is the heir to the Royal Academy of Medicine created by Louis XVIII as an institution independent of the four existing French branch Academies within the Institut de France. This, in turn, had inherited the tradition of two scientific institutions, namely the Royal Academy of Surgery, founded in 1731 by Louis XV, and the Royal Society of Medicine, founded in 1778 under Louis XVI. Since its foundation, the French National Academy of Medicine has had eleven Nobel Prize-winning national members.