Damián Verzenassi

Damián Verzenassi is committed to the idea that a truly fair and healthy society cannot exist on damaged and unlivable land. Since his youth, he has been active in collective spaces that defend health, democracy, and environmental justice—recognizing that these struggles must be grounded in territory and shared knowledge.

A physician and professor at public universities in Argentina, Damián created the course Socio-Environmental Health as a student, and later founded an institute of the same name. He also developed and implemented the Sanitation Camp, a methodology for evaluating epidemiological profiles in Argentina’s agro-industrial regions—bringing attention to the health consequences of extractive development.

A central thread in his work has been bridging the divide between universities and communities. Damián promotes a science grounded in dignity and service to the people, advancing horizontal dialogue between academic and popular knowledge. He co-founded the Union of Scientists Committed to Society and Nature in Latin America (UCCSNAL) and the journal Decent Science, and later helped establish the Civil Association of Socio-Environmental Health to ensure the autonomy of territorial engagement—particularly in the face of institutional resistance and political pressure at his home university.