Juan Navia

Dr. Juan M. Navia (born 1927; died September 4, 2010) was born in Havana, Cuba and spent most of his professional career in academia at UAB. He received bachelors and masters degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and then returned to Cuba, where he taught at the Universidad Santo Tomas de Villanueva, a Catholic University in Havana. In 1959, Fidel Castro took over the school, closed its doors, and persecuted many of the students and faculty. Navia and his family fled Cuba, leaving all material possessions behind.

In the U.S., Navia earned a Ph.D. degree in Nutritional Biochemistry in 1965 and became an associate professor at M.I.T. He joined the faculty at the UAB School of Dentistry in 1968. It was after his retirement that Navia enrolled at Springhill College in Mobile, to earn a masters degree in theology.

Navia enjoyed a productive academic life at UAB and published over 150 papers, consulted for many major corporations, and published a book, "Animal Models in Dental Research", considered by many a practical bible standardizing humane use of animals in dental research. He held numerous academic positions over the next 25 years including Director of the Nutrition and Oral Health Training Programs, Senior Scientist at the Institute of Dental Research, and Professor in the departments of Oral Biology, Comparative Medicine, Nutrition Sciences, and Public Health Sciences. He was the Director of the UAB Sparkman Center for Global Health from 1979–1993, and later became Dean of the School of Public Health.

Navia worked with faculty at UAB and other universities to establish training programs in Public Health at universities in developing countries, most notably Colombia, Jamaica, Peru, and Thailand. He was recipient of the Senior International Fogarty Fellowship Award 1979; H. Trendly Dean, IADR and UAB Distinguished Faculty Lecturer awards in 1990, UAB 1992 President's Medal, and Hispanic Dental Association 1995 Presidential Award for Leadership. After retirement, he was recognized as Fellow of the American Institute of Nutrition, presented with an Honorary Degree of Doctor in Dental Science at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, and 2007 Global Citizen Award in Recognition of Leadership and Academic Excellence in International Health Education.

In retirement, Navia returned to the life of a student, earning a MA degree in Theology from Spring Hill College. He developed his thesis on the life of Father Felix Varela into a book, "An Apostle for the Immigrants", that he self-published in the fall of 2002.

He and his wife, Josefina, had two sons, Juan and Carlos, and two daughters, Ana and Beatriz.

Preceded by: William Bridgers

Dean, UAB School of Public Health 1989 - 1990 (acting); 1990 - 1991

Succeeded by: Dale Williams

Publications

• Navia, Juan M. (1977) Animal Models in Dental Research. Birmingham, Alabama: University of Alabama Press ISBN 0817323023
• Navia, Juan M. (2002) An Apostle for the Immigrants: The Exile Years of Father Félix Varela y Morales (1823-1853). Factor Pr: ISBN 1887650377

References

• (September 9, 2010) "Remembering Dr. Juan Navia" UAB School of Public Health website