Arthur Guerra’s Journey at the Helm of CISA: 21 Years of Leadership and Commitment

As he concludes his term after 21 years of leadership, Dr. Arthur Guerra leaves a remarkable legacy at CISA. Founder and president since 2004, he guided the institution in building a national benchmark in alcohol and health. His trajectory was decisive in strengthening the institution’s mission and expanding the reach of scientific information across the country.

Psychiatrist Arthur Guerra led the Center for Information on Health and Alcohol (CISA) from its founding in 2004 until 2025. Over these 21 years, he played a decisive role in consolidating the institution as the country’s foremost national reference in the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge on alcohol and health.

Under his leadership, CISA was created with a clear mission: to provide high-quality, evidence-based, and freely accessible information to support Brazilian society in understanding the impacts of alcohol consumption. Arthur Guerra directly contributed to transforming this mission into continuous, consistent, and widely recognized work.

During his tenure, CISA published studies, technical reports, educational materials, and pioneering initiatives that helped fill information gaps and promote essential debates on alcohol and health. Among the highlights is the annual publication series “Alcohol and the Health of Brazilians,” which since 2019 has become a reference document for public managers, health professionals, researchers, educators, the press, and society at large.

In addition to his institutional role, Arthur Guerra brought to CISA his extensive clinical and academic experience in the field of substance dependence. His multidisciplinary vision helped broaden the center’s focus to include themes such as prevention, social vulnerabilities, mental health, and determinants of alcohol consumption, contributing to the institution’s recognition for technical excellence and scientific rigor.

Over these 21 years, his management was characterized by a commitment to credibility, a defense of transparency, and a constant pursuit of improvement in CISA’s content and methodologies. His dedication enabled the center to become a respected space for information and dialogue, with a direct impact on public awareness and the training of professionals throughout the country.

Acknowledgments

CISA expresses its deep gratitude to Dr. Arthur Guerra for more than two decades of leadership, dedication, and strategic vision. His work was essential for the institution to achieve the recognition it enjoys today and for the topic of alcohol and health to gain greater visibility and depth in the Brazilian public debate.

His legacy endures in the principles he established, in the quality of the content produced, and in the culture of scientific responsibility he helped build. CISA moves forward grounded in the trajectory he initiated—a path marked by commitment to public health, science, and high-quality information.

Succeeding him as the institution’s new Executive President is Natalia Haddad, a psychiatrist with a medical degree from the ABC School of Medicine and a PhD from the Institute of Psychiatry at the Hospital das Clínicas of São Paulo (IPq-HCFMUSP, 2024). Natalia also serves as a psychiatrist at Hospital Sírio-Libanês (São Paulo) and is the coordinator of that service’s Psychoses Unit.

Her appointment to the Executive Presidency of CISA represents a new chapter in the institution’s history, marked by renewal, broader perspectives, and strengthened dialogue with contemporary public health challenges. With a solid academic background, clinical experience, and work at centers of excellence, Natalia brings the promise of a management focused on modernization, scientific innovation, and the development of new projects, while maintaining the technical rigor that has always characterized CISA.

Under her leadership, CISA reaffirms its commitment to producing and disseminating high-quality knowledge, continuously updating the debate on alcohol and health, and building strategies increasingly aligned with the country’s social, cultural, and epidemiological transformations.

Thank you, Dr. Arthur Guerra, for your invaluable contribution to CISA and to Brazil.