By Leonard Rodriguez
This column highlights inspiring stories of Latino leaders. For more than 500 years, Latino men and women have positively influenced the face of United States society. Let us celebrate these outstanding hispanics.

Irma GigliIrma Gigli

Throughout her medical career, Irma Gigli has conducted immunology and dermatology research at Harvard Medical School, the Universitat der Stadt Frankfurt in Germany and Oxford University in England with Nobel Laureate Rodney Porter. Born in Argentina in 1931, she arrived in the U.S. in 1958. Since 1982, she has headed the dermatology division at the San Diego School of medicine at the University of California at San Diego. A member of more than 15 medical associations and foundations, Gigli has published numerous research papers and lectured throughout the U.S., Latin America and Europe. Today, she is one of a handful of women in the world to chair a university department in a medical field.