In the history of Romanian medicine, the name of Marius Nasta holds a place of honor, as he is regarded as the founder of modern Romanian phthisiology. He was born in Bucharest on December 4, 1890, into a family where both scientific and cultural traditions were intertwined. His father, Alexandru Nasta, an Aromanian engineer, died prematurely, leaving his wife Irina to raise four children alone.

Childhood and origins of a remarkable personality

Irina, who came from a Greek family of intellectuals, found the strength to support her children by giving piano lessons. This difficult period deeply shaped Marius’s character, instilling in him humility, responsibility, and a strong desire to be of help to others.

He completed primary school between 1896 and 1900 and then attended “Gheorghe Lazăr” High School, graduating in 1908. That same year, he entered the Faculty of Medicine in Bucharest.

The influence of Ioan Cantacuzino and formative years

His professional destiny was decisively shaped by his encounter with Professor Ioan Cantacuzino, one of Romania’s greatest scientists. Cantacuzino was not only an internationally renowned researcher but also an exceptional teacher who inspired his students with his ability to blend science, art, and culture.

Under his mentorship, Marius Nasta came to understand that medicine was more than treating patients, it was about research, prevention, and social responsibility.

Even as a student, between 1911 and 1913, Nasta worked as a medical extern for the Eforia of Civil Hospitals and later as an intern at Brâncovenesc Hospital.

Meanwhile, he faced the harsh reality of war: in 1913, during the Second Balkan War, a cholera epidemic ravaged the Romanian army. Nasta, who had become a senior sergeant medic, was sent to Zimnicea, where he worked under the guidance of professors Babeș and Cantacuzino.

In extreme conditions and at great personal risk, he helped save thousands of lives. This experience convinced him that medicine was not only a science but also an act of sacrifice for the well-being of the community.

War, epidemics, and a vocation for public health

The First World War brought new challenges. Nasta was drafted and treated wounded soldiers as well as epidemic victims. He realized that the major medical problems of the time could not be solved without a systematic approach rooted in prevention and public health education.

After graduating from the Faculty of Medicine in 1918, he went to Paris, where he worked at the Pasteur Institute until 1920—one of the most prestigious medical institutions in the world.

His contact with leading French scientists broadened his horizons and gave him a clear understanding of the essential role of research in combating infectious diseases.

Career at the Cantacuzino Institute

Upon his return to Romania in 1921, he became a research assistant at the Institute for Sera and Vaccines, later known as the Cantacuzino Institute. For a decade, he was directly involved in producing vaccines vital to public health—against polio, typhus, diphtheria, and other serious diseases.

In 1926, he was appointed head of the tuberculosis department. To further his specialization, he trained in Paris, at the Laennec Hospital and in the laboratory of Albert Calmette, the inventor of the BCG vaccine. A year later, thanks to a Rockefeller fellowship, he traveled to the United States, where he trained at Saranac Lake, the world’s leading center for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.

These international experiences allowed him to bring back to Romania the most advanced diagnostic and treatment methods of the time. Between 1928 and 1934, Nasta worked simultaneously at the Cantacuzino Institute and at the Social Insurance Fund, as a lung disease specialist.

Screening and prevention campaigns against tuberculosis

After the death of Cantacuzino in 1934, Nasta left the institute and took over a pulmonary diseases department at Pantelimon Hospital. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, he became the driving force behind prevention and early detection campaigns against tuberculosis.

In 1939, he organized a large-scale rural screening campaign, examining over 40,000 people. He introduced the method of micro-radiography, which made it possible to diagnose tuberculosis quickly and accurately. In 1941, he opened in Bucharest the first center for tuberculosis diagnosis through micro-radiophotography—a groundbreaking step for public health in Romania.

War, responsibility, and new institutions

During the Second World War, Nasta served as a major in the medical corps and coordinated medical teams during the air raids on Bucharest. Between 1944 and 1949, he headed the phthisiology clinic at Filaret Hospital, becoming the leading figure of Romania’s anti-tuberculosis movement.

The decisive moment of his career came in 1949, when he founded the country’s first Institute of Phthisiology. Under his leadership, the institution became a model of good medical practice and soon expanded with branches in Cluj and Iași. In a speech delivered in 1945, he said with deep emotion:

“I came into contact with the sad reality of the great misery and suffering of tuberculosis patients… and thus I joined the pioneers of the anti-tuberculosis fight in Romania.”

Private life and intellectual circles

In 1922, Nasta married Lucia “Loulou” Băicoianu, the daughter of a well-known economist and banker. Together they had four children, and their family home became a vibrant meeting place for prominent artists and intellectuals of the time: painters Jean Steriadi and Theodor Pallady, sculptors Ion Jalea and Milița Petrașcu, musicians and philosophers such as Dimitrie Cuclin.

His close friendship with writer Panait Istrati, whom he treated in his final years, brought him into direct contact with the literary world. In 1913, Nasta had also met Prince Vladimir Ghika, whose deep spirituality left a lasting impression on him and led his wife to convert to Catholicism—a rare and daring decision for that era.

Clash with the communist regime

Although the communist regime initially recognized his achievements and used them as proof of the success of state health programs, relations quickly soured. Nasta refused to join the Communist Party and openly criticized the shortcomings of the health system. His ties with “bourgeois” intellectuals soon made him a target.

In 1958, the Securitate opened a secret investigation against him, falsely accusing him of collaborating with British intelligence. In 1959, he was subjected to a staged public trial: “exposed” in a gathering at the Faculty of Law, he was accused of “contempt for the regime,” “listening to imperialist radio stations,” and “spreading rumors.”

He was stripped of all public positions and brutally humiliated. His health deteriorated after this ordeal. In 1963, he was diagnosed with cancer, and two years later, in 1965, he died at the age of 74.

The legacy of the brilliant Marius Nasta

Although his life ended during a time of political persecution and marginalization, his scientific and moral legacy endured.

After the fall of communism, his memory was rehabilitated. The Institute of Phthisiology was renamed the “Marius Nasta Institute of Pneumo-Phthisiology,” in honor of the man who founded modern Romanian phthisiology.

Nasta was not only an exceptional doctor but also a moral conscience of his time. He refused to compromise, defended the integrity of the medical profession, and always placed the well-being of patients above everything else.

His lessons in responsibility, humanity, and courage remain relevant even today, as public health faces new global challenges.

A model of dignity and sacrifice

The story of Marius Nasta is the story of a man who dedicated his entire life to the fight against tuberculosis, a disease that devastated the 20th century. He trained generations of doctors, built lasting institutions, and brought to Romania the most advanced diagnostic and treatment methods of his era.

Although the communist regime tried to erase his name through slander and humiliation, posterity restored him to his rightful place: among the great personalities who shaped the destiny of a nation.

Today, when we hear the name “Marius Nasta,” we are reminded not only of a medical institute but also of a doctor who knew how to combine science with humility, courage with responsibility, and personal sacrifice with devotion to his patients. He remains a symbol of the struggle for life, a model of integrity, and a luminous figure in the history of modern Romania.

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