Jacinto Convit | Battled leprosy, 100

Jacinto Convit, a scientist who played a key role in fighting two of the world's most feared diseases, has died in Venezuela at age 100.

Dr. Convit's work toward a vaccine for leprosy helped develop therapy against the tropical disease leishmaniasis. That led the Pan American Health Organization to declare him a "public health hero" in 2002. He was honored with Spain's Prince of Asturias Prize for scientific research in 1987.

He was continuing to oversee work toward developing a vaccine against cancers and published the last of his more than 300 scientific papers in 2013.

Dr. Convit founded Venezuela's Institute of Biomedicine. A foundation bearing his name announced his death Monday.

He also taught for several years at Columbia University, Case Western Reserve, Stanford University, and the University of Miami. - AP