The article analyzes the tradition in medical and scientific teaching that was established at the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz starting in 1908, introducing an innovative standard in training researchers and public health workers that combined teaching and research activities. Forerunner of the university model, this tradition came up against the question of what social role the institute should play in the new institutional organization of public health and education implemented during the Vargas era: should the Institute serve public health or adopt a university-like format?
Instituto Oswaldo Cruz; teaching; public health; university; Brazil
