U.P. College of Medicine Department of Physiology

The Department of Physiology was one the eight original departments of the Philippine Medical School (Old name of UP College of Medicine) when the school’s charter was approved in 1905. Throughout its history, the department has remained a trailblazer in teaching and research. It was the first department to adopt new trends in medical education, it encouraged individual laboratory experiences to develop student creativity and independence and it offered the only postgraduate course MS Physiology in the Philippines. The department has been in the forefront of medical research such “Normal Standards for Ventilatory Function Test in Adult Filipinos”, “Philippine Normal Reference Values for Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing”, “Determination of normative reference for the definition of sarcopenia among Filipinos”; and “Reference intervals for total testosterone levels in young adult Filipino males”. In 1998, the department published the first Filipino textbook in Integrative Physiology and a second edition in 2005. Technology development is being pursued with the invention of a local EMG and presently ongoing development of a local respirator. In testimony of this drive for excellence, the department was awarded the “Most Outstanding Department in the Basic Sciences” for four consecutive years (1995-1999). From our faculty roster of eminent leaders, two have become dean of the UP College of Medicine (Dr. Alberto Romualdez and Dr. Cecilia Tomas); two have served as Secretary of the Department of Health (Dr. Juan Salcedo and Dr. Alberto Romualdez); four have received the Ten Outstanding Young Men and Women award (Dr. Augusto Litonjua, Dr. Higino Laureta, Dr. Ricardo Quintos III and Dr. Mark Anthony Sandoval); and many have served as president of Professional Medical Specialty and Subspecialty societies (Dr. Augusto Litonjua, Dr. Zenaida Bagabaldo, Dr. Camilo Roa, Dr. Darwin Dasig, Dr. Dolores Bonzon, Dr. Salome Vios, Dr. Leticia Ibañez, Dr. Teresita Joy P. Evangelist