Prof. Michael L. Tee, Internal Medicine-Rheumatology specialist, University Scientist I, and UP Manila Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development (VCPD), was appointed 10th chancellor of UP Manila during a special meeting of the UP Board of Regents on 05 October 2023. He will serve for three years starting 01 November 2023.
Prior to his appointment as VCPD in 2014, Tee served as Assistant to the Philippine General Hospital Director for Public Affairs and PGH Spokesperson from 2004 to 2010; Editor-in-Chief of the UP Manila Journal for 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2014; and, Director of the UP Manila Information, Publication, and Public Affairs Office in 2011 and from Nov 2014 to 2015.
As an administrator for nine years, Tee supervised the planning and implementation of the UP Manila Campus Development Plan, including the construction of new buildings such as the Sports and Wellness Center, SHS Koronadal Gymnasium, UP Manila Student Center, UP Manila Dorm, SHS Baler Administration Building, SHS Palo Administration Building, Henry Sy Sr Hall (CM Medical Sciences Building), and major renovations in all colleges . His office steered UP Manila’s journey to ISO 9001:2015 certification.
As an educator, Tee teaches physiology and rheumatology at the Department of Physiology and Department of Medicine, respectively. He leads a project that aims to bring state-of-the-art Simulation-based Education (SBE) to the Philippines. To this end, he accompanied more than 50 faculty members from the University of the Philippines Manila, West Visayas State University, and Mindanao State University to a five-day workshop at the Adelaide Health Simulation Center of the University of Adelaide Australia, and SingHealth DukeNUS Institute of Medical Simulation (SIMS) as part of the project Optimising Simulation-based Education, Training, Collaboration and Research – A Focus on Technology driven Teaching and Learning Strategies. The group is currently creating teaching modules customized to the practices and context of the Philippines that are meant to serve as a roadmap for instructors who will deliver SBE.
As a researcher, Tee led the collaborative project among the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), University of Illinois, and UP Manila that validated the use for saliva for the diagnosis of COVID-19. This test was used by more than two million Filipinos at the height of the pandemic. The study was launched on 25 January 2021 at the PRC Mandaluyong headquarters.
The incoming chancellor was also part of a breakthrough international clinical trial that paved the way for the registration of a biosimilar rheumatoid arthritis drug that cost less than third of the originator molecule. According to the program of an international conference on environment and human health, Tee’s research interests originally focused on autoimmune diseases such as lupus, gout, and rheumatoid arthritis. However, as COVID-19 developed into a pandemic, Tee initiated several studies that aimed to guide policy directions in government response. He is a member of the Asia Pacific Lupus Collaboration that studies disease activity measures.
In his presentations during the search committee public forum, he presented a vision for UP Manila as a university globally recognized for excellence in the fields of health, the humanities, and the social and natural sciences responsive to the needs of the country. He pledged to capacitate students, teachers, REPS, administrative staff, and health workers for technology-enhanced flexible and continuing education.
” Flexible learning will be situated alongside a digital ecosystem that puts a premium on user-experience. We will promote innovative teaching methods and simulation-based education to prepare our students for immersive and experiential learnings, and compassionate service in state-of-the-art facilities at the Philippine General Hospital, university laboratories, and partner communities,” he stated.
His vision-mission paper stressed that “We aim to serve the public through scholarly and technical collaboration with the government, private sector, and civil society, while leaving the indelible mark of UP’s brand of honor and excellence. Our alumni will be ready to become citizens of the world, sensitive to cultural differences and proactive in responding to the needs of the people, particularly of the Filipinos .”
In the same paper, Tee envisioned that “as the academic partner of various government departments, we will drive industries forward through a strong academic thrust, creating public-private linkages that harness the talents in our campus and among our alumni. Because the Filipino people deserve the best from each of us, we must endeavor to be the best. The reality is that each one of us has our roles to play, sometimes competing with others for finite resources to accomplish what we set out to do. But to shape a future of endless positive potential, we must believe in the IDEA of a shared vision for UP Manila. In conclusion, it is with hope and dedication that I take the first steps that will bring us closer to this vision, seeing the university’s potential, hearing and actively listening to its constituents, feeling the pulse of its people, and leading the university with transparency, accountability, and integrity.”
Contact Information:
(632) 88141-201 to 205
upm-oc@up.edu.ph
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Heizel Manapat-Reyes is a graduate of the UP College of Medicine. She received her training in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology from the UP-PGH Medical Center and her Masters in Health Professions Education from the National Teachers Training Center for the Health Professions, also in UP Manila.
A professor in the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine at the UP College of Medicine, Dr. Reyes was the Assistant Associate Dean for Academic Development and headed the Medical Education Unit of the UP College of Medicine for 11 years. Her main interests in medical education are faculty development, student selection and attitudes development. She co-chaired the quality assurance committee for UPCM, participating in external accreditations with PAASCU and AUN-QA. She was also the chair of the Philippine Specialty Board of Rheumatology and of the Ethics Committee of the Philippine College of Physicians and was a past President of the Philippine Rheumatology Association.
Dr. Reyes was awarded the Gawad ng Dekana in 2018 for her work in the UP College of Medicine. She was the Philippine College of Physicians' Distinguished Teacher Exemplar for 2021.
Contact Information:
(632) 88141-209 to 211; 299
upm-ovcaa@up.edu.ph
Vice Chancellor for Administration Dr. Johanna Patricia A. Cañal is a Professor 12 of the Department of Radiology of the College of Medicine. She graduated with an MD and MSc in Medical Anthropology from the UP College of Medicine, and is also a graduate of Master in Hospital Administration from the UP College of Public Health.
Her history with UP and UP Manila began during her student days in the INTARMED program, where she graduated as a Doctor of Medicine in 1995. Thereafter, she enrolled in the College of Public Health, graduating with a Master of Hospital Administration degree in 2005. In 2019, she obtained a Master of Science degree in Medical Anthropology.
She is a fellow of the Philippine College of Radiology (PCR), the Philippine Radiation Oncology Society (PROS) and notably, an honorary fellow of the Philippine Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, the only Filipino non-ENT doctor to be awarded such a distinction. She is a core member of the UP Manila Sarcoma Consortium.
She was awarded the UPMASA Outstanding Teacher in LU 5 in 2016, and the 2023 Gawad Chancellor Award for Outstanding Teacher. She is a 3-time recipient of the One UP Presidential Professorial Chair and is also the recipient of a presidential citation from the Philippine Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and a leadership award from the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in 2022.
She has assumed multiple leadership positions over her 25-year medical career: inaugural head of the radiotherapy facilities of San Juan de Dios Hospital and Asian Hospital Cancer Institute; Equipment Coordinator of the Philippine General Hospital during the term of Director Carmelo Alfiler; past chair of the Board of Examiners of the Philippine Radiation Oncology Society (PROS); past chair of the UP-PGH Department of Radiology (the first female to be designated such); past president of the Philippine College of Radiology; past president of the Philippine College of Radiology Research Foundation; and past vice-president of the Philippine Radiation Oncology Society.
Dr. Cañal is the author or co-author of more than 45 papers. She also reviews for Acta Medica Philippina, Academic Radiology and Frontiers in Oncology.
Contact Information:
(632) 88141-206 to 208
upm-ovca@up.edu.ph
Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development Jose V. Tecson, III, MD is an Associate Professor of Anatomy and Clinical Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the College of Medicine.
A graduate of the Philippine Science High School, Dr. Tecson obtained his Bachelor of Science in Biology degree from UP Diliman prior to earning his Doctor of Medicine degree from UP Manila. He completed his residency in Ophthalmology, and Fellowship in Cornea, External Diseases, and Uveitis at the Philippine General Hospital, where he also served as Chief Resident. He also has a Diploma in Health Professions Education from the National Teacher Training Center for the Health Professions.
Dr. Tecson served as Vice Chair for External Linkages of the Department of Anatomy and was formerly Deputy Director for Administration and Finance of the National Institutes of Health.
Prior to joining the academe, Dr. Tecson was concurrently Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Vice-President for Strategic Initiatives and Business Development of the QualiMed Health Network. He oversaw the establishment of 3 hospitals and 6 clinics and was also instrumental in the operationalization of the UP-PGH Faculty Medical Arts Building, where he served as its 1st Medical Director. Dr. Tecson also occupied top management positions in the company's various business units.
Contact Information:
(632) 88141-213 & 215; 295
upm-ovcpd@up.edu.ph
Vice Chancellor for Research Leslie Michelle M. Dalmacio, PhD is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the College of Medicine. She has a Master of Science degree in Biochemistry and a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (minor in Microbiology), both from the University of the Philippines. She had research fellowships at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole Massachusetts, USA and at the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases in Singapore. Her research deals with virology, the human microbiome, probiotics, and immunodiagnostics.
She is a Diplomate of the Philippine Academy of Microbiology (PAM) and former President of the Philippine Society for Microbiology (PSM, 2018-19). She also served as President of the Philippine Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PSBMB, 2020-21) and as member of the Board of Directors in other professional organizations (Philippine Society for Lactic Acid Bacteria; Outstanding Young Scientists, Inc.). She has been a Governing Board Member (2020-present), Chair of the Medical Sciences Division (2020-present), and Vice President (2022-2023) of the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP). She is currently the President of the NRCP.
In UP Manila, she served as the Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (2016-2023) and Director (2021-2023) of the National Graduate Office for the Health Sciences (NGOHS), as well as the Coordinator (2018-present) of the MD-PhD (Molecular Medicine) program of the UPCM and PCHRD.
Dr. Dalmacio was awarded as one of the Outstanding Young Scientists of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) in 2012 for her work on hepatitis viruses, probiotics, and the microbiome.
Contact Information:
(632) 88141-271
upm-ovcr@up.edu.ph
