| The Thomasian Neuroscience Alumni Association |
The Neuroscience Initiative
The Neuroscience Initiative is a brainchild of the faculty and staff of the University of Santo Tomas Department of
Neurology and Psychiatry, spearheaded by the then concurrent Department Chair for the Faculty of Medicine & Surgery
and the UST Hospital, Dr. Simeon M. Marasigan. It aims to conceptualize and initiate worthwhile scientific venues primarily
to enhance the interest of the Filipino physicians to the various subspecialties in Neurosciences and Behavioral Medicine.
It also aims to advance knowledge and research of the basic as well as clinical aspects of neurology and psychiatry
throughout the Philippines. Finally, it aims not only to consolidate the scientific ideas of physicians dealing with neurologic
and psychiatric diseases but also to share these concepts via active interactions with highly esteemed authoritative
colleagues and distinguished academics that are world renowned.
In 2005, these objectives became a reality with its maiden venture, The Neurovascular Summit. The theme of the
convention was, “Looking at Stroke…From Bench to Bedside.” It was a well-attended event, with over 300 delegates from
around the country. The most distinguished international as well as local speakers lent credence to the scientific
program. The roster of lecturers includes Dr. Abdias V. Aquino, past President of the Stroke Society of the Philippines;
Dr. Carlos L. Chua, past President of the Philippine Neurological Association; Dr. Christopher Chen-Li Hsian, senior
consultant neurologist at the Singapore General Hospital; Dr. Bernardo L. Conde, past President of the Philippine
Neurological Association and the Philippine Psychiatric Association; Dr. Bun Yok O. Dy, Director of the Heart Institute and
Head of the Cardiac Catheterization and Intervention Unit of the Chinese General Hospital; Dr. Antoni Davalos, Head of
the Department of Neurosciences at the Hospital Universitari Germans Trias I Pujol in Barcelona, Spain; Dr. Stephen
Davis, Director of Neurology and Head of the Stroke Service at the Royal Melbourne Hospital; Dr. Geoffrey A. Donnan,
Professor of Neurology at the University of Melbourne and Director of the National Stroke Research Institute in Australia;
Dr. John W. Eikelboom, Associate Professor of the Department of Medicine at the McMaster University, Australia; Dr.
Ramon S. Javier, past President of the Philippine Neurological Association; Dr. Stephanie B. Javier, Associate Professor of
the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the UST Hospital; Dr. Pedro Danilo S. Lagamayo, past Chair of the
Department of Radiological Sciences at the UST Hospital; Dr. Simeon M. Marasigan, chair of the Department of Neurology
and Psychiatry and past President of the Philippine Neurological Association and the Philippine Psychiatric Association;
Dr. Elton Ong, alumnus of the Residency Training Program of the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the UST
Hospital who trained in Neurogenetics at the New York University School of Medicine; Dr. Vicente G. Rosales, Jr.,
Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the UST Hospital; Dr. Ramani N.
Venketasubramanium, senior consultant at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital campus of the National Neuroscience Institute of
Singapore and senior lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore; Dr. Lawrence KS Wong, Chief
of the Division of Neurology in the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Director of the Acute Stroke Unit at the Prince
Wales Hospital in Hong Kong, and; Dr. Carlos Francis Santiago, neurosurgeon who trained in endovascular neurosurgery
and interventional neuroradiology in Iowa, USA. The Neurovascular Summit was held on October 6-7, 2005 at the Sofitel
Philippine Plaza in Pasay City.
Because of the astounding success of the Neurovascular Summit, the Neuroscience Initiative thought of a more ambitious
project. This time, two Summits were held in 2006. These were the Neurocritical Care and the Neuropathology Summits.
The Neurocritical Care Summit was held on October 13 and 14, 2006 at the newly-inaugurated Benavidez Cancer Institute
Auditorium of the University of Santo Tomas Hospital, with the theme, “Adhering to Concepts and Harnessing Skills: Focus
on Critical Care Neurology.” The speakers included: Dr. Abdias V. Aquino; Dr. Ma. Leticia C. Araullo, an alumna of the
combined Neurology-Psychiatry Program of the UST Hospital who also had fellowship training in Stroke and Neurovascular
Medicine at the UST Hospital as well as clinical observership in Neurointensive Care at the University of Chicago; Dr.
Alejandro C. Baroque II, past President of the Philippine Neurological Association and Associate Professor II of the
Department of Neurology and Psychiatry of the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery; Dr. Bernardo L. Conde, Dr. Imelda
S. David, Chair of the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry of the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery and a
Diplomate of the American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology; Dr. Michael Louis A. Gimenez, neurosurgeon who had his
training in Neurosurgical Critical Care at the Christiana Care Medical Center in Delaware and at the Singapore General
Hospital; Dr. Larry S. King, anesthesiologist who had fellowship training in Surgical Intensive Care at the Singapore
General Hospital and is the Residency Training Officer of the Department of Anesthesiology at the UST Hospital; Dr.
Vicente G. Rosales, Jr., Dr. Stefan Schwab, Associate Professor of Neurology at the Neurologischen Klinik,
Universitätsklinikum Erlagen in Germany; Dr. Soh Chai Rick, Fellow of the Joint Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine in
Australia and the Australian and New Zealand College of Anesthetists; Dr. Axel Rosengart, Assistant Professor of
Neurology and Surgery at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine; Dr. Edgardo T. Tan, neurologist and
neurosurgeon and is Associate Professor III at the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, and; alumni of the Residency
Training Program of the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry of the UST Hospital, Drs. Robert A. Barja, Teresita L.
Martinez, Romario M. Ramos, and Maricar P. Yumul.
About a month later, on November 20 and 21, 2006, the Neurocritical Care Summit was followed by the Neuropathology
Course, held at the Continuing Medical Education Auditorium, St. Martin de Porres Building of the University of Santo
Tomas College of Medicine and Surgery. The course’s theme was “Clinical, Pathological and Radiological (MRI)
Correlates.” The Course Faculty was comprised of: Dr. Arnulf H. Koeppen, professor of Neurology and Neuropathology
as well as lead neurologist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albany, New York; Dr. Artemio T. Ordinario, past
President of the Philippine Neurological Association; Dr. Jiang Qian, neuropathologist who trained at the University of
Rochester, New York, and; Dr. Harry V. Vinters, Professor and Head of Neuropathology at the University of California Los
Angeles. Again, both the Neurocritical Care Summit and the Neuropathology Course were well-attended events.
The fourth enterprise of the Neuroscience Initiative is the Neurobehavioral Summit. This is a unique Summit because, for
the first time, the scientific program was elegantly crafted to blend very important subject matters and issues concerning
the field of the behavioral sciences. Again, the speakers comprised a most distinguished array of foreign as well as local
faculty, which includes: Dr. Encarnita Raya-Ampil, alumna of the UST Department of Neurology and Psychiatry Residency
Training Program who had fellowship training in Dementia at the Singapore General Hospital as well as research
fellowship in Dementia at the Alzheimer Disease Research Center of the University of California Los Angeles; Dr.
Alejandro C. Baroque II; Dr. Bernardo L. Conde; Dr. Imelda S. David; Dr. Arnulf H. Koeppen; Dr. Johnny K. Lokin, current
President of the Philippine Neurological Association; Dr. Grace A. Macapagal, child psychiatrist who had her fellowship
training at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center; Dr. Simeon M. Marasigan; Dr. Mario Mendez, Professor of Neurology
and Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine; Dr. Margaret S.
Modequillo, child neurologist and an alumna of the Child Neurology Fellowship Training Program of the UST Hospital; Dr.
Gabino V. Rañoa Jr., Chief of the Section of Psychiatry of the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the UST
Hospital; Dr. Vicente G. Rosales, Jr.; Dr. Gerardo Carmelo B. Salazar, fellow of the International Mental Health Leadership
Program of the University of Melbourne-Harvard Medical School in Australia and an alumnus of the UST Department of
Neurology and Psychiatry Residency Training Program who also had fellowship training in Neurovascular Ultrasonography
at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, a Monbusho scholarship in Neuroimmunology and Molecular
Biology at the Kagoshima University Faculty of Medicine and Hospital in Japan and a visiting research fellowship at the
Department of Immunology, Imperial College of Medicine, St. Mary’s in London and at the Surgical Transplant Unit at the
Radcliffe Infirmary in England; Dr. Maria Antonia Aurora L. Moral-Valencia, child neurologist and also an alumna of the
Child Neurology Fellowship Training Program of the UST Hospital, and; Dr. Harry V. Vinters.
The Neurobehavioral Summit was held on November 8 and 9, 2007 at the Pandanggo Ballroom of the historic Manila Hotel.
On November 6 – 8, 2008, the fifth scientific venture of the Neuroscience Initiative’s was held at Hotel Sofitel, Manila. The
Epilepsy Summit prides had a remarkable scientific program topbilled by an all-international faculty from the United States
of America, headed by Dr. Elson L. So, Professor of Neurology and Director of the Section of Electroencephalography at
the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, as well as a preconvention program showcasing the best
and most distinguished consultant staff and alumni of the Clinical Neurophysiology Unit of the University of Santo Tomas
Hospital, headed by Dr. Imelda S. David.
The Neuroscience Initiative is a brainchild of the faculty and staff of the University of Santo Tomas Department of
Neurology and Psychiatry, spearheaded by the then concurrent Department Chair for the Faculty of Medicine & Surgery
and the UST Hospital, Dr. Simeon M. Marasigan. It aims to conceptualize and initiate worthwhile scientific venues primarily
to enhance the interest of the Filipino physicians to the various subspecialties in Neurosciences and Behavioral Medicine.
It also aims to advance knowledge and research of the basic as well as clinical aspects of neurology and psychiatry
throughout the Philippines. Finally, it aims not only to consolidate the scientific ideas of physicians dealing with neurologic
and psychiatric diseases but also to share these concepts via active interactions with highly esteemed authoritative
colleagues and distinguished academics that are world renowned.
In 2005, these objectives became a reality with its maiden venture, The Neurovascular Summit. The theme of the
convention was, “Looking at Stroke…From Bench to Bedside.” It was a well-attended event, with over 300 delegates from
around the country. The most distinguished international as well as local speakers lent credence to the scientific
program. The roster of lecturers includes Dr. Abdias V. Aquino, past President of the Stroke Society of the Philippines;
Dr. Carlos L. Chua, past President of the Philippine Neurological Association; Dr. Christopher Chen-Li Hsian, senior
consultant neurologist at the Singapore General Hospital; Dr. Bernardo L. Conde, past President of the Philippine
Neurological Association and the Philippine Psychiatric Association; Dr. Bun Yok O. Dy, Director of the Heart Institute and
Head of the Cardiac Catheterization and Intervention Unit of the Chinese General Hospital; Dr. Antoni Davalos, Head of
the Department of Neurosciences at the Hospital Universitari Germans Trias I Pujol in Barcelona, Spain; Dr. Stephen
Davis, Director of Neurology and Head of the Stroke Service at the Royal Melbourne Hospital; Dr. Geoffrey A. Donnan,
Professor of Neurology at the University of Melbourne and Director of the National Stroke Research Institute in Australia;
Dr. John W. Eikelboom, Associate Professor of the Department of Medicine at the McMaster University, Australia; Dr.
Ramon S. Javier, past President of the Philippine Neurological Association; Dr. Stephanie B. Javier, Associate Professor of
the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the UST Hospital; Dr. Pedro Danilo S. Lagamayo, past Chair of the
Department of Radiological Sciences at the UST Hospital; Dr. Simeon M. Marasigan, chair of the Department of Neurology
and Psychiatry and past President of the Philippine Neurological Association and the Philippine Psychiatric Association;
Dr. Elton Ong, alumnus of the Residency Training Program of the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the UST
Hospital who trained in Neurogenetics at the New York University School of Medicine; Dr. Vicente G. Rosales, Jr.,
Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the UST Hospital; Dr. Ramani N.
Venketasubramanium, senior consultant at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital campus of the National Neuroscience Institute of
Singapore and senior lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore; Dr. Lawrence KS Wong, Chief
of the Division of Neurology in the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Director of the Acute Stroke Unit at the Prince
Wales Hospital in Hong Kong, and; Dr. Carlos Francis Santiago, neurosurgeon who trained in endovascular neurosurgery
and interventional neuroradiology in Iowa, USA. The Neurovascular Summit was held on October 6-7, 2005 at the Sofitel
Philippine Plaza in Pasay City.
Because of the astounding success of the Neurovascular Summit, the Neuroscience Initiative thought of a more ambitious
project. This time, two Summits were held in 2006. These were the Neurocritical Care and the Neuropathology Summits.
The Neurocritical Care Summit was held on October 13 and 14, 2006 at the newly-inaugurated Benavidez Cancer Institute
Auditorium of the University of Santo Tomas Hospital, with the theme, “Adhering to Concepts and Harnessing Skills: Focus
on Critical Care Neurology.” The speakers included: Dr. Abdias V. Aquino; Dr. Ma. Leticia C. Araullo, an alumna of the
combined Neurology-Psychiatry Program of the UST Hospital who also had fellowship training in Stroke and Neurovascular
Medicine at the UST Hospital as well as clinical observership in Neurointensive Care at the University of Chicago; Dr.
Alejandro C. Baroque II, past President of the Philippine Neurological Association and Associate Professor II of the
Department of Neurology and Psychiatry of the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery; Dr. Bernardo L. Conde, Dr. Imelda
S. David, Chair of the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry of the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery and a
Diplomate of the American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology; Dr. Michael Louis A. Gimenez, neurosurgeon who had his
training in Neurosurgical Critical Care at the Christiana Care Medical Center in Delaware and at the Singapore General
Hospital; Dr. Larry S. King, anesthesiologist who had fellowship training in Surgical Intensive Care at the Singapore
General Hospital and is the Residency Training Officer of the Department of Anesthesiology at the UST Hospital; Dr.
Vicente G. Rosales, Jr., Dr. Stefan Schwab, Associate Professor of Neurology at the Neurologischen Klinik,
Universitätsklinikum Erlagen in Germany; Dr. Soh Chai Rick, Fellow of the Joint Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine in
Australia and the Australian and New Zealand College of Anesthetists; Dr. Axel Rosengart, Assistant Professor of
Neurology and Surgery at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine; Dr. Edgardo T. Tan, neurologist and
neurosurgeon and is Associate Professor III at the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, and; alumni of the Residency
Training Program of the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry of the UST Hospital, Drs. Robert A. Barja, Teresita L.
Martinez, Romario M. Ramos, and Maricar P. Yumul.
About a month later, on November 20 and 21, 2006, the Neurocritical Care Summit was followed by the Neuropathology
Course, held at the Continuing Medical Education Auditorium, St. Martin de Porres Building of the University of Santo
Tomas College of Medicine and Surgery. The course’s theme was “Clinical, Pathological and Radiological (MRI)
Correlates.” The Course Faculty was comprised of: Dr. Arnulf H. Koeppen, professor of Neurology and Neuropathology
as well as lead neurologist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albany, New York; Dr. Artemio T. Ordinario, past
President of the Philippine Neurological Association; Dr. Jiang Qian, neuropathologist who trained at the University of
Rochester, New York, and; Dr. Harry V. Vinters, Professor and Head of Neuropathology at the University of California Los
Angeles. Again, both the Neurocritical Care Summit and the Neuropathology Course were well-attended events.
The fourth enterprise of the Neuroscience Initiative is the Neurobehavioral Summit. This is a unique Summit because, for
the first time, the scientific program was elegantly crafted to blend very important subject matters and issues concerning
the field of the behavioral sciences. Again, the speakers comprised a most distinguished array of foreign as well as local
faculty, which includes: Dr. Encarnita Raya-Ampil, alumna of the UST Department of Neurology and Psychiatry Residency
Training Program who had fellowship training in Dementia at the Singapore General Hospital as well as research
fellowship in Dementia at the Alzheimer Disease Research Center of the University of California Los Angeles; Dr.
Alejandro C. Baroque II; Dr. Bernardo L. Conde; Dr. Imelda S. David; Dr. Arnulf H. Koeppen; Dr. Johnny K. Lokin, current
President of the Philippine Neurological Association; Dr. Grace A. Macapagal, child psychiatrist who had her fellowship
training at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center; Dr. Simeon M. Marasigan; Dr. Mario Mendez, Professor of Neurology
and Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine; Dr. Margaret S.
Modequillo, child neurologist and an alumna of the Child Neurology Fellowship Training Program of the UST Hospital; Dr.
Gabino V. Rañoa Jr., Chief of the Section of Psychiatry of the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the UST
Hospital; Dr. Vicente G. Rosales, Jr.; Dr. Gerardo Carmelo B. Salazar, fellow of the International Mental Health Leadership
Program of the University of Melbourne-Harvard Medical School in Australia and an alumnus of the UST Department of
Neurology and Psychiatry Residency Training Program who also had fellowship training in Neurovascular Ultrasonography
at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, a Monbusho scholarship in Neuroimmunology and Molecular
Biology at the Kagoshima University Faculty of Medicine and Hospital in Japan and a visiting research fellowship at the
Department of Immunology, Imperial College of Medicine, St. Mary’s in London and at the Surgical Transplant Unit at the
Radcliffe Infirmary in England; Dr. Maria Antonia Aurora L. Moral-Valencia, child neurologist and also an alumna of the
Child Neurology Fellowship Training Program of the UST Hospital, and; Dr. Harry V. Vinters.
The Neurobehavioral Summit was held on November 8 and 9, 2007 at the Pandanggo Ballroom of the historic Manila Hotel.
On November 6 – 8, 2008, the fifth scientific venture of the Neuroscience Initiative’s was held at Hotel Sofitel, Manila. The
Epilepsy Summit prides had a remarkable scientific program topbilled by an all-international faculty from the United States
of America, headed by Dr. Elson L. So, Professor of Neurology and Director of the Section of Electroencephalography at
the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, as well as a preconvention program showcasing the best
and most distinguished consultant staff and alumni of the Clinical Neurophysiology Unit of the University of Santo Tomas
Hospital, headed by Dr. Imelda S. David.
 |
 |
 |