Paulo Campos
Encyclopedia
Paulo C. Campos was a Filipino
physician and educator noted for his promotion of wider community health care
and his achievements in the field of nuclear medicine
for which he was dubbed as "The Father of Nuclear Medicine in the Philippines". The first president of the National Academy of Science and Technology, he was conferred the rank and title of National Scientist of the Philippines
in 1988.
. His parents were teachers, and his younger brother Jose Campos
would grow up to become a prominent law professor and an Associate Justice
of the Philippine Supreme Court
.
Having graduated as valedictorian
of his elementary and high school class, Campos enrolled at the University of the Philippines
in 1940. He obtained his medical degree in 1945, and topped the medical board exams of the following year. Campos took residency
at the Philippine General Hospital
and joined the faculty of the U.P. College of Medicine
.
; particularly at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
, and at the Medical Division of the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies
. He developed an interest in nuclear medicine while at Johns Hopkins, and completed a training course on the field at Oak Ridge. Two years after his return to the Philippines in 1958, he was named as the head of the Department of Medicine of the University of the Philippines, and concurrently, the head of the department's Research Laboratories.
As head of the Department of Medicine, Campos established the first Medical Research Laboratory in the Philippines at the U.P. College of Medicine. The facility, considered as the country's premier research laboratory in the 1960s, furthered research in fields such as epidemiology
, physiology
and biology
.
laboratory
in the Philippines. With funding provided by the International Atomic Energy Authority
and other Philippine institutions, the laboratory was established at the Philippine General Hospital. As a result, it was made possible for the first time in the country to conduct such procedures as the basal metabolism test
and radioactive iodine therapy At the clinic, and with funding from the IAEA and later, the World Health Organization
, Campos conducted considerable research on goiter
, a common medical problem in the Philippines. His team first suggested the injection of iodized oil (see poppyseed oil
) to goiter patients, a treatment later advocated by the WHO.
Through the thyroid clinic, Campos likewise pursued research on whether there was a genetic
factor that contributed to endemic goiter. His findings, as contained in a paper that he published in 1961, proposed that the iodine
intake deficiency thought to be the main cause of goiter was just one of the triggering factors of the disease, and that physiology and anatomy proved to be more important considerations as some people were born without the enzyme necessary to take in trace elements such as iodine even if it were present in food and water.
for one month a year. In 1963, the program was institutionalized through the organization of the Comprehensive Community Health Program (CCHP), pursuant to an agreement between the University of the Philippines and the Department of Health
. The CCHP, which was based in Bay, Laguna
, served as a community health center that serviced several towns in Laguna. Until its closure in 1989, it became the community laboratory of the UP College of Medicine, and it was there that Campos conducted testing on the use of iodized oil for the treatment of goiter.
Campos also founded a hospital in Ermita, Manila
, the Medical Center Manila, where he executed several of his ideas relative to health care in urbanized centers.
. The ownership and management of the Dasmariñas campus was sold by the Campos family in 1987 to the De La Salle University
, which integrated it into the La Salle system as what is now known as the De La Salle University-Dasmariñas
. The Campos family retained control over the Manila campus of what is now the Emilio Aguinaldo College
, a partner-institution of the Medical Center Manila.
Despite his involvement with the Emilio Aguinaldo College, Campos maintained his ties with the University of the Philippines. He was named Professor Emeritus of the university and appointed a member of its Board of Regents in 1994.
Corazon Aquino
.
Upon his death in June 2007, Campos was honored with a state funeral
befitting his rank as National Scientist, held at his hometown of Dasmariñas.
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
physician and educator noted for his promotion of wider community health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
and his achievements in the field of nuclear medicine
Nuclear medicine
In nuclear medicine procedures, elemental radionuclides are combined with other elements to form chemical compounds, or else combined with existing pharmaceutical compounds, to form radiopharmaceuticals. These radiopharmaceuticals, once administered to the patient, can localize to specific organs...
for which he was dubbed as "The Father of Nuclear Medicine in the Philippines". The first president of the National Academy of Science and Technology, he was conferred the rank and title of National Scientist of the Philippines
National Scientist of the Philippines
The rank and title of National Scientist of the Philippines is the highest award accorded to Filipino scientists by the Philippine government.The award was created on December 16, 1976 by President Ferdinand Marcos through Presidential Decree Nos. 1003 and 1003-A, which also created the National...
in 1988.
Early life and education
Campos was born in Dasmariñas, CaviteDasmariñas, Cavite
The City of Dasmariñas is a first class city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. It is located approximately 30 kilometers south of Manila. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 556,330 people, making it before the most populous municipality in the Philippines before it was...
. His parents were teachers, and his younger brother Jose Campos
José Campos
José Eduardo Campos Barahona is a Salvadoran footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Vista Hermosa in the Salvadoran Premier League.-Club career:...
would grow up to become a prominent law professor and an Associate Justice
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
An Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines is one of 15 members of the Philippine Supreme Court, the highest court in the Philippines. The Chief Justice presides over the High Court, but carries only 1 of the 15 votes in the court...
of the Philippine Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the Philippines
The Supreme Court of the Philippines is the Philippines' highest judicial court, as well as the court of last resort. The court consists of 14 Associate Justices and 1 Chief Justice...
.
Having graduated as valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
of his elementary and high school class, Campos enrolled at the University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
in 1940. He obtained his medical degree in 1945, and topped the medical board exams of the following year. Campos took residency
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
at the Philippine General Hospital
Philippine General Hospital
The Philippine General Hospital is a tertiary state-owned hospital administered and operated by the University of the Philippines Manila, the University of the Philippines System's Health Sciences Center. It is the largest government hospital administered by the university, and is designated as...
and joined the faculty of the U.P. College of Medicine
University of the Philippines College of Medicine
The University of the Philippines College of Medicine is the medical school of the University of the Philippines Manila, one of the constituent universities of the University of the Philippines System.-History:...
.
Contributions to medicine
Throughout the 1950s, Campos would pursue graduate studies in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; particularly at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
, and at the Medical Division of the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies
Oak Ridge Associated Universities
Oak Ridge Associated Universities is a consortium of American and British universities headquartered in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with an office in Washington, D.C., and staff at several other locations across the country.- History :...
. He developed an interest in nuclear medicine while at Johns Hopkins, and completed a training course on the field at Oak Ridge. Two years after his return to the Philippines in 1958, he was named as the head of the Department of Medicine of the University of the Philippines, and concurrently, the head of the department's Research Laboratories.
As head of the Department of Medicine, Campos established the first Medical Research Laboratory in the Philippines at the U.P. College of Medicine. The facility, considered as the country's premier research laboratory in the 1960s, furthered research in fields such as epidemiology
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
, physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
and biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
.
Nuclear medicine
Campos initiated the construction of the first radioisotopeRadionuclide
A radionuclide is an atom with an unstable nucleus, which is a nucleus characterized by excess energy available to be imparted either to a newly created radiation particle within the nucleus or to an atomic electron. The radionuclide, in this process, undergoes radioactive decay, and emits gamma...
laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
in the Philippines. With funding provided by the International Atomic Energy Authority
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
and other Philippine institutions, the laboratory was established at the Philippine General Hospital. As a result, it was made possible for the first time in the country to conduct such procedures as the basal metabolism test
Basal metabolic rate
Basal Metabolic Rate , and the closely related resting metabolic rate , is the amount of daily energy expended by humans and other animals at rest. Rest is defined as existing in a neutrally temperate environment while in the post-absorptive state...
and radioactive iodine therapy At the clinic, and with funding from the IAEA and later, the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
, Campos conducted considerable research on goiter
Goitre
A goitre or goiter , is a swelling in the thyroid gland, which can lead to a swelling of the neck or larynx...
, a common medical problem in the Philippines. His team first suggested the injection of iodized oil (see poppyseed oil
Poppyseed oil
Poppyseed oil is an edible oil from poppy seeds . The oil has culinary and pharmaceutical uses, as well as long established uses in the making of paints, varnishes, and soaps.Poppy seeds yield 45–50% oil...
) to goiter patients, a treatment later advocated by the WHO.
Through the thyroid clinic, Campos likewise pursued research on whether there was a genetic
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
factor that contributed to endemic goiter. His findings, as contained in a paper that he published in 1961, proposed that the iodine
Iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The name is pronounced , , or . The name is from the , meaning violet or purple, due to the color of elemental iodine vapor....
intake deficiency thought to be the main cause of goiter was just one of the triggering factors of the disease, and that physiology and anatomy proved to be more important considerations as some people were born without the enzyme necessary to take in trace elements such as iodine even if it were present in food and water.
Community medical outreach
As Chairman of the Department of Medicine, Campos began the practice of fielding medical interns for community service in Los Baños, LagunaLos Baños, Laguna
The Nature and Science City of Los Baños is a 1st class urban city in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 98,631 inhabitants in 17,030 households...
for one month a year. In 1963, the program was institutionalized through the organization of the Comprehensive Community Health Program (CCHP), pursuant to an agreement between the University of the Philippines and the Department of Health
Department of Health (Philippines)
The Philippines’ Department of Health is the principal health agency in the Philippines. It is the executive department of the Philippine Government responsible for ensuring access to basic public health services to all Filipinos through the provision of quality health care and the regulation of...
. The CCHP, which was based in Bay, Laguna
Bay, Laguna
Bay is a 3rd class also considered as 2nd class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 60,756 inhabitants in 15,194 households...
, served as a community health center that serviced several towns in Laguna. Until its closure in 1989, it became the community laboratory of the UP College of Medicine, and it was there that Campos conducted testing on the use of iodized oil for the treatment of goiter.
Campos also founded a hospital in Ermita, Manila
Ermita, Manila
Ermita is a district of Manila, Philippines located halfway between Intramuros and Malate.-History:Ermita was founded in the late 16th century...
, the Medical Center Manila, where he executed several of his ideas relative to health care in urbanized centers.
Educator
In addition to his service at the University of the Philippines, Campos was also affiliated with the Emilio Aguinaldo College of Medicine, which he and his family also managed. Appointed as the President of the College in 1973, he oversaw the establishment in 1977 of a second campus in Dasmariñas, CaviteDasmariñas, Cavite
The City of Dasmariñas is a first class city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. It is located approximately 30 kilometers south of Manila. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 556,330 people, making it before the most populous municipality in the Philippines before it was...
. The ownership and management of the Dasmariñas campus was sold by the Campos family in 1987 to the De La Salle University
De La Salle University
De La Salle University is a private Lasallian university in Malate, Manila, Philippines. It was founded in 1911 by De La Salle Brothers as the De La Salle College in Paco, Manila with Blimond Pierre serving as its first director...
, which integrated it into the La Salle system as what is now known as the De La Salle University-Dasmariñas
De La Salle University-Dasmariñas
De La Salle University - Dasmariñas ' is a member institution of De La Salle Philippines located in Dasmariñas City, Cavite. It was established on July 18, 1977 as a private nonsectarian tertiary school named General Emilio Aguinaldo College-Cavite and managed by the Yaman Lahi Foundation...
. The Campos family retained control over the Manila campus of what is now the Emilio Aguinaldo College
Emilio Aguinaldo College
The Emilio Aguinaldo College is a private school in Manila, Philippines. It runs under the management of the Marian Clinics Incorporated.-Faculties and Schools:The college offers undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in the following disciplines:...
, a partner-institution of the Medical Center Manila.
Despite his involvement with the Emilio Aguinaldo College, Campos maintained his ties with the University of the Philippines. He was named Professor Emeritus of the university and appointed a member of its Board of Regents in 1994.
Citations
In 1978, Campos was elected as the first President of the National Academy of Science and Technology, a government-organized body composed of Filipino scientists. He served as President until 1989. In that same year, the Academy nominated Campos for conferment of the rank and honor of National Scientist of the Philippines. His nomination was successful, and he was designated as National Scientist in 1989 by PresidentPresident of the Philippines
The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...
Corazon Aquino
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
.
Upon his death in June 2007, Campos was honored with a state funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
befitting his rank as National Scientist, held at his hometown of Dasmariñas.