The UP Manila community congratulates: UP College of Medicine (UPCM) INTARMED and UPCM MSc in Medical Anthropology graduate PAUL GIDEON D. LASCO, MD PhD for being awarded as one of the 2022 Outstanding Young Scientists
Mabuhay ang Tatak UP Manila!
Paul Gideon D. Lasco
MD, PhD (Anthropology)
University of the Philippines Diliman
Ateneo de Manila University
Dr. Paul Gideon Lasco’s research on height – which served as the dissertation for his doctoral studies at the University of Amsterdam – addressed the socio-cultural implications of widespread stunting (and the resultant short stature) among Filipinos, drawing on fieldwork among young people in Palawan. Eventually, he would follow up on such research by working on nutrition during times of crisis, this time drawing on the experiences of Siargao Island, and the original work itself will be turned into a forthcoming book, Height Matters (University of the Philippine Press, in press)
Aside from his independent investigations, he has also joined multi-disciplinary and multi-country projects to understand public health challenges. He served as country Lead Qualitative Researcher in RESPOND, a research collaboration between UP Manila and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) to understand the barriers to hypertension care in the Philippines and Malaysia. He also served as a senior researcher for AmbisyonHealth, a project to understand Filipino aspirations based in the Ateneo School of Government (ASOG). Both projects have led to multiple publications in various international journals.
Aside from his research and his scientific publications – over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles in the past 4 years – he has actively sought to communicate his ideas to a broader audience. A Palanca-winning essayist, he has maintained a column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer which he has used to discuss health and social issues since 2017. His book of essays, The Philippines Is Not a Small Country, was recently named a finalist for the National Book Awards.
After graduating from the UP Rural High School in 2003, he took up Medicine at the UP College of Medicine (UPCM) as part of the INTARMED program. Under the guidance of Academician Michael Tan, he took up Medical Anthropology also in UPCM, and become the first graduate of its MSc in Medical Anthropology program in 2014. Four years later, shortly after completing his PhD, he joined UP Diliman’s Department of Anthropology, where he continues to teach as a Senior Lecturer.
Beyond his work in medical anthropology and public health, he is also involved in environmental and civic initiatives – for instance, conducting applied research on the lived experiences of forest guards and serving as a board member of the Philippine Center for Investigate Journalism (PCIJ) – building not just on his academic background but his lifelong pursuit of mountaineering that has seen him travel all over the country and the world.
His commitment, however, remains to medical anthropology and public health research in the Philippines: “With the ongoing health crisis, and with so many health and social issues we need to understand, and there is so much work to do.”
Source: UP Manila Facebook; NAST Phl Facebook
