Dr. Chiu and his team’s research intends to impact the management of thyroid cancer in the Philippines due to a high prevalence rate of hypothyroidism among Filipinos compared with other ethnicities.
January 31, 2023 — Dr. Harold Henrison C. Chiu, UP Manila’s first Chemistry Licensure Exam topnotcher and second summa cum laude graduate of its BS Biochemistry program, is now an endocrinologist and chief fellow at the Philippine General Hospital Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, who engages in both medical practice and research.
In his latest work as a researcher, Dr. Chiu (UPCM Class 2016 cum laude) with fellow Biochemistry alumna Dr. Vanessa Joy A. Timoteo-Garcia, received awards for their outstanding scientific research presented at the 10th Seoul International Congress of Endocrinology and Metabolism held recently in conjunction with the 41st Annual Scientific Meeting of Korean Endocrine Society, Gwangju, Republic of Korea. Garcia is a researcher working on big comprehensive data sets as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University and Academia Sinica, Taiwan.
This makes Dr. Chiu and Dr. Timoteo-Garcia the only UP Manila alumni winners among international competitors that made the best ten cut in their categories amidst internationals. Dr. Chiu won the Best Poster Oral Presentation Award for “Increased Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome Among Adult Filipinos with Hypothyroidism: A Prospective Cohort Study” while Dr. Timoteo-Garcia won the Plenary Oral Presentation Award for “Causal Association Between Elevated Iron and Risks of Cardiometabolic Outcomes in Taiwan Han Chinese and UK Whites.”
Dr. Chiu and his team’s research intends to impact the management of thyroid cancer in the Philippines due to a high prevalence rate of hypothyroidism among Filipinos compared with other ethnicities. On the other hand, Dr. Timoteo-Garcia’s study on type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic diseases aims to help improve public health.
As Chiu recalls, his love for research was ignited by a case during his first-year residency in medicine which involved a patient’s leg amputation and blindness caused hypermucoviscous Klebsiella pneumonia infection. To date, other works of Dr. Chiu focus on diabetes, nutrition, obesity and metabolic syndrome.
When asked about how he developed discipline in his career, he shared his three best practices which include perseverance and persistence, collaboration with others, and lifelong love of learning and acknowledging limitations. Dr. Chiu also advised the younger generation to constantly have grit in whatever field they are pursuing.
Haziel May C. Natorilla | Published in the UP Manila Healthscape Issue No. 47 (January 2023)
Source: https://www.upm.edu.ph/node/4116