UPAAA Elected Officers: 2007- 2009

President - Dr. Francis Sy

VP - East - Ludy Corrales

VP - West - Luz Micabalo

VP - Mid West - Delia Hidalgo Rayos

VP South - Dr. Mel Carbonell

Secretary - Dr. Felicitas Lacbawan

Asst. Secretary - Zeny Estoque Ply

Treasurer - Lumen Sotelo

Asst. Treasurer - Philip Lacbawan

Auditor - Emmy Ceguerra

Parliamentarian - Fel Tabangay

PRO - Aurora Soriano Cudal

Historian - Menchee Fulgado

Immediate Past President - Ted Aquino

Liaison East - Dr. Joey Comiso/Philip Lacbawan

Liaison West - Alma Onrubia/Lydia Fontan/Lyndy Aquino

Liaison South - Menchee Fulgado/Lally Ferro

Liaison Midwest - Olive Aliga/Alma Chand/Terry Magdongon



Profile of the newly-elected president of UPAAA

Award-winning epidemiologist and academician Francisco Sy, M.D., Dr.P.H., was elected as the president of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association in America (UPAAA) starting September 2007 until September 2009. He also received an award of recognition (UPAAA Most Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2005) during the 2005 UPAAA General Assembly and Convention. Currently, he is the Director of Extramural Activities and Scientific Programs at the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

“Dr. Sy is a unique public servant. He combines the rigor of a bench scientist with the fervor of a public health advocate. The NCMHD is proud to have him lead our scientific programs,” said NCHMD Director John Ruffin, Ph.D.

“Establishing equity within the healthcare system has long been a passion of mine. I am humbled and thrilled at being given this opportunity to have a leadership role in shaping the NIH’s research agenda on this issue,” said Dr. Sy.

Prior to being promoted to his new position, Sy oversaw several programs at the NCMHD: the Community-Based Participatory Research Initiative, Loan Repayment Programs and Research Endowment Program. In addition, he has represented the NCMHD and the NIH on a number of trans-NIH and HHS workgroups and committees.

Before coming to the NIH, Sy served as a senior health scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA, where he was the team leader in the Program Evaluation Research Branch in the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. In 2003, as a member of the CDC’s Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak investigation team, Sy led community outreach efforts in Asian-American communities. In 2004, Sy organized the Asian and Pacific Islander employees at the CDC and became the first president of the Association of Asian/Pacific Islander Employees of the CDC and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Sy was a tenured professor at the University of South Carolina (USC) School of Public Health where he taught infectious disease epidemiology for 15 years and served as director of the Master of Public Health program.

Sy is a prolific scientific writer and editor. In 1996, he wrote and published the book AIDS Prevention in Multicultural Societies, and he is the founder and editor of the peer-reviewed journal AIDS Education and Prevention — An Interdisciplinary Journal.

Sy earned his Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.) degree in Immunology and Infectious Diseases from Johns Hopkins University; Master of Science in Tropical Public Health from Harvard University; and Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of the Philippines.

His achievements have earned him high honors in public health. Sy is a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine; Scientific Fellow of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology; and, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. He has received several accolades in his career including the following selected awards: Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service for outstanding community outreach work during the SARS outbreak (2004); CDC/National Center for Infectious Diseases Honor Award for outstanding service in the SARS outbreak investigation (2004); Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health (1991); and Outstanding Alumnus Award from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health (1990).