Louie Mar Gangcuangco is a Filipino physician, HIV researcher and novelist. He is the author of the novel '' Orosa-Nakpil, Malate'' and is working as Assistant Professor of Medicine for the Hawaii Center for

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

-University of Hawai'i at Manoa.

Early life and education

Gangcuangco was born on March 26, 1987 in

Mandaluyong Mandaluyong, officially the City of Mandaluyong ( fil, Lungsod ng Mandaluyong), is a first class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 425,758 people. Loca ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. He finished his primary education in Montessori de San Juan (MSJ) in 1999. He graduated from

Manila Science High School Manila Science High School ( fil, Mataás na Páaraláng Pang-aghám ng Maynila) is a public science high school in the Philippines. It is located on Taft Avenue at the corner of Padre Faura Street in Ermita, Manila, and was established on Octob ...

(Masci) in 2003. Gangcuangco was two years accelerated in college under the Integrated Liberal Arts and Medicine (Intarmed) curriculum of the UP College of Medicine at the

University of the Philippines Manila The University of the Philippines Manila (UPM) is a state-funded medical and research university located in Ermita, Manila, Philippines. It is known for being the country's center of excellence in the health sciences, including health professio ...

. He had his elective clerkship in

Infectious Diseases An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

at the

David Geffen School of Medicine The University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine—known as the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (DGSOM)—is an accredited medical school located in Los Angeles, California, United States. The school was renamed in 2001 in ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. He trained under the Straight Internal Medicine Internship program of the

Philippine General Hospital The Philippine General Hospital (also known as University of the Philippines–Philippine General Hospital or UP–Philippine General Hospital), simply referred to as UP–PGH or PGH, is a tertiary state-owned hospital administered and operated ...

from June 2009 to April 2010. Gangcuangco received his BS in Basic Medical Sciences degree in 2007 and

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

degree from the UP College of Medicine in May 2010. He has a master's degree in Biomedical Sciences (Tropical Medicine) from the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa (University of Hawaii—Mānoa, UH Mānoa, Hawai'i, or simply UH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Manoa, Mānoa, a neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. It ...

. He also has a second master's degree in Clinical Trials from the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

Published books

Gangcuangco's interests in infectious diseases inspired him at 18 years old, to write the novel, Orosa-Nakpil, Malate, which was published in March 2006. It is an anthropologic exposition of the mechanics of HIV transmission in the Philippine's gay district of

Malate, Manila Malate is a district of Manila, Philippines. Together with the district of Ermita, it serves as Manila's center for commerce and tourism. Etymology The name ''Malate'' is believed to be derived from a corruption of the Tagalog word ''maalat'' ...

. ''Orosa-Nakpil'' is critically acclaimed for promoting HIV and AIDS awareness. It was featured in the talk show

Sharon Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname. In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...

in June 2006, in an episode aired internationally through

The Filipino Channel The Filipino Channel, commonly known as TFC, is a 24-hour global subscription television network based in Daly City, California with studios in Redwood City, California and offices in Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, UAE, Ethi ...

. In August 2006, Gangcuangco was awarded the ''Y Idol Award'' (Youth Idol Award) by

Studio 23 Studio 23 (officially Studio 23, Inc. and previously AMCARA Broadcasting Network) was a Filipino television network owned by ABS-CBN Corporation. The network was named for its flagship station in Metro Manila, DWAC-TV and carried on UHF chann ...

’s

Y Speak {{Infobox television , image = Yspeaklogo.jpg , caption = Y Speak Program Card , genre = Talk show, debate , camera = Multiple-camera setup , executive_producer = Karen Almeida-Pedrealba Bianca Gonzales , creator = ABS-CBN , developer ...

. Later that month, the Sentro ng Wikang Filipino conferred a Sertipiko ng Pagpapahalaga for ''Orosa-Nakpil, Malate''. ''Orosa-Nakpil, Malate'' became a

National Book Store National Book Store, Inc. (also spelled National Bookstore and abbreviated as NBS) is a retail company based in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. It operates a bookstore and office-supplies store chain of the same name. It is the largest bo ...

Best Seller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

in April 2007. It has been featured in several publications, including the Generation Pink Magazine’s ''The Great Escape'' Issue; ''The Flame'': The Official Liberal Journal of the Humanities of the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...

; Icon Magazine’s Career Issue; ''The Manila Collegian'', The Nightmare Before Christmas Issue; and

The Philippine Star ''The Philippine Star'' (self-styled ''The Philippine STAR'') is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines and the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalists Betty Go-Belmonte, ...

’s ''My Favorite Book'', Sunday Lifestyle. In 2008, Gangcuangco published his second book, ''Gee, My Grades Are Terrific: A Student’s Guide to Academic Excellence'', a self-help book for students. The English version of ''Orosa-Nakpil, Malate'' was released in September 2009 and the second edition of ''Gee My Grades Are Terrific'' was published in August 2011. Gangcuangco is considered by Pinoy Panitikan as one of the most influential authors of the Philippines.

HIV research

In 2010, Gangcuangco headed one of the largest HIV testing projects among men having sex with men in

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

. The findings were presented at the XVIII International AIDS Conference in

Vienna, Austria en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and was published at the Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health. The study entitled, "Prevalence and risk factors for HIV infection among men having sex with men in Metro Manila, Philippines," stirred national debate and attracted media attention because of the high HIV infection rate found among the participants. In December 2011, Gangcuangco left his positions as faculty member of the

San Beda College of Medicine The San Beda College of Medicine (abbreviated as SBCM) is the medical school of the San Beda University in Manila established in 2002. History The San Beda College with the power of autonomy granted by CHED for five years created a consortiu ...

(

San Beda University es, Universidad de San Beda , image = San Beda University seal.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = University Seal , latin_name = Universitas Sancti Bedæ , former_names ...

) and the

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Ateneo may refer to: Cultural institutions * Ateneo de la Juventud, a society of Mexican writers, philosophers and intellectuals * Ateneo de Madrid, a private cultural institution located in the capital of Spain * Ateneo de Ponce, a nonprofit, ...

(

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_aff ...

) to pursue HIV research fellowship at the Nagasaki Institute of Tropical Medicine. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Hawaii Center for AIDS. His research projects are focused on the cardio-metabolic complications of HIV and aging, neuro-cognitive dysfunction, and inflammation.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gangcuangco, Louie Mar Filipino novelists Tagalog-language writers 1987 births Living people People from Mandaluyong Writers from Metro Manila University of the Philippines Manila alumni Academic staff of Ateneo de Manila University