On behalf of the entire PSMID membership, the PSMID Board of Councils hereby honors Dr. Thelma E. Tupasi for her exemplary contributions to the field of infectious diseases as a distinguished physician, teacher researcher and most notably in her efforts toward the control of TB, HIV and malaria.
She has served as a pioneering leader in the infectious diseases community both nationally and internationally. Dr. Tupasi was among the founding members and presidents of the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. She also served as a director of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine. Subsequently, she founded and led the Tropical Disease Foundation, which undertook numerous landmark projects such as the 1997 and 2007 National TB Prevalence Surveys in collaboration with the DOH.
Under her leadership, TDF became the first WHO-endorsed MDRTB treatment facility Pilot Project in the world. This was scaled up to our present-day nationwide network for programmatic management of drug-resistant TB (PMDT) providing universal access to second-line anti TB drug treatment, which has positioned the Philippines globally as a trailblazing training ground for person-centered MDR-TB care. In line with this, Dr Tupasi served internationally as Chair of the Stop TB Working Group for drug resistant TB.
With the rise of HIV complicating TB treatment in the Philippines, Dr. Tupasi successfully advocated for provision of free antiretroviral therapy following the model for universal access to quality treatment.
For her lifetime work on TB, she was awarded the title of Honorary Member of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.
In the course of her career, Dr. Tupasi has inspired and mentored generations of infectious disease specialists and other health care workers. She will forever be a role model to us all.