Paulo C.

Campos
(July 7, 1921 – June 2, 2007)

Was a Filipino physician and educator noted for his promotion

of wider community health care and his achievements in the
field of nuclear medicine for which he was dubbed as "The
Father of Nuclear Medicine in the Philippines". The first
president of the National Academy of Science and Technology,
he was conferred the rank and title of National Scientist of the
Philippines in 1988.

Contributions to medicine

Throughout the 1950s, Campos would pursue graduate

studies in the United States; particularly at the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and at
the Medical Division of the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear
Studies. He developed an interest in nuclear medicine while at
Johns Hopkins, and completed a training course on the field at
Oak Ridge.

As head of the Department of Medicine, Campos established

the first Medical Research Laboratory in the Philippines at the
U.P. College of Medicine.
 Nuclear medicine

Campos initiated the construction of the first

[radionuclide|radioisotope] laboratory in the Philippines. With
funding provided by the International Atomic Energy Authority
and other Philippine institutions, the laboratory was established
at the Philippine General Hospital. As a result, it was made
possible for the first time in the country to conduct such
procedures as the basal metabolism test and radioactive iodine
therapy At the clinic, and with funding from the IAEA and later,
the World Health Organization, Campos conducted considerable
research on goiter, a common medical problem in the
Philippines. His team first suggested the injection of iodized oil
(see poppyseed oil) to goiter patients, a treatment later
advocated by the WHO.

Community medical outreach

As chairman of the Department of Medicine, Campos

began the practice of fielding medical interns for community
service in Los Baños, Laguna for one month a year. In 1963, the
program was institutionalized through the organization of the
Comprehensive Community Health Program (CCHP), pursuant
to an agreement between the University of the Philippines and
the Department of Health. The CCHP, which was based in Bay,
Laguna, served as a community health center that serviced
several towns in Laguna. Until its closure in 1989, it became the
community laboratory of the UP College of Medicine, and it was
there that Campos conducted testing on the use of iodized oil
for the treatment of goiter.
 Educator

In addition to his service at the University of the

Philippines, Campos was also affiliated with the Emilio
Aguinaldo College of Medicine, which he and his family also
managed. Appointed as the president of the college in 1973, he
oversaw the establishment in 1977 of a second campus in
Dasmariñas, Cavite. The ownership and management of the
Dasmariñas campus was sold by the Campos family in 1987 to
the De La Salle University, which integrated it into the La Salle
system as what is now known as the De La Salle University-
Dasmariñas. The Campos family retained control over the
Manila campus of what is now the Emilio Aguinaldo College, a
partner-institution of the Medical Center Manila.