Elementary and high school years
Dr. Gangcuangco was born on March 26, 1987 in
Mandaluyong City,
Philippines. He finished his primary education in Montessori de San Juan (MSJ) as the batch
valedictorian in 1999. He represented MSJ in several competitions, most notably the
Walt Disney Interschool Leadership Competition in which he was second runner-up.
He was a junior reporter for the morning television show,
Alas Singko y Medya (
ABS-CBN) from 1997 to 2000 where he featured pertinent issues affecting children and interviewed celebrities, including the international pop singer,
Aaron Carter. He graduated from
Manila Science High School (Masci) in 2003 as the First Honorable Mention, First Meritorious Awardee, Best in English, and Best in Filipino. He has represented Masci in several interschool competitions, including the Philippine National Inventors' Contest; Children’s Museum and Library Incorporated Impromptu Speech Contest (second place); and The
Philippine National Police Impromptu Speaking Contest (third place). He was the Science editor of
The Nucleus, the school publication of Masci, awarded as the third best school paper in the Philippines during his editorship.
Medical education and training
Published books
Dr. 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.
Orosa-Nakpil is critically acclaimed for promoting HIV and AIDS awareness. It was featured in the top-rating show
Sharon (talk show) in June 2006 and was also aired internationally through
The Filipino Channel. In August 2006, Dr. Gangcuangco was awarded the
Y Idol Award (Youth Idol Award) by
Studio 23’s
Y Speak. Later that month, the Sentro ng Wikang Filipino conferred a Sertipiko ng Pagpapahalaga for
Orosa-Nakpil, Malate. His novel is endorsed by prominent people and institutions including the multi-awarded director,
José Javier Reyes, Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan (former Department of Health secretary) and Dr. Raul Destura of the National Institutes of Health Philippines.
Orosa-Nakpil, Malate, 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 Sto. Tomas;
Icon Magazine’s Career Issue;
The Manila Collegian, The Nightmare Before Christmas Issue; and
The Philippine Star’s
My Favorite Book, Sunday Lifestyle.
In 2008, Dr. 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. Dr. Gangcuangco is considered one of the most influential authors of the Philippines, together with other pillars of Philippine literature: Dr.
José Rizal,
F. Sionil José and
Lualhati Bautista.
HIV research works
In 2010, Dr. Gangcuangco headed one of the largest HIV testing projects among men having sex with men in
Metro Manila. The findings were presented at the XVIII International AIDS Conference in
Vienna, Austria[7] and was published at the Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health.
[8] 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, Dr. Gangcuangco left his positions as faculty member of the
San Beda College of Medicine and the
Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health to pursue HIV research fellowship at the Nagasaki Institute of Tropical Medicine. He is currently a clinical research associate 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.
