Julette Marie F. Batara, MD, FPNA
President
Dr. Julette Marie Batara is a neurologist with a subspecialty in Neuro-oncology. She was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Neuro-oncology at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institution and attended a clinical rotation in Medical Oncology at the Johns Hopkins International Medical Center in Singapore.
She is currently part of the training committee of the PGH Department of Neurosciences as well as Head of the Neuro-oncology Service of UP-PGH and St. Luke’s Medical Center, Q.C. and BGC. She is also the President of the Philippine Society for Neuro-oncology and heads the Communications Committee as part of the Executive Committee/Board of the Asian Society for Neuro-oncology.
Ma. Geraldine S. Espiritu, MD, FPNA
Vice-President
Dr. Geraldine Espiritu is a graduate of the UP-PGH Adult Neurology residency program and pursued her fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology at the St. Luke’s Medical Center Q.C. and The Prince of Wales Hospital, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
She is currently the Section Head of Neurology at the University of Perpetual Help Medical Center Las Piñas and a Consultant Neurologist and Electromyographer at St. Luke’s Medical Center Q.C. and Manila Doctors Hospital.
She was a Clinical Associate Professor at the UP College of Medicine (2004-2019) and a Consultant Specialist for the Bureau of Food and Drugs (2004-2010). She continues to pursue research and teach residents in training. She is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, World Stroke Organization, and the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, as well as various local medical societies and organizations.
Marie Charmaine Sy-Lukban, MD, FPNA
Secretary
Dr. Marie Charmaine Sy-Lukban is a stroke neurologist trained at the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, Toronto, Canada. She is deeply committed to caring for underserved patients with neurological conditions and is passionate about improving access to compassionate, patient-centered stroke and neurological care for vulnerable communities. A devoted mom with a special love for children, she brings empathy, warmth, and dedication to both her patients and her profession.
Paul Matthew D. Pasco, MD, FPNA
Treasurer
Dr. Paul Matthew Pasco obtained his medical degree from the University of the Philippines in 1992, after which he pursued his Residency in Clinical Neurology at the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) Medical Center. He was a Translational Research Fellow at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC from 2003 – 2004, and obtained an MS in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of the Philippines Manila in 2010.
He was President of the Philippine Neurological Association in 2015. At present, he is Assistant Chair for Services of the Dept. of Neurosciences, UP College of Medicine, and Medical Specialist at the Clinical Research and Training Division of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center.
Thaddeus Jose B. Bayana, MD, FAAN
Trustee
Dr. Thaddeus Jose B. Bayana is a practicing General Pediatrician with a subspecialty in Pediatric Neurology. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Velez College, Cebu City. He finished his medical degree at Dr. Jose P. Rizal School of Medicine, Cagayan de Oro City, as one of the recipients of the Committee of German Doctors Scholarship Program.
He pursued his general Pediatrics residency training at the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital, where he then sought further fellowship training for his subspecialty in Pediatric Neurology.
With a private practice located at Capitol University Medical Center in Cagayan de Oro City, he also serves as the current Chairman of its Pediatrics Department.
Lynne Lourdes N. Lucena, MD, FPCS, FAFNI
Trustee
Dr. Lynne Lourdes Lucena was a Nellie Kellogg Van Schaick Full Scholar at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine Intarmed Class 1991. She is a recipient of the Golden Scalpel Award for Neurosurgery, (serving the Bicol Region); Chair of the Philippine Board of Neurological Surgery, Inc. (2013-2017); Secretary, Board of Directors of the Academy of Filipino Neurosurgeons Inc. (AFNI) from 2017-2019; present Vice-President of the AFNI; Chair of the Neurotrauma Committee of the Asian Australasian Society of Neurological Surgeons (AASNS); Speaker/Lecturer – Women in Neurosurgery/World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies and Asean Congress of Neurological Surgeons. She was awarded the Visiting International Surgeon Award – Women in Neurosurgery Greg Wilkins-Barrick Chair, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 2016; and a recipient of the International Scholarship from the Turkish Neurosurgical Society and World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies, 2017; and the Exemplar Award from the Leadership Journey Academy of the Unilab Foundation. She has published research in international journals and serves as a peer reviewer as well.
She is also a Poet/Author, having published “Windows to my Soul” – a collection of poems, in 2018.
Jose Miguel M. Medrano, MD, FPNA
Trustee
Dr. Jose Miguel M. Medrano, MD, FPNA is a distinguished neurologist and neurocritical care specialist. A scholar from the very beginning, Dr. Medrano earned his Bachelor of Science in Basic Medical Sciences as an Oblation Scholar of the University of the Philippines before pursuing his Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine through the INTARMED Program. He completed his Neurology Residency at the Department of Neurosciences, Makati Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in Stroke and Vascular Neurology at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).
His pursuit of specialized training has also taken him abroad. He completed a clinical rotation in Stroke and Neurocritical Care at the Ken and Ruth Davee Center of Northwestern Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, further strengthening his expertise in the management of complex neurological and critically ill patients.
Dr. Medrano is a Fellow of the Philippine Neurological Association and an active member of the Stroke Society of the Philippines, Philippine Neurocritical Care Society, and Philippine Headache Society. He currently serves as a Consultant at Makati Life Medical Center and as Head of Critical Care Intensivists at St. Luke’s Medical Center–Quezon City.
Dr. Medrano is also a prolific researcher and published author, having co-authored numerous scientific articles that contribute to the growing body of knowledge in neurology and critical care.
Mark Willy L. Mondia, MD, FPNATrustee
Dr. Mark Willy L. Mondia is a board-certified neurologist with a sub-specialization in Neuro-Oncology from the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital and the University of Virginia. He pursued further specialized training in Neuropathology and Neuro-Oncology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Grown University.
He is currently the Training Officer of the UP-PGH Neuro-Oncology Fellowship Program as well as a Clinical Associate Professor at the UP College of Medicine. He is a Neurology and Neuro-Oncology consultant at the UP-PGH, St. Luke’s Medical Center – Global City, Makati Medical Center, The Medical City, Asian Medical Hospital, Cardinal Santos Medical Hospital, and Perpetual Help Medical Center.
Jose Leonard R. Pascual V, MD, FPNA
Trustee
Dr. Leonard Pascual is a consultant Neurologist at the UP-PGH, a Visiting Consultant and Project Head of St. Luke’s Medical Center Stroke Databank, a Visiting Vascular Neurology Consultant at The Medical City and a Consultant Neurologist at the Manila Doctors Hospital. He is also an Associate Professor V at the Department of Anatomy, UP Manila, and a member of the Philippine Neurological Association and UP-Faculty & Alumni of the Neurosciences, Inc. (UPFANS). He was the President of Let’s Save the Brain Foundation, Inc. from 2016 to 2020.
Dr. Pascual is a BS Psychology graduate of the University of the Philippines, Diliman, and obtained his medical degree from the University of the Philippines Manila. He specializes in the management of people with strokes and other diseases of the brain, nerves, and spinal cord.
Lourdes K. Ledesma, PhD, FPNA (Hon)
Executive Director
Dr. Lourdes Ledesma was President of the UP-PGH Faculty & Alumni of the Neurosciences, Inc. (UPFANS) from 2011-2015, and President of Let’s Save the Brain Foundation from 2012-2016. She is a consultant at the Dept. of Neurology of the MMC Institute of Neurological, Neurosurgical and Behavioral Sciences (MINDS), Makati Medical Center, and heads the Neuropsychology Unit there. She likewise has her private practice at the Ledesma Center for Neuropsychological Services.
She was a Clinical Fellow at the Harvard University School of Medicine where she trained in Clinical Neuropsychology. She is a Fellow of the Psychological Association of the Philippines, and an Honorary Fellow of the Philippine Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society, Philippines. She is also a member of the International Neuropsychological Society.
LST Brain Resident Volunteers:
Dr. Ena Elizabeth Naoe
Dr. Jon Michael Kimpo
Dr. Allisandra Jeline Quinto
Dr. John Matthew Marquez
Dr. Michelle Corneta