Why Dr. Mary Ann Lansang is someone to look up to
They rose. They lifted others.
A physician, clinical epidemiologist, teacher, and mentor whose work strengthened infectious-disease research and public-health training in the Philippines and beyond.
There are Filipinos whose names may not regularly appear in our headlines, yet whose work has earned the respect of people far beyond our shores.
Dr. Mary Ann Lansang is one of them.
Her story deserves to be shared—especially with our young people.
From a young student in Baguio who simply loved to learn, she went on to become a physician, a renowned professor of medicine and clinical epidemiology, a leader in Philippine medical research, and an internationally respected contributor to the fight against infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis.
Her career took her from Philippine communities to international research collaborations and to the World Health Organization’s TDR programme in Geneva.
But perhaps one of the most beautiful parts of her story is what she chose to do with everything she learned:
She passed it on.
She taught.
She mentored.
She helped younger researchers become public-health professionals in their own right.
There is an important lesson here for the young:
Success is not measured only by how far you rise. It is also measured by how many people you help rise after you.
At a time when social media can make fame seem like the ultimate measure of achievement, we should introduce our children and grandchildren to another kind of Filipino role model—the scientist, physician, teacher, researcher and quiet nation-builder whose life’s work makes other people’s lives better.
The World Health Organization’s TDR programme told Dr. Mary Ann Lansang’s remarkable story.
I hope our young people will read it.
Because the Philippines has produced extraordinary people.
We should know their names.
We should tell their stories.
And we should give the next generation someone worth looking up to.
Why I Chose Dr. Mary Ann Lansang
I chose Dr. Mary Ann Lansang because hers is the kind of success I would like our young people to admire.
She built an extraordinary career in medicine, epidemiology and infectious-disease research, earning recognition far beyond the Philippines. But what impressed me just as much as her accomplishments was what she did with what she learned.
She taught. She mentored. She helped build the next generation.
To me, that is an especially meaningful kind of achievement.
Our young people live in a time when fame, wealth and popularity can easily be mistaken for success. I want them to know about Filipinos like Dr. Lansang—people who pursued excellence not simply for themselves, but to serve others and leave something valuable behind.
That is why she is my choice for Profile #01 of FILIPINOS TO LOOK UP TO.
May a young Filipino who reads her story someday say:
If she could do it, perhaps I can too.
Read the WHO/TDR feature on Dr. Mary Ann Lansang: