A PROFESSOR from the University of Santo Tomas received the Outstanding Professional of the Year 2024 in the field of Physical Therapy given by the Professional Regulation Commission.

Dr. Valentin Dones III accepted the award last August 2. He was nominated by the Philippine Physical Therapy Association.

The Association vetted nominees based on qualifications, professional activities, character, and most importantly, contributions to the profession.

“Be driven by a passion to serve others as a gift from God… We are called to perform our duties with love, thank those who support us, forgive those who have wronged us, and see every task as an opportunity to thank and praise God,” UST said quoting Dones as saying.

According to UST, Dones’s nomination by PPTA emanated from the nominations of CHRMS academic researchers Asst. Prof. Lyle Patrick D. Tangcuangco and Inst. Mark Angel B. Serra.

Currently, Dones is the Director of the Center for Health Research and Movement Science and academic researcher of the Department of Physical Therapy.

He is also a research fellow at St. Luke’s Medical Center and is involved in two projects funded by the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology.

His various research projects address issues such as hospitalized COVID-19 patient outcomes, hepatocellular carcinoma risks, hypertensive urgency and emergency, and the delivery of blended teaching in health science programs.

Also an innovator, he is the Chief Executive Officer of PainFree Management and Consulting, Inc., which is a grant awardee of the DOST-PCHRD and an incubatee of UST’s own TOMASInno Center, the in-house technology business incubator.