Author: Jennifer Yang
Parkinson’s Disease Lay Fora
Last week I had the privilege to participate in not one, but two lay fora about Parkinson’s Disease (PD) talking about role of dance therapy in maintaining physical ability and quality of life. April is PD month because Dr. James Parkinson’s birthday is April 11. He first described the disease in 1817, writing “An Essay […]
(A Belated) World Voice Day at Asian Hospital & Medical Center
Here is a belated post to match a belated celebration! World Voice Day was on April 16, but due to scheduling conflicts we had to move to April 22. Close enough! The Performing Arts Medicine Advocates National Association of the Philippines (PAMANA PH) is grateful for the opportunity to participate during the Asian Hospital and […]
A Performing Arts Medicine Weekend in Cebu
Last Thursday, I flew to Cebu to fulfill one of the “deliverables” for the Balik Scientist Program award grant: consulting work to help establish a Performing Arts Medicine clinic in the city. Something along the lines of what we have at the UP College of Music, but a little more multi- and inter-disciplinary since we […]
Chairman’s Rounds at St. Luke’s Medical Center Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Two talks in March and April 2026 with the St. Luke’s Medical Center Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation faculty and residents, through support from the Balik [returning] Scientist Program of the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development. We discussed Performing Arts Medicine in March, and Functional Outcomes in Spinal […]
Medicine Meets the Performing Arts: A Tuesday Conference in Four Acts
The University of the Philippines College of Medicine has this regular Tuesday morning conference for “anything under the sun that is related to medicine but can’t fit in the curriculum”. In preparation for the annual variety show Tao Rin Pala (TRP) next month, our Performing Arts Medicine team from the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine collaborated […]
Hellohello from Iloilo
I am in Iloilo as part of the Balik Scientist Program “give as many talks as possible while we are funding you till May 2026” task. Iloilo positions itself as a cultural, heritage and culinary destination in the Visayas. The Iloilo trip organizers took my “I am a museum geek” statement to heart and ran […]
Chinese Lion Dancers – Without the Costume!
I saw this post today from photo blogger Jan Sy, while looking for a clip of lion dancers to get into the lunar new year vibe. These lion dancers from Manila’s Chinatown (Binondo) are practicing their dance steps. Interesting to see their movements without the costume! #performingartsmedicine commentary: Aside from the usual dance-related concerns, there […]
Educating the Educators-in-training: Two Days with the Music Education Majors at the UP College of Music
More fun than clinic! We wrapped up two days of hybrid talks for future music educators regarding performing artists’ health, scheduled for February 5 and 6, 2026. Thankful to everyone who joined us in-person and over Zoom for each of the four sessions (yes we did every informational talk 4 times, to accommodate all the […]
The Medicine in Art: Launching the Medical Humanities “Extra” Program
We did a thing last Wednesday, February 11, 2026. The University of the Philippines College of Medicine has an annual Wellness Week that started in 2023, celebrating all the ways that students can decompress from all the stuff they have to do on the way to becoming six-star physicians. This year’s week organized by the […]
A glimpse into a full teaching schedule
So this is how it feels to be a full-time teacher… for one day: January 21, 2026, Wednesday. No clinic, no research, no writing… just teaching! 8:00 to 10:00 AM: I typically designate Wednesdays as my “St. Luke’s Day”. The St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine-William H. Quasha Memorial has its General Faculty and […]
