ASOG Announces First Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy Development Fellowship Program Recipients

The Ateneo School of Government (ASOG), through the Ateneo Policy Center (APC) and its government partner, the Department of Health (DOH), welcomes the first two scholarship recipients of the Tobacco Prevention and Control Scholarship Program (TPC PDF) – Mr. Veincent Christian Pepito and Dr. Veronica Prasad.

With the support of Vital Strategies, TPC PDF is a program designed to strategically support six priority areas identified in the National Tobacco Prevention and Control Strategy (NTPCS 2030) of the Department of Health. The program aims to recruit experts in public health and medicine who are interested in supporting tobacco control efforts in the Philippines. TPC PDF opened the application process in May 2024 and has since closed the process of rigorously considering candidates who are worthy of being awarded the fellowship. The fellowship will then be awarded to two young, promising fellows whose proposals are deemed most relevant to the NTPCS 2030.

Our first Fellow is Mr. Veincent Christian Pepito, Assistant Professor at Ateneo de Manila University School of Medicine and Public Health (ASMPH). He holds a Masters in Epidemiology from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, has published over 50 quantitative, qualitative and mixed media articles on leprosy, self-care, health systems, maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive health and global burden of disease in various peer-reviewed journals. He is also an editor International Journal of Health Equity AND PLOS ONE.

Our second fellow is Dr. Veronica Prasad, a dedicated healthcare professional who is passionate about promoting public health through evidence-based strategies. She holds a Master of Public Health with a specialization in Health Economics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Ateneo de Manila University. Her current research interests include policy development and economic evaluations to support national health strategies.

Fellows will receive guidance from members of the TPC PDF Advisory Board, including Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo, Executive Director of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA); Dr. Nadia Doytch, Lecturer at the City University of New York (CUNY); Dr. Madeleine Valera, Senior Technical Advisor at Vital Strategies; Dr. Gianna Gayle Amul, Nonresident Researcher at the Ateneo Policy Center; and Director Rodley Daniel Desmond Cardy, Director of the Office of Health Promotion at the Department of Health. Each fellow is assigned a mentor for personalized guidance, with Dr. Dorotheo mentoring Mr. Pepito and Dr. Doytch mentoring Dr. Prasad.

As the only university with a program dedicated to tobacco control and management, the Ateneo School of Government, through the Ateneo Policy Center, is committed to advancing tobacco control research in the country by supporting emerging leaders in the field through the TPC PDF. To combat the ever-growing epidemic of tobacco and e-cigarette use, it is imperative that we continue to support nationwide efforts to reduce preventable deaths. This requires evidence-based policies supported by sustainable and ongoing policy research.