Philippine premiere obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Gregorio Banzon Pastorfide has been named a Distinguished Alumnus awardee for 2012 by the University of the Philippines Medical Alumni Society (UPMAS).

The highest award that the UPMAS gives out yearly will be presented to Pastorfide (UP College of Medicine, Class of ’67) in ceremonies to be held at Edsa Shangri-la Manila on December 20.The Distinguished Alumnus award (previously called Outstanding Alumnus award) is given to an alumnus/alumna “whose qualities of leadership, professionalism and dedication to quality care exemplify the high standards of conduct and ethical behavior in patient care embodied in the objectives of the College, envisioned by Hippocrates and epitomized by Galen.”

Dr. Greg, hails from Balanga, Bataan where he was influenced by his mother, a nurse who delivered most of the babies in their town some 50 years ago. The young Greg accompanied his mother when she did her rounds, witnessing first-hand how happy couples are the moment a baby comes into their lives. The realization that such service gives so much joy to people convinced him to pursue a career in obstetrics and gynecology.

He was handpicked by his role model, renowned OB-Gyne Dr. Constantino Manahan, also a recipient of an outstanding UP alumnus award two years before died, to become one of the residents to train at the UP College of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics-Gynecology.

Dr. Greg pursued his residency in the US, beginning at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center in 1968 up to 1969, and next at Tufts University of Medicine at the New England Medical Center and St. Margaret’s Hospital. The year 1972 saw him as a research fellow of the Endocrine Research Group at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital – Harvard Medical School and a year later he was awarded a clinical fellowship at the Boston Lying-in Hospital - Harvard Medical School. In those six years abroad, Dr. Greg apprenticed under the likes of world-renowned endocrinologist Dr. Melvin Taymor and trophoblastic expert Dr. Donald Goldstein.

Dr. Greg opted to return to the Philippines in 1974. His first job was at Cardinal Santos Medical Center where he eventually became Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology for six years (1981-1986). He then practiced at the Makati Medical Center and joined the faculty staff of UP PGH, under the invitation of Dr. Manahan. By 1998, Dr. Greg became its Academic Chairman in Obstetrics and Gynecology. It was during his chairmanship that the department became the recipient of the UP Medical Foundation (Silver Cup – Most Outstanding Clinical Science Department for the Academic Year 2000).

An awarded author, he wrote the book “Gestational Trophoblastic Disease With Philippine Experience” published in 2001. Dr. Greg also served as editor-in-chief of the Philippine Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology from 1993 to 1995; as well as editor-in-chief of Journal of the Philippine Society of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in 2004.

 He is married to Dr. Georgina, a dermatologist and they have two sets of twins: Gia, a doctor and Grace, a lawyer; Gayle, a dentistry student, and Georgia a fine arts graduate. All hail from UP.

Dr. Greg is the medical director of the Victory ART Laboratories which specializes in in-vitro fertilization (IVF) method to help married but childless couples start a family. The Victory ART Laboratories have done the most number of successful IVFs in the country, up to 300 cases yearly.

They have helped both regular folks and very important people in society.

Still on call 24/7, Dr. Greg shows no signs of slowing down being an active consultant at Cardinal Santos Medical Center and at the Makati Medical Center, as well as a visiting consultant at the Medical City Hospital.

Dr. Greg’s secret to success is pure and potent: Find out what you like to do best, pursue it with all your heart, give it all you’ve got with a mind of serving people, and the rest will take care of itself.