Carmela Caballero

Dr. Carmela Caballero is a General Surgeon and a Medical Advisor for the Breast International Group (BIG - https://www.bigagainstbreastcancer.org/ ), a research organization based in Belgium. She trained at University of Santo Tomas to become a medical doctor then proceeded to surgical residency at the Philippine General Hospital and Rizal Medical Center. Carmela got her surgical license in 2012. She worked in Singapore General Hospital but eventually moved to Brussels, Belgium for a surgical research fellowship with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. Subsequently, she worked with EORTC as an advisor for gastrointestinal tract and head and neck cancer research. Since 2018, she has been working with BIG focusing on breast cancer research.

Carmela got interested with cancer since her surgical residency at UP-PGH. It is one of the most complex diseases that we need to fight, affecting so many patients especially in the Philippines. She says, “Each one of us will have at least one friend or family member afflicted with cancer. It can be truly devasting not just for the individual, but for families and for our society.”

Carmela’s work at BIG focuses on international breast cancer research. She is involved in several clinical trials:

• EXPERT - investigating how new technologies can select breast cancer patients with very low risk of recurrence who can avoid radiotherapy;

• AURORA - using molecular profiling technologies to understand the development of metastatic breast cancer; and

APHINITY - understanding the benefit of adjuvant dual anti-HER2 target therapy for early breast cancer patients.

Most recently, she is working on a BIG initiative to involve patients at the forefront of research development – to listen to what is truly most important to them.

Mentoring has been a fulfilling, yet humbling and challenging experience for Carmela. “Both mentor and student need to share the ups and downs of their journey to make it worthwhile; we learn together” she expressed. As she recalls, she wouldn’t be where she is right now if not for all the mentors who guided her. Now, it’s time for her to give back.

As a mentor, she will be looking forward to having open discussions with her students. She would like to encourage students to ask difficult, critical and also simple questions, a lot of them. Based abroad, she is most likely to share an “international” and clinical perspective to her students. “Most of all I hope to inspire to be positive change makers”.

Carmela has some words of wisdom for aspiring young Filipino scientists: “Be brave to take the path of science. When you fail, take it all in, learn from the experience and get up. Keep on moving forward. Be open to new ideas and to criticisms. Ask questions and listen to the universe”.