Proceso Bautista Gabriel (2 July 1887 – 4 November 1935) was a Filipino physician and bacteriologist known for establishing the first privately owned bacteriological laboratory in the Philippines.

Biography

Early life

Gabriel was born on July 2, 1887, in

Santa Cruz, Manila Santa Cruz is a district in the northern part of the Manila, City of Manila, Philippines, located on the right bank of the Pasig River near its mouth. It is bordered by the districts of Tondo, Manila, Tondo, Binondo, Manila, Binondo, Quiapo, Ma ...

, the second of five children of Juana Bautista and Juan Gabriel, a leather dealer.

Medical career

After finishing medical studies at the University of Santo Tomas on January 14, 1903, Gabriel worked as a lecturer at the university while serving as Manila's municipal physician. He was among the first graduates of the first medical school in the Philippines together with

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a na ...

, Aristón Bautista, Manuel S. Guerrero,

Trinidad Pardo de Tavera Trinidad Hermenegildo José María Juan Francisco Pardo de Tavera y Gorricho (13 April 1857 – 26 March 1925) was a Filipino physician, historian and politician of Spanish and Portuguese descent who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the First ...

, Salvador Vivencio del Rosario, Sixto de Los Angeles and others. While practicing his medical profession, he conducted researches on fighting the great epidemics of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

beriberi Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The name beriberi was possibly borrowed in the 18th century from the Sinhalese phrase (bæri bæri, “I canno ...

, and

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

. He became the head of the Philippine Bureau of Health and assistant Dean at the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. During his 20 years with the Bureau of Health, he published numerous medical researches and textbooks such as ''Manual de Higiene y Sanitación'' ("Manual on Hygiene and Sanitation") and ''Higiene Práctica y Métodos Clínicos de Laboratorio'' ("Practical Hygiene and Clinical Laboratory Methods").

Marriage and family

Gabriel married Carmen Borja on November 26, 1905. Together they had five children who became prominent figures in their respective professions: * Antonio (born ?), head of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Parasitology and chief of the Section of Legal Medicine and History of Medicine, UST Faculty of Medicine Surgery; * Sis. Maria Carmencita (1910–1998), professed religious of the

Maryknoll Sisters The Maryknoll Sisters, (formerly the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic/Teresians) are an institute of Catholic religious sisters founded in the village of Ossining, Westchester County, New York, in 1912, six months after the 1911 creation of the ...

; * Gregorio (born ?), assistant dean and chief of the section of Anatomy of the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery; * Pedro (born ?), chief chemist of YCO Paints, Elizalde & Company, Inc, and professor of philosophy,

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...

; and * Angel (born ?), assistant vice-president of F.G.U. Insurance group. A devout

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, he and his wife were members of the

Third Order of Saint Dominic The Third Order of Saint Dominic (; abbreviated TOP), also referred to as the Lay Fraternities of Saint Dominic or Lay Dominicans since 1972, is a Roman Catholic, Catholic third order which is part of the Dominican Order. As members of the Order ...

Death

He died on November 4, 1935, due to

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Honors and recognitions

In 1929, he was nominated for the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...

by Dario del Val of the

"for his contributions to the public health and the sanitary progress of the Philippines." He was the first Filipino to be nominated for the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabriel, Proceso 1887 births 1935 deaths People from Santa Ana, Manila Filipino microbiologists University of Santo Tomas alumni 20th-century Filipino medical doctors Filipino Roman Catholics Lay Dominicans Filipino Dominicans