Leorey N. Saligan
The lifework of this health researcher from northern Mindanao is the search for ways to lessen the pain of cancer, which his parents lived with while he was growing up in Cagayan de Oro City.
He studied at Silliman and earned his first academic degree in 1988 in the field of health care–B.S. Medical Technology. He went on to earn a second degree, B.S. Nursing, from Liceo de Cagayan in 1992, where he worked for several years before leaving for further training and research in the United States. Postgraduate work earned him an M.S. in Family Nursing (2003) and a Ph.D. in the same field (2007) from the University of Hampton in Virginia, where he specialized in cancer research as his life work.
Dr. Saligan has served as an adjunct professor at the Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA), the University of Kansas, (Kansas City, MO), and the University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND).
Currently a respected Nursing Professor and a Nurse Scientist, he heads a team of doctors, nurses, and scientists searching for ways to ease patients’ fatigue accompanying chemotherapy and other cancer treatments. The team believes that a better understanding of the underlying biology of cancer-related fatigue (CRF) would help patients with other problems. Biomarkers for CRF have been patented by him and his team. As chief of the Symptoms Biology Unit and the Director of the Symptoms Science Center in the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Nursing Research in Bethesda, Maryland, Dr. Saligan sustains the research spirit of young nurse researchers by providing opportunities for post-doctoral education through his research ingenuity and management skills.
An important part of Dr. Saligan’s life is church work. Starting as a five-year-old who sang with the Family Choir of the Cagayan de Oro United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), he became its Youth Choir director in his teens. At Silliman, he sang with the Covenant Choir and Souled Out Singers, and was a leader in many activities of the Christian Youth Fellowship (CYF).
He worked with the youth group of the First Presbyterian Church in Odessa, Texas to develop their interpretative dance program and was involved in the formation of the Filipino United Church of Christ (UCC) in Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach, VA.
He now lives in Germantown, Maryland and is a member of the UCC in Seneca Valley, where he developed the self-care ministry, put together a monthly self-care newsletter for the church, and serves on their Christian Education Committee.
Dr. Saligan’s many recognitions and awards include: Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) for securing a patent for his research on cancer-related fatigue; Early Career Investigator Award, Multinational Supportive Care in Cancer, Berlin, Germany in 2013; Unit Commendation Medal, Office of the Surgeon General, United States Public Service, Dept. of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. in 2014; Exceptional Proficiency Promotion to Captain, Office of the Surgeon General, United State Public Health Service in 2016; and Presidential Unit Citation awarded by President Barack Obama in 2016.
