Dr. Maria Isabel Echanis Melgar has spent 37 years in clinical practice, research, intervention, and advocacy, with contributions spanning HIV/AIDS prevention and care, cancer care, pain management, mental health, and public health. A two-time Board Member of the Psychological Association of the Philippines and Chair of its Clinical Psychology Committee, she played a central role in the passage of the Psychology Law of 2010, and became the first non-medical professional to lead the AIDS Society of the Philippines and the first admitted to the Board of the Pain Society of the Philippines. She pioneered the Patients' Forum, a hospital-based support group for cancer patients and families, and developed bereavement camps for families of pediatric cancer patients now running in Davao, Cebu, and Iloilo.