Dr. Esperanza Icasas-Cabral was graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Medicine and completed her training at the Philippine General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Joslin Clinic.

At the U.P. College of Medicine and the Philippine General Hospital, where she remains Clinical Professor and Consultant in Medicine, she was appointed to various positions including Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology. At the same time, she also held responsibilities at the Philippine Heart Center where she was variously Head of the Hypertension Section, Asst. Chief of Medical Staff and finally, Director.

Dr. Cabral is a Fellow and Diplomate as well as Past President of the Philippine College of Physicians and the Philippine Heart Association. She is currently Vice President of the Philippine Lipid Society and Immediate Past President of the Philippine Society of Hypertension. Her principal research interests are in hypertension, cardiovascular pharmacology and preventive cardiology. She is author or co-author of more than 85 papers published in the Philippines and internationally. She was recently appointed Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. She is also the Commissioner of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women representing Science and Health, Chair of the Council on Women’s Heart Health of the Philippine Heart Association and Chief of Cardiology at Asian Hospital and Medical Center.