Dr. Bernal is a pediatric rheumatologist who, after her residency training in pediatrics in UST Hospital, pursued her fellowship training in rheumatology in Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. While training abroad, she was a recipient of several prestigious awards including Drs. Ralph and Judith Feigin Resident Award of Excellence, American College of Rheumatology (ACR) outstanding fellow award and ACR Amgen Pediatric Rheumatology Research Award. Her research works on lupus, Kawasaki, polyarteritis nodosa and juvenile idiopathic arthritis has been published in international journals including Arthritis and Rheumatism, International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases and APLAR Journal of Rheumatology. She also authored chapters on lupus nephritis on Avner Pediatric Nephrology in 2021, on Disorders of Bones & Connective Tissues for Fundamentals of Pediatrics in 2014.and Juvenile idiopathic arthritis for Arthritis and Allied Conditions in 2005.
A graduate of UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, she now serves her alma mater as Associate Professor. At present, she is the section chief of Pediatric Rheumatology in UST Hospital and Cardinal Santos Medical Center; an active medical consultant in private tertiary hospitals in Metro Manila.
