Category: NEWS & EVENTS

The seven new Outstanding Young Scientists from UP are: Dr. Jaime Alfonso M. Aherrera (UP Manila); Dr. Aries A. Arugay (UP Diliman); Dr. Marlon T. Conato (UP Diliman); Dr. Remil L. Galay (UP Los Baños); Dr. Francis Norman C. Paraan (UP Diliman); Dr. Betchaida D. Payot (UP Diliman); and, Dr. Rodney H. Perez (UP Los Baños).

They were chosen based on: the quality and number of scientific works and publications; contributions to the advancement of science in general and in the Philippines; and, contributions to the well-being of the Philippine economy and culture.

The Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) and the Master of Arts in Nursing (MAN) Program organized the Let’s Talk It Over webinar titled “Who Takes Care of the Caregivers? The COVID-19 Experience” on 11 June 2020 to take a closer look at the situations of nurses during this pandemic and their experience as COVID-19 patients and survivors.

Heroes emerge during times of crisis. The one brought about by COVID-19 has shaped UP Visayas’ College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences faculty Dr. Victor Marco Emmanuel “Noel” Ferriols into nothing short of contemporary public health hero. Not one to show-off his achievements, this low key Director of the Philippine Genome Center – Visayas played a critical role in setting up several COVID-19 Testing Center in Western Visayas harnessing the resources and connections of the research facility.

Part of the UP Manila response to The Covid 19 pandemic is conducting researches on topics related to the virus. As of  18 May 2020, the total number of researches done is 110.

Neurological conditions, such as Dementia and Cerebral Palsy, affect the cognitive abilities, motor functions, and performance of activities of daily living of patients. These manifestations may occur throughout the patients’ lifetime, which may render poor quality of life for both the patients and their families.

THE COVID-19 pandemic has the world’s medical minds ardently pursuing a cure for this virus. So far, no clear effective treatment has emerged. Because of this, the World Health Organization (WHO) is embarking on a worldwide Solidarity Trial. This is an international randomized clinical trial with an adaptive design which aims to estimate the effectiveness of four possible therapies in treating COVID-19.

COVID-19 is projected to require a massive inventory of medical supplies. This was the impetus for the UP College of Medicine to spearhead SIBOL (Tagalog for germination), a project which aims to use locally sourced material and technology to produce much needed surgical and medical devices. This is a joint program with UP Diliman and sponsored by Department of Science & Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research & Development (DOSTPCHRD). The S.I.B.O.L. (Surgical Innovation and Biotechnology) Team includes collaborating clinicians from UP Manila and engineers, scientists, and even artists from UP Diliman.

The UP Manila NIH was the first facility to use the GenAmplifyTM, Covid 19 testing kit rRT-PCR developed by Dr. Raul Destura and researchers from the NIH and Philippine Genome Center (PGC). The mass distribution of the kits started on April 20, 2020 according to the Department of Science and Technology which gave P53.2M for the development of this. Its use was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on April 3 after three weeks of field validation that covered 26,000 tests. Other institutions such as the PGC, Bataan General Hospital, Araneta Foundation, Office of the Vice President, and some local governments have availed of the kits, the DOST stated.

Students of UP Visayas may be considered as trail blazers in the creation of the ‘Do It Yourself’ face shields in the country. The initiative started after UPV student Hannah Labrador and her doctor mom introduced the idea to students stranded in the dormitories and boarding houses and supplied them with raw materials. The production started during the third week of March 2020.

Fighting the COVID-19 pandemic has made UPLB colleges and institutes step up to do their part.

One of these is the Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Physics of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS-IMSP), some of whose faculty members are part of  the Committee for Technology and Facility Innovation of the UPLB Task Force Laban ng Bayan Kontra Covid-19.