Both professional and student contenders from Western Visayas clinched the first place in the Oral Research Paper Competition during the 15th Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS) Week held on August 8-9, 2022 at Marriott Hotel, Clark, Pampanga.
Ms. Adrienne Marrie Bugayong Janagap of the University of the Philippines (UP) Visayas bagged the first place in the Professional category with her research entitled, “Tubby and Hmgb2 Interaction and Potential Role in Adipogenesis,” while the winner in the Student category is Ms. Princess Jewel Guzman of Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod, with her research entitled, “Practices and Challenges of Antimicrobial Stewardship among Pharmacists in Selected Community and Hospital Pharmacies in Bacolod City.”
Aiming to provide a platform for the dissemination and sharing of selected health research outputs conducted by both professional and student researchers, the PNHRS holds the competition yearly as part of the PNHRS Week celebrated every second week of August.
The other winners of the competition are as follows:
Professional
- 2nd place - Region 1: Ms. Sarah Jane Tan of Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (Serologic SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Level and Factors Affecting its Production After COVID-19 VAccination Among Employees of MMMHMC)
- 3rd place - Region 10: Mr. Mark Lloyd Dapar of Central Mindanao University (Quantitative ethnopharmacological documentation and molecular confirmation of medicinal plants used by Monobo tribe of Agusan del Sur, Philippines
Student
- 2nd place - Region 5: Ms. Maedel Joice B. Castro of Bicol University (CoVfirm: A Web browser Plug-in for COVID-19 VAccine False Information Detection)
- 3rd place - CARAGA: Ms. Hazel Faith N. Pelpinosas of Caraga State University (A Type of SEIR Model with a Large Set of Undetected Asymptomatic with Short and Long Term COVID-19 Dynamics to Better Comprehend Vaccination Immunity and Treatment
The competition, held in a hybrid format, allows researchers to showcase their research outputs and highlight relevant findings that can be used and adapted to further realize a healthy Filipino community.
The event is among the sessions of the PNHRS week. More sessions and health research events are open for virtual participants until August 12, 2022 which can be accessed through the official website, 15thpnhrsweekcelebration.dost3.ph, or the DOST-PCHRD Facebook page.
To highlight the role of health research in national recovery and resiliency, the 15th Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS) Week celebration will gather stakeholders to share their expertise and experiences in health R&D on August 8-12, 2022 at Clark Marriott Hotel, Pampanga.
Hosted by the Central Luzon Health Research and Development Consortium (CLHRDC) together with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Region III, the celebration will be conducted in a hybrid format using both face-to-face and virtual set ups to ensure compliance to health protocols, following the recommendation of the Regional Inter-agency Task Force.
Themed “Health Research: Responding to Challenges to National Recovery and Resiliency,” the PNHRS Week celebration will serve as a platform for the health research community to share their insights, best practices, and experiences in developing innovative solutions to contribute to national recovery towards achieving resilience through health R&D.
Composed of pre-conference sessions such as workshops, meetings, and competitions and main conference events where three plenary sessions are scheduled, the face-to-face setup is expected to be attended by 250 invited participants, while live broadcasts will be available to all registered virtual participants.
"This year, we banner the theme “Health Research: Responding to Challenges towards National Recovery and Resiliency.” Along with our thrust for a strong recovery and a pandemic-resilient healthcare system, we highlight the importance of health research and innovation," DOST-PCHRD Executive Director Dr. Jaime C. Montoya says. "As with all such conferences, including this year’s PNHRS Week, we want to initiate discourse, and advocate for research-based solutions from across disciplines in healthcare," he adds.
“Health Research has always been in the forefront of innovation and this year’s conference is another gateway to come together to enhance our health policies, improve our healthcare system and make adaptive, feasible solutions as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. May this event celebrate the resiliency we have shown as we respond to our current and future public health concerns,” says CLHRDC Vice Chair Dr. Maria Corazon I. Flores.
The PNHRS Week is celebrated every second week of August in accordance with Presidential Proclamation No. 1309 of June 2007.
Interested participants may register through: https://15thpnhrsweekcelebration.dost3.ph.
For more updates on the upcoming PNHRS Week celebration, you may visit the DOST-PCHRD Facebook Page, CLHRDC Facebook Page, or the PNHRS Website.
“Thank you, PCHRD, for supporting an idea in 1996.”
University of the Philippines Manila (UPM) Chancellor Carmencita Padilla highlighted the importance of believing in research ideas by citing her work on newborn screening in 1996, during her keynote message for the 40th anniversary of the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) last March 17, 2022.
“In 1996, my mentor, Dr. Carmelita Domingo, and I initiated the newborn screening project in 24 hospitals,” she recalled. “This entails getting a few drops of blood from the heel of a newborn to run tests to diagnose certain conditions that can be treated immediately to save the baby from mental retardation and death.”
Needing to cover 18 private and six government hospitals for an adequate sample size, Dr. Padilla shared how they worked to secure funding for the project from the DOST-PCHRD and UPM. She shared how the support from both institutions paved the way for the research project which became the basis for the National Comprehensive Newborn Screening Program, which is now supported by Republic Act 9288 or the Newborn Screening Act of 2004.
She explained how the project started as Dr. Domingo’s vision. “For 17 years, (she) was trying to get funding. She learned about newborn screening in the US when she was doing her pediatric residency program. That was in the 60s. She wanted the country to join the world in getting it adopted as a national policy.”
Relative to this, she addressed funding agencies to emphasize how important it is to believe in ideas, whether big or small. “Big things come from small ideas. And no matter how small an idea is, they should be given a chance to be proven in the context of science and research.”
“If PCHRD did not give me that half a million (of funding support), and just depended on the private sector for the numbers needed for a national recommendation, then maybe, we still do not have a national newborn screening program.”
Compared to when it started, the program was able to significantly expand its coverage, which now screens for 29 conditions and is implemented by more than 7000 facilities in the country. (Newborn Screening Program | Department of Health website) Dr. Padilla proudly reported that through the years, “the program has saved thousands of newborns from mental retardation and death.”
In completing research projects, she reminded researchers to keep the greater good in mind and to bring their research output to the people. She also emphasized how the future for health research is a shared responsibility: "With government funding and the academe for a nurturing environment, and the researchers for the continuous supply of new solutions for the old and new issues of the country.”
“My fellow researchers, I have enjoyed my research journey. Do enjoy your journey,” she concluded.
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Dr. Carmencita Padilla is a pioneer in genetics in the Philippines and the Asia Pacific region. She is a Professor of Pediatrics at the College of Medicine and the current Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Manila. She is the Founding Director of the Institute of Human Genetics and the Newborn Screening Reference Center at the National Institutes of Health. Recognizing her varied contributions to the academic growth of genetics in the Philippines, she was conferred Academician of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) in 2008.
Written by: Jwynne Macan
