Trinidad received a Special Awards in Sports Psychology. She was a part of Filipina Olympian and weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz’s team who (brought home the country’s first gold in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Serving as a consultant in the Philippine Sports Commission – Sports Psychology unit, the Thomasian Sports Psychologist has coached all the national athletes.

Around 200 nominees across 278 sports were judged according to their contribution in promoting and developing their sport.

In celebration of Women’s Month, the inaugural event was organized by the Philippine Sports Commission in honor of Filipinas who dominated and blazed the trail in sports.

Watch the awarding ceremonies here:

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Tan, a faculty member of the Department of Chemistry, was recognized for his contributions to the chemical and pharmacological significance of 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴 species and endemic Rubiaceae plants.

“[Tan’s] extensive studies have illuminated the rich therapeutic potential of these plant varieties, particularly in the realm of neuroprotection and natural products, with a special focus on potential therapies for Alzheimer’s disease,” as read in his citation.

His research tackled the anti-amyloidogenic activity inherent in pure compounds isolated from nature and crude extracts from Philippine endemic and indigenous plants, offering valuable insights into developing neuroprotective agents utilizing the bioactive compounds derived from the said plant species.

In the same NRCP division, the Thomasian researchers who previously received the award were Prof. Emeritus Fortunato B. Sevilla III (1994), Prof. Emeritus Beatrice Q. Guevara (1999), Prof. Emeritus Maribel G. Nonato (2006), Prof. Alicia M. Aguinaldo (2011), and Prof. Christina A. Binag (2013).

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Professor Marc Eric S. Reyes, PhD, an academic researcher of the Department of Psychology and the Research Center for Social Sciences and Education, was recently awarded with the Philippine Federation of Professional Associations (PFPA) Distinction Award for the Psychology Profession – Global Filipino Practice and Service Category. The event, held on February 26, 2024, saw Reyes join other awardees from various professional fields.

For leading the Psychological Association of the Philippines from 2019-2022 and for his work on advancing understanding of gender and the LGBT+ community, Reyes was given a Presidential Citation by the American Psychological Association on June 18, 2022. Among Reyes’s recent research works are on the intersection of climate change and mental health, specifically issues on anxiety. He also serves as Associate Editor of Sexuality and Culture and recently served as editor of the special edition of BMC Psychology – impacts of social media on mental health.

Reyes teaches at the College of Science and the Graduate School.

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Apart from the two distinctions, UST was also recognized for having the most number of Level IV accredited programs in the country. Level IV is the highest rating a program can get. Programs enjoying this status “have been highly respected as very high academic programs in the Philippines and with prestige and authority comparable to similar programs in excellent foreign universities,” according to PACUCOA.

Meanwhile, four bachelor’s programs were also recognized for producing topnotchers in recent Professional Regulation Commission licensure exams, namely, BS Medical Technology, BS Accountancy, BS Nutrition and Dietetics, and BS Architecture.

UST also won an award for the community outreach/extension program contest. The College of Science bagged Second Prize for “CCHEERS to Laudato si: Care for our Common ������ý through Environmental Expedition Integrating the role of Service-Learning.”

Thomasian professors were also recognized by PACUCOA. Graduate School academic staff Lucila O. Bance, PhD was named Outstanding Accreditor, while Dean Emeritus Carmen Kanapi, PhD received a Posthumous Award for Service. Service awards were also received by Graduate School academic staff Belen Tangco, PhD (Accrediting Team Chairman), as well as Faculty of Pharmacy officials Aleth Therese L. Dacanay, PhD, Frieda Z. Hapan, PhD, and Edilberto P. Manahan, PhD.

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The quintessential administrator and Dean of All Seasons
In his address of petition, Graduate School Dean Michael Anthony C. Vasco, PhD, who served as Sison’s first Faculty Secretary at the Graduate School, heaped praises on his former superior, whom he called the “quintessential administrator and Dean of All Seasons.” Recounting the fifty-four years of dedicated service that Sison has been rendering the University, he expressed appreciation at how Sison demanded excellence from those she worked with, but matched such exacting nature with the ability to mentor those under her. Likening the honoree to Britain’s Margaret Thatcher, Vasco said UST produced a chemist administrator, too, in Lilian Sison.

Sison has been a University administrator for 42 straight years, since her first appointment as Faculty Secretary of the Graduate School in 1981. After retirement in 2013, she was asked by then-Rector fr. Herminio V. Dagohoy, O.P., PhD to be the first Director of the Office of International Relations and Programs.

As he granted Dean Vasco’s petition, the Rector, the Very Rev. fr. Richard G. Ang, O.P., PhD called Sison the “best-qualified candidate for Dean Emeritus.” Calling Sison “a lady who gets the job done,” he recognized Sison’s “relentless determination and fruitful action” and how “she made a mark in every assignment that will keep her leadership and management footprint.”

Heaping praises on Sison’s visionary leadership, the Rector said that Sison does not wait for opportunities but rather creates them, evidenced by the many instances in which she pioneered game-changing reforms in the University, from her time in Academic Affairs, to the Graduate School, and now, in Internationalization, which has come out in various rankings agencies as UST’s strongest suit. Her track record in internationalization was foreshadowed by her stint in the Graduate School, where her moves to make courses research-intensive were complemented by opportunities for student exchange and international paper presentations, as well as the acquisition of higher degrees in collaboration with partner universities such as the University of Western Australia. Sison was also relentless in her pursuit of scholarship and funding opportunities for faculty members to earn their degrees abroad, in countries such as Germany (through the DAAD scholarship).

No longer a second-rate university
In her response, Sison looked back at her half-century career in UST, speaking at length about her time in the Graduate School and Academic Affairs, where she was Assistant to the Rector (the post has since been elevated to Vice-Rector level). Sison thanked the University Rectors under whom she served, from the time of the second Filipino Rector, fr. Frederik S. Fermin, O.P., SThD.

Sison credited frs. Norberto M. Castillo, O.P., PhD and Rolando V. de la Rosa, O.P., PhD, SThD for pushing for UST’s research intensification in their own incumbencies. Sison recalled the challenge given to her by 1990s Rector fr. de la Rosa, who wanted to remove the stigma that UST is a second-rate university of the Philippines. The newly minted Dean Emeritus then recounted how her under leadership in the 1990s, the improvement of the faculty profile through the acquisition of higher degrees and the decongestion of classrooms while providing vital resources through the Library and embracing Internet technology. By the time her term ended in the heydays of the 1990s, UST was counted by ASIAWEEK as one of the country’s top-tier universities—which precipitated the moniker “Big 4 Universities” that the University now enjoys.

Diversifying the Graduate School’s offerings
Sison also thanked former Rectors frs. Tamerlane Lana, O.P., de la Rosa, and Herminio V. Dagohoy, O.P., for entrusting to her the stewardship of the Graduate School for 13 years. In her incumbency, she not only upgraded faculty profile and quality by recruiting younger faculty who also had research and/or industry practice, but also ensured a more research-intensive orientation for programs through the introduction of the Research Colloquium requirement. The diversity of programs offered also intensified, with programs on cultural heritage studies, rehabilitation sciences, and curriculum and instruction, among others, opened.

A heart filled with gratitude
Sison expressed profound thanks to the people she worked with, from the Dominican Fathers, co-administrators, faculty members, support staff, and students, as well as those who share her advocacy in Religions for Peace. “Thank you for being kindred spirits,” said Sison. “I am deeply humbled, and I dedicate this honor to my family: my daughter Christine and her husband, Allen; my grandchildren, Ram and Nina; to my sister Cora and brother Jose; and most of all, to the memory of my late husband, Ramon Sison, who did most of the sacrifice when there was conflict between work and family.”

“Fifty-four years of professional journey at UST was a joyful experience inspired by my family and the patronage of the Blessed Mother. So what can I tell you, young Deans, based on my experiences? Believe in yourself. You can do anything if you put hard work into it. Continue reading and learning and be kind to all in manners and action. Finally, heed what St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans: ‘Whatever you do, do it for the greater glory of God.’”

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Under the auspices of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s New Southbound 2.0 Program, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital has been proactively involved in “New Southbound Medical and Health Cooperation and Industrial Chain Development.” A pivotal development occurred in 2023 when the hospital facilitated the establishment of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Chongren General Hospital in the Philippines. This strategic move has laid the foundation for a multinational clinical trial program, which commenced in mid-October, carried out in close collaboration with the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines. This comprehensive program not only involves imparting technical training to the Philippine medical and research team but also encompasses the creation of a DNA database, with the overarching aim of advancing the treatment of telomere-related diseases.

Dr. Shang-Hsien Yang, who conducted extensive research on bone marrow failure syndrome at Boston Children’s Hospital in the United States, played a pivotal role in establishing the technical platform for telomere-related research. Under his guidance and with support from Cheng Yoong Pang, Deputy Director of the Department of Medical Research, and Dr. Liuh-Yow Chen, Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, this international clinical trial collaboration program with the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines became a reality.

Director Li emphasized the growing importance of cross-border clinical trials by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. He underscored the rarity of clinical trial cooperation between Taiwan and the Philippines, making this partnership a significant achievement.

Relatedly, the “Telomere Clinical Research and Taiwan Medical Humanities Exchange Workshop” took place at Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital and Medical Center in Hualien City, Taiwan, from October 10 to 16, 2023. The inaugural ceremony gathered a distinguished assembly of key figures in the medical field. UST participants in the said workshop included Prof. Pia Marie Albano, Ph.D., Assoc. Prof. Maureen Sabit, Ph.D. and Ms. Mariella Cielo Cobarrubias, M.Sc. – academic staff of the UST Department of Biological Sciences, BS Biology alumnus Jerome Alfred Tabajonda, and Dr. Flordeluna Zapata-Mesina, a hematologic oncologist from the University of Santo Tomas Hospital. Their presence marked a historic moment in the burgeoning transnational medical collaboration between Taiwan and the Philippines.

Director Yang expressed optimism that the collaboration and hands-on laboratory work would foster mutual understanding between Taiwan and the Philippines, ensuring smoother cooperation in future clinical trials. Dr. Albano, renowned for her work in cancer research, aspired to uncover the link between telomeres and human health through future clinical trials, with the potential to advance cancer research. The workshop, spanning several days, included presentations on telomere research, laboratory training, and in-depth discussions with the Philippine team. This initiative holds the potential to advance our understanding of telomeres and their role in healthcare, ultimately benefiting patients and medical practitioners worldwide.

This cooperative endeavor not only signifies a rare instance of clinical trial cooperation between the two nations but also represents a significant step forward in the healthcare domain.

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Guinto, a Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Sciences student of the Graduate School, studied the freshwater calanoid copepod which was named an invasive species. Genomic DNA were extracted to represent seven populations in Luzon. The noted population increase is attributed to “the suspected initial introduction via ornamental aquarium fish trade practices in 1905 and then a population range expansion through a single or multiple introduction event towards other nearby inland waters through accidental movement of A. dorsalis individuals via human-mediated activities, particularly aquaculture, which have persisted since 1972.”

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Salcedo’s work, based on papers co-authored with Academician Professor Emeritus Fortunato B. Sevilla III, PhD and published in Instrumentation Science and Technology and Acta Manilana, was a response to the need for ways to detect atmospheric pollutants of concern in the environment. Using digital imaging analysis, the parameters included the color values, polymer reagent binder, amount of Cul, exposure time, and Hg⁰ concentration.

With the theme “Establishment of Sustainable Technological Solution for Industry and Society”, the two-day conference gathered academics, researchers, scholars, and industry practitioners from around the world to share and discuss recent advances in sustainable science, technology, and innovation. The four Innovative Tracks of the conference – Innovative Life Science and Smart Materials (iLS), Innovative Advanced Production and Industrial Engineering (iAP), Innovative Sharing Economy and Sustainable Science (iSE), and Innovative Education Science and Quality Assurance (iES) – guided the discourse, encapsulating a wide array of topics and scopes within the realm of sustainable development.

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Medrano’s talk focused on the extinction of Lake Lanao’s 15 endemic cyprinid fishes from the genus Barbodes, including the highly prized Barbodes baoulan which was eventually traced to the proliferation of an invasive fish species, Glossogobius giuris. The latter was introduced to the lake during the 1960s to augment local fisheries. As a historian, Medrano also provided perspectives on the history of the discovery of the endemic cyprinids of Lake Lanao, including the scientists who discovered the said species and documented the decline of Lake Lanao’s biodiversity.

The lecture was attended by undergraduate and graduate students in Biology as well as select faculty members of the Department of Biological Sciences. The event was organized by undergraduate BS Biology major in Medical Biology students under 2MBio3 as part of their General Ecology (Bio 426) class under the supervision of Dean Rey Donne S. Papa, PhD.

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College of Science’s physics coordinator, Inst. Kristan Bryan C. Simbulan, Ph.D. gave the opening remarks, which highlighted the three-year collaboration of UST and MUM. Dr. Tan Chee Pin, head of the Electrical & Robotics Engineering Department of MUM School of Engineering, gave the closing remarks to appreciate the collaborative efforts between the two universities.

The next day, Drs. Simbulan, Albay, Caballar, and Villegas held informal discussions on potential collaborations with Dr. Liang Shuan-Ni of the MUM School of Engineering and Drs. Yeong Wai Chung, Ashish Dutt, and MD Zobaer Hassan of the MUM School of Science. Avenues of collaboration discussed included possible joint research projects on physics, mathematics, and data science and analytics.

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