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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The award-winning work was “AI-enhanced cancer diagnostics using FTIR spectroscopy.” Albano, whose work has focused on infectious agents that cause cancer, has also investigated biomarkers of cancer and contributed to the field of cancer genomics. Some of her research highlights are the association between chronic infections and cancer, biomarker discovery, characterization of point mutations and structural alterations in a wide range of cancers, and Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as a novel technique for rapid diagnosis of cancer.

Albano, an academic researcher of the Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences, teaches at the Department of Biological Sciences of the College of Science and the Sciences cluster of the Graduate School.

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The study focused on colorectal cancer (CRC), the third most diagnosed cancer globally, and aimed to find less-invasive and more cost-efficient methods for identifying it. Thus, the study “aimed to develop artificial neural network (ANN) models that could accurately detect CRC using miRNA expressions in tissue and plasma samples…by using miRNA expression profiles of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue and plasma samples obtained from CRC patients and healthy controls.”

According to the findings, “the ANNs achieved an accuracy of 98.5% and 88.2%, a sensitivity of 90.9% and 80.4%, a specificity of 29 92.6% and 84.7%, and an area under the ROC curve of 0.92 and 0.83 for the plasma and tissue samples, respectively. Moreover, sensitivity analyses showed that miR-135b-5p and miR-92a-3p  had the greatest influence in distinguishing CRC from healthy plasma and malignant from  neoplasm-free colorectal tissues, respectively. However, only miR-135b-5p was significantly downregulated in both CRC plasma and malignant colorectal tissue samples.”

This is the latest BPI-DOST plum secured by Thomasian researchers. Among past winners include Jay Patrick M. Nieles (BD Electronics Engineering alumnus – 2019 awardee), Sheena S. Gumatay (BS Biology alumna – 2017 awardee) and Ervin Luis M. Jayag (BS Chemical Engineering alumnus – 2017 awardee).

The BPI-DOST Innovation Awards, in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology – Science Education Institute, is a competition that aims to challenge bright Filipino students to actively participate in resolving problems in the community through science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

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The team of Professor Pia Marie S.P. Albano, PhD, Inst. Reuel M. Bennett, Dr. rer. nat., Asst. Prof. Nikki Heherson A. Dagamac, Dr. rer. nat., and Asst. Prof. Maureen B. Sabit, PhD, are conducting clinical validation studies funded by MiRXES (Singapore), in collaboration with UST and Singapore Diagnostics (Makati).

The use of the kits, specifically those using saliva samples, will eliminate the need for swabbers, thereby reducing time for the testing and the possible spread of infection, since the patients can self-collect the samples. According to the group, should the kits pass all validation tests, it can later “serve as a cheaper alternative to gene sequencing to track mutations that can impact the effectiveness of vaccines.” Albano, the lead proponent of the study, said that apart from confirming whether patients are Covid-19 positive or not, the positive samples can be analyzed for mutations, which “can identify the variants of concern.”

Albano disclosed that while the kits were already tested using “contrived samples,” further validation in clinical and community settings were required. They are thus “recruiting at least a thousand participants to see the kits’ diagnostic performance.” If found to be viable, the group and MiXRES will apply for approval from the Food and Drug Administration, which will allow the commercial distribution of the kits across India and Southeast Asia later on.

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In the article, Albano and her co-authors noted how the Philippines was able to expand its testing capacity from a single national reference laboratory, the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, to “more than 100 licensed reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and cartridge-based PCR laboratories around the country.” However, this situation entailed the hiring of additional personnel who “have limited experience and technical knowledge and skills of molecular assays,” making the process vulnerable to diagnostic errors that can compromise patient safety and public health policy.

The authors grouped their suggestions into two major categories: specimen handling and analytical issues. While the authors noted that the demand for tests increased exponentially, resulting in manpower and resource constraints, the adherence to recommended testing protocols cannot be done away with. Among these protocols are proper infection control in laboratories and among personnel, who must regularly conduct disinfection. The authors likewise reiterated the need to adhere to World Health Organization and Department of Health guidelines in order to ensure reliability of test results.

Full Article:  

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The study aimed to add to cancer research literature by addressing the problems caused by lengthy processing of biopsy specimens and the limited number of pathologists around the country. Focus on thyroid cancer, the study offered the use of Fourier transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy imaging “to detect malignancy before visual changes [become] evident…a limitation of H&E-stained samples.”

Using artificial intelligence through neural networks in the clinical setting, the study was able to accurately distinguish “between malignant and the benign thyroid lesions using FTIR data. The best NN-based model was able to obtain an accuracy…far beyond the performance metrics of other models.”

The study’s next phase involves the testing and the evaluation of the NN-based models in a new data set, which will serve as the testing set, according to the study’s summary.

Tomas was joined in the study by fellow Thomasian researchers , , , Abegail Santillan; Ruth Bangaoil, Rolando Lopez, Maria Honolina Gomez, Allan Fellizar, Antonio Lim, and Lorenzo Abanilla.

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Emerging as the Champion of the Young Scientists Forum is 2019 Summa cum Laude Simon Miguel Lopez, who presented the research entitled “Cholinergic, beta-secretase, and oxidative activity evaluation of spider venom from Philippine Tarantula (Therposidae),” which he co-authored with Jeremy S. Aguilar, Jerene Bashia B. Fernandez, Angelic Gayle J. Lao, Anna Beatriz R. Mayor, Mirzi Rain R. Estrella, Lance Ehrold D. Sarmiento, and faculty members Mark Kevin P. Devanadera, , , and .

Meanwhile, two faculty members placed third in their respective categories in the poster presentations segment of the conference. Winning 3rd Place for Natural Proucts is (LESO) Administrator , for the research “Immunogenicity and specific antipeptide binding activity of in silico predicted epitope of fragilysin from Bacteroides fragilis.” Co-authoring the paper with Guevarra were Gieanne Louise J. Abara, Christian Rafael B. Lorenzo, Maryrose O. Boongaling, and .

Finally, winning in the category of Health was Mr. Mark Kevin P. Devanadera, for the research entitled “Evaluation of the cytotoxic activity of polyunsaturated fatty acids and its concoction on human breast adenocarcinoma cells.” His co-authors were R.M. Bennett, K. Watanabe, , , T. Aki, and .

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Gathering over 100 attendees from different academic, government, and industry sectors, the second symposium updating the participants on the advances in polymers; materials science; nanotechnology; green, computational, medicinal, synthetic, and organic chemistry; and opening up possibilities of engaging them in meaningful collaborations.

The symposium held both plenary and poster presentation sessions over the two days.

Delivering talks were:

1. Distinguished Prof. Jui-Ming Yeh, PhD (Synthesis, characterization, and applications of biomimetic coating materials)
2. Prof. Jose H. Bergantin, Jr., PhD (Bacteriophage-based Impedimetric Biosensors for Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium ���Ի���Aeromonas hydrophila)
3. (Molecular Docking of Ipalbidine into Human Cyclooxygenase-2 Crystal Structures)
4. Asst. Prof. Rafael Alfonso, MSc (Molecular Docking: How to fight diseases with your laptop)
5. Prof. Chung-Der Hsiao, PhD (Use Zebrafish as an in vivo model to study obesity, aging, and ecotoxicity)
6. (Metabolomic profile analyses in the study of oleaginous and carotenogenous thraustochytrids)
7. Prof. Yi-Ning Chen, PhD (Emerging disease viruses in the bat populations of Taiwan)
8. (Inhibitory activity of some natural spiro-indole alkaloids in HIV latently infected cell lines)
9. Assoc. Prof. Hsi-Wei Jia, PhD (NMR Investigation of Acetylacetone Tautomerization)
10. (Asymmetric dearomatization of furans for the enantioselective synthesis of enterolactone natural products)
11. Asst. Prof. Amily Fang-Ju Jou, PhD (Optical genosensor for cancer screening)
12. (Bioactive Venom Peptides from Philippine Tarantula Phlogiellus bundokalbo [Theraposidae])

Three scientific posters were likewise recognized during the event. The three best scientific posters were:

1st Place

Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) and Colorectal Cancer Development among Filipinos

by Ana Maria D. Cariño, Edrienne Myena M. Magat, Gregg Austine Balanag, Allan Felizar, Dr. Teresa Sy-Ortin, MD, , and .

This paper was a collaboration of people from UST’s , , , , and Hospital, as well as scientists from the Quirino State University and Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center.

2nd Place

Discovery of novel SPIRODIOXYNAPHTHALENE derivatives with anti-microbial, nematicidal, and cytotoxic properties from Sparticola junci

by Katherine Yasmin M. Garcia, Charles David V. Pabillo, Chayanard Phukhamsakda, Kevin D. Hyde, Marc Stadler, and Prof. Allan Patrick G. Macabeo, Dr. rer. nat.

This transnational research was a collaboration among UST, Mae Fah Luyang University, and Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research – Braunschweig, Germany.

3rd Place

External Calibration vs Standard Addition Method in the Determination of Calcium in Drinking Water by ICP-OES for Proficiency Testing Studies

by Clarissa J. Gatchalian, Christian D. Laurio, Elyson Keith P. Encarnacion, and Benilda S. Ebarvia

The researchers represented the Department of Science and Technology’s Industrial Technology Development Institute.

The collaboration with CYCU began in 2010, when the first Memorandum of Understanding was first signed. Since then, CYCU has hosted UST’s Engineering, Physics, and Chemistry students for internship, as well as alumni and faculty for postgraduate studies.

A two-year joint project between Prof. Jui-Ming Yeh and was also finished in 2017, resulting in a number of international joint publications and theses topics of undergraduate and graduate students.

#ThomasianPartners

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The Gold and Silver Series awards are granted to faculty members in recognition of their research productivity and leadership in their respective fields of specialization within the period covered by the award. These awards are based on research publications (author by-line should indicate the University of Santo Tomas as address in the publication), ongoing research involvement, and tenure in the University.

The Gold Series

The awards, given every two years come in two categories: Research Category and Creative Works Category. The Gold Series Award Research Category is granted to tenured full-time faculty member with Ph.D. or M.D., with teaching load, and exclusively teaching in UST except for faculty affiliates of the UST Graduate School, authored at least five research papers published in refereed journals/ scholarly books in the last five years, with at least two of these published, one of which is an international (Web of Science/ Scopus) publication, or has one patent or utility model granted, within the period covered by the award, or, authored at least two scholarly books in the last five years, with one of these published within the period covered by the award, with ongoing research under the Research Center or Research Unit of the University, and, with at least one research disciple.

Under the Creative Works Category, the awardee should be a tenured full-time faculty member with Ph.D., with teaching load, and exclusively teaching in UST except for faculty affiliates of the UST Graduate School, authored at least three creative or critical works in the last five years, with at least one of these published within the period covered by the award, and, with ongoing studies (creative projects) under the Research Center or Research Unit of the University.

The Silver Series

Under the Research Category of the Silver Series, the award is given to tenured full-time faculty member with M.Sc. or M.A., with teaching load, and exclusively teaching in UST, must have authored at least three research papers published in refereed journals/scholarly books in the last five years, with at least one of these published, or has one patent or utility model granted, within the period covered by the award or, authored at least one scholarly book in the last five years published within the period covered by the award and, with ongoing research under the Research Center or Research Unit of the University. Under the Creative Works Category, the faculty member must be tenured full-time faculty member with M.Sc. or M.A., with teaching load, and exclusively teaching in UST, must have authored at least two creative or critical works in the last five years, with at least one of these was published within the period covered by the award, and, with ongoing studies (creative projects) under the Research Center or Research Unit of the University. A Research disciple refers to junior faculty members, graduate students, medical interns, and medical residents.

International Publications Award (2014–2017)

The International Publications Award is presented to all full time faculty members teaching only in UST for the publication of their research outputs in journal/s and books indexed in the Web of Science/ Scopus with IF Quartile Metrics Ranking. Author byline should indicate the University of Santo Tomas as address in the publication.

Arts & Humanities (8 awardees)

• (AB: Silver & IP)
• (AB: Gold)
• Asst. Prof. Jovito V. Cariño, Ph.D. (AB: Silver & IP)
• Prof. Franz Giuseppe F. Cortez, Ph.D. (AB: Silver & IP)
• (Education: Silver)
• (AB: Silver & IP)
• Asst. Prof. Roland Theuas D. Pada, Ph.D. (AB: IP)
• Prof. Ma. Luisa T. Reyes, Ph.D. (AB: IP)

Education & Social Sciences (32 awardees)

• Assoc. Prof. Mark Anthony D. Abenir, D.S.D. (AB: Silver & IP)
• Prof. Ma. Claudette A. Agnes, Ph.D. (Science: IP)
• Prof’l. Lect. Lucila O. Bance, Ph.D. (Science: Silver & IP)
• (AB: Gold & IP)
• (CRS: IP)
• (Commerce: IP)
• (Science: Silver & IP)
• (Commerce: Gold & IP)
• (Education: Gold & IP)
• Mr. Jommar A. de Guzman, M.D.C. (Commerce: IP)
• Prof’l. Lect. Rosalito G. de Guzman, Ph.D. (GS: IP)
• Prof. Rowena L. Escolar Chua, Ph.D. (Nursing: IP)
• Assoc. Prof’l. Lect. Amelita A. Gaerlan, Ph.D. (GS: IP)
• Assoc. Prof. Ma. Frieda Z. Hapan, Ph.D. (Pharmacy: IP)
• Assoc. Prof. Sr. Angelina M. Julom, Ph.D. (Science: Silver)
• (Commerce: IP)
• Prof. Maria Belinda S. Mandigma, Ph.D. (Commerce: Silver & IP)
• Asst. Prof. Evangeline T. Matienzo, M.A.N. (Nursing: IP)
• Asst. Prof. Florence C. Navidad, D.Ed. (Pharmacy: Silver)
• (CRS: IP)
• Asst. Prof. Jeremaiah M. Opiniano, M.P.S., M.A. (AB: Silver & IP)
• (Science: IP)
• Mr. Laurence Lloyd B. Parial, M.A.N. (Nursing: IP)
• Asst. Prof. Corazon F. Regacho, M.Sc. (Science: IP)
• Prof. Marc Eric S. Reyes, Ph.D. (Science: IP)
• Assoc. Prof. Portia Lynn Q. See, Ph.D. (Science: IP)
• Asst. Prof. Pia Patricia P. Tenedero, M.A.T. (AB: IP)
• Asst. Prof. Gian Carlo S. Torres, M.A.N. (Nursing: IP)
• Assoc. Prof. Marishirl P. Tropicales, Ph.D. (Education: IP)
• Prof. Chin Uy, Ph.D. (Commerce: IP)
• Asst. Prof. Les Paul M. Valdez, M.A.N. (Nursing: IP)
• (AB: Silver & IP)

Health & Allied Sciences (35 awardees)

• Mr. Franco Louie L. Abes, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Assoc. Prof. Encarnita R. Ampil, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Ms. Lara Mae A. Angeles, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Prof. Alejandro C. Baroque II, M.D. (Medicine: Gold & IP)
• Asst. Prof. Christine B. Bernal, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Assoc. Prof. David T. Bolong, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Assoc. Prof. Ma. Rosario F. Cabansag, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• (Medicine: Gold & IP)
• Assoc. Prof. Benjamin S. Campomanes Jr., M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Assoc. Prof. Melchor M. Chan, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Prof. Remedios D. Chan, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Assoc. Prof. Mary Anne D. Chiong, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Ms. Elaine C. Cunanan, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Assoc. Prof. Janine Margarita R. Dizon, Ph.D. (CRS: Gold & IP)
• Assoc. Prof. Ma. Victoria C. Dizon, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• (CRS: Gold & IP)
• Mr. Frederick T. Dy, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• (CRS: IP)
• Mr. Dennis S. Flores, Ph.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Prof. Maria Honolina S. Gomez, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Prof. Flerida G. Hernandez, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Prof. Reynaldo M. Javate, M.D. (Medicine: Gold & IP)
• Assoc. Prof. Sjoberg A. Kho, M.D. (Medicine: Gold & IP)
• Asst. Prof. Johnny K. Lokin, M.D. (CRS: IP)
• Mr. Erick S. Mendoza, M.D. (Medicine: Silver & IP)
• Prof. Leilani B. Mercado-Asis, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H. (Medicine: Gold & IP)
• Prof. Sandra Teresa V. Navarra, M.D. (Medicine: Gold & IP)
• Prof. Jose C. Navarro, M.D. (Medicine: Gold & IP)
• Prof. Narciso S. Navarro Jr., M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Prof. Jocelyn C. Que, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Prof. Raymond L. Rosales, M.D., Ph.D. (Medicine: Gold & IP)
• Prof. Jose D. Sollano Jr., M.D. (Medicine: Gold & IP)
• (Medicine: Gold & IP)
• Assoc. Prof. Teresa T. Sy-Ortin, M.D. (Medicine: IP)
• Assoc. Prof. Ma. Irene B. Tangco, M.D. (Medicine: IP)

Science & Technology (42 awardees)

• (Science: Silver & IP)
• (Science: IP)
• (Science: IP)
• (Science: Gold & IP)
• Prof. Jovencio G. Apostol, Ph.D. (Pharmacy: IP)
• (Science: Gold & IP)
• (Science: Silver & IP)
• Prof. Aristea V. Bayquen, Ph.D. (Pharmacy: IP)
• (Engineering: Silver & IP)
• (Science: Gold & IP)
• (Science: IP)
• Asst. Prof. Renz Kenneth G. Cadiang, M.Sc. (Pharmacy: IP)
• (Pharmacy: Gold & IP)
• (Pharmacy: IP)
• Assoc. Prof. Gil A. Cauyan, M.Sc. (Science: Silver & IP)
• Ms. Stephanie L. Chua, M.Sc. (Pharmacy: IP)
• (Pharmacy: IP)
• (Science: Gold & IP)
• (Engineering: IP)
• (Science: Gold & IP)
• (Science: Silver & IP)
• (Engineering: IP)
• Mr. Justine M. Kalaw, M.Sc. (Science: IP)
• Mr. Lorico dlS. Lapitan Jr., M.Sc. (Engineering: IP)
• (Science: Gold & IP)
• (Science: Gold & IP)
• Asst. Prof. Loida R. Medina, Ph.D. (Science: IP)
• (Science: Gold & IP)
• (Science: Gold & IP)
• (Science: Gold & IP)
• Asst. Prof. Maureen B. Sabit, Ph.D. (Science: IP)
• (Science: Gold & IP)
• (Pharmacy: Gold & IP)
• (Pharmacy: Silver & IP)
• (Science: Gold & IP)
• Ms. Pamela Berilyn T. So, M.Sc. (Pharmacy: IP)
• (Science: Gold & IP)
• (Engineering: IP)
• (Science: Gold & IP)
• Asst. Prof. Ryan Rhay P. Vicerra, Ph.D. (Engineering: IP)
• (Science: Silver & IP)
• (GS: Silver)

Sacred Sciences (4 awardees)

• (EF: Gold)
• (AB: Silver)
• (AB: Silver)
• (IR: Silver)

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The authors were Asst. Prof. Michael L. Bahrami-Hessari, MSc and of the ; of the of the , Assoc. Prof. Teresa Sy-Ortin, MD of the , Claudine Afable, Patricia Joyce O. Belza, Karen Y. Dy, Scott Justin Lee, Lhaura May Somera, M.C. Corpuz, Nichole Manrique, and of the .

#ThomasianExcellence #ThomasianResearchers

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