Thirty high school students from various high schools in the Philippines learned from a team of world-renowned scientists about how to bring low-cost virus detection to their communities. Prof. Lisa Hall, Ph.D., CBE, CChem, FRSC, and her research team from the University of Cambridge conducted the workshop held on February 21, 2023 at the UST Thomas Aquinas Research Complex.
Titled “Bringing Low-Cost Virus Detection to Your Community,” Hall and her team discussed the use of simple, affordable technologies to detect the presence of viruses in the environment and how such technologies can be used to monitor the spread of viruses in communities, which can aid in the early detection and prevention of outbreaks. The students were also given hands-on experience in using these technologies, with the research team guiding them through the process of setting up and using low-cost virus detection kits.
Hall leads the Cambridge Analytical Biotechnology (CAB) group. She is a recipient of the Gold Medal from the Royal Society of Chemistry (Analytical Division) in 2005 and the Alec Hough-Grassby Memorial Award from the Institute of Measurement and Control in 2009. In 2019 she was awarded the SNU-Dongjin Distinguished Lectureship and in 2020 she received the Oxburgh Medal for outstanding contribution to measurement, instrumentation and control in the field of environmental science and engineering.
The workshop was well-received by the students, who found it both informative and engaging. It was a collaborative effort between the University of Santo Tomas and the University of Cambridge, with the aim of empowering young Filipinos to take an active role in addressing the ongoing global pandemic. The co-sponsors for the workshop are the UST Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences, the Department of Chemistry, and the Graduate School.
