Working on Yellow Fever Vaccine Development in Vero Cells Grown in Microcarrier Bead Suspension Culture in Bioreactor

UPAA hands out awards
Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc




On the occasion of its annual General Alumni Homecoming and Reunion in June, the UP Alumni Association handed out awards to distinguished alumni and alumni families.

The formal awarding ceremonies were held during the homecoming on June 20, 2009 at the UP Bahay ng Alumni in UP Diliman of jubilarians from Classes 1949, 1959, 1969, and 1984. At this first general homecoming after UP’s centennial, the alumni celebrated the occasion through production numbers with the theme “UP Alumni: Tuloy ang Galing” (Our Quest for Excellence Never Ends), in reference to its previous theme “UP, Ang Galing Mo!”

Earlier, on June 16, 2009, President Emerlinda Roman hosted a dinner at the Executive House in UP Diliman in honor of the awardees.

Before dinner, Regent and outgoing UPAA president Gari M. Tiongco presented the awardees to the President, describing them as proof positive that UP is a “vast resource of the nation’s brainiest, most talented, imbued with a fierce determination to succeed.” He proudly claimed that the awardees do not have “a single breath of scandal in their name.”

“By honoring you, we honor the University itself,” President Roman said. She also thanked the UPAA for being a true partner of UP. In particular, she took note of the significant contributions of the association to the successful celebration of UP’s centennial. She stressed that with the alumni’s support, the challenges that UP continues to face are surmountable.


The UPAA awardees get together in a testimonial dinner, with
President Roman, Regent Nelia Gonzalez, and Regent Gari M. Tiongco
(standing, seventh from left).

Given lifetime achievement awards were Prof. Araceli T. Baviera (AA’38; LLB’54 cum laude), Justice Emilio A. Gancayco (LLB’47), Carolina Gozon-Jimenez (BSBA’59), Dr. Florence Macagba-Tadiar (AA’54; MD’59; MPH’77; MHA’83), Atty. Ismael A. Mathay Jr. (AA’51; BSBA’52), Dr. Serafin D. Quiason (AB’52 cum laude), and Dr. Godofredo S. Reyes (AA’38; MD’43).

Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro (AB’68 cum laude; LLB’72) was recognized for championing justice and the judiciary; Dr. Gundelina Almario-Velazco (BSN’75) and Lourdes Trinidad-Ocampo (BSBA’59), for community empowerment and human development; and Dr. Alexander C. Cortez (AB’76; MA’91; PhD’06), Dr. Brenda V. Fajardo (BSA’59; PhD’97), Felicitas Layag-Radaic (AB’55), and Nestor O. Jardin (BS’96), for their contributions to culture and the arts.

Dr. Daniel Chi-Ngai Chan (DDM’79) and Dr. Elnora Eslao-Duque (BSN’59; CPH’68; MPH’69) were recognized for their contributions in education and health; Dr. Walter W. Brown (BS’59; BSGeo’60) and Francis C. Laurel (BSA’69 magna cum laude), for entrepreneurship and employment creation; Dr. Metodio A. Palaypay (BSHyg’60) and Dr. Jurgenne H. Primavera (BS’66 cum laude; PhD’95), for environmental conservation and sustainable development; and Atty. Myrna S. Feliciano (BSLS’57; LLB’73) and Dr. Judy M. Taguiwalo (BSSW’70 cum laude; PhD’07), for pursuing gender equality and women empowerment.

Prof. Felisa Uy-Etemadi (MA’74) was recognized for her efforts at poverty alleviation; Dr. Virginia C. Cuevas (BS’69; MS’77; PhD’88), Dr. Ernesto P. Lozada (MS’70), Dr. Eufemio T. Rasco Jr. (BSA’70 magna cum laude; MS’74), and Dr. Luciano T. Talens (BSA’59) for their contributions to Science and Technology; and Emmanuel V. Clariño (AB’71; MBA’88), for his service to the UPAA.

Seventeen families were recognized for having at least three generations having studied in UP. They are the Alday, Alipit, Azurin-Dauz, Brandes-de Veyra, Brown, Buenaseda, Encarnacion, Disini, Lesaca, Monje, Nemenzo, Querijero, Reyes, Santos-Idea, Soriano, Topacio, and Torres families.

Speaking on behalf of the awardees, Dr. Brown narrated how his UP story began even before 1948 when he entered UP as an elementary school student. His mother was a 1935 Pharmacy graduate of UP. Thus, four UP alumni generations of the family realize how the UP faculty needs encouragement and financial support. Brown said that UP continues to train its graduates to carry out globally competitive work.

To express their gratitude, alumni must make sterling examples of themselves in their fields, according to Brown, himself a leader in the field of mining and energy resources. The alumni must realize their connection to an institution that is an integral part of country and government, added Brown.

Also expressing thanks on behalf of the awardees, Talens, a pioneering virologist, emphasized how important UP education was for his family. He said that his mother and father sent six of their eight children, including him, to UP by tending pigs and cutting hair.

As a UPAA awardee for his contributions in vaccine development, having developed in particular the first autogenous Food and Mouth Disease vaccine, he said he only did what was close to his heart.

A Department of Science and Technology Balik-Scientist, Talens wants to spread the technologies he has developed and expressed the hope that the University would support him as he engages in the development of antiviral therapeutics for the treat-ment of the human immuno-deficiency virus and Hepatitis C.

Three Scientists Back Home


Assistant Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) presented to the media Custer C. Deocaris, Ph.D., of Chemistry and Biotechnology expertise; Dr. Reynaldo L. Garcia of Biomedical Research, Consulting and Biotechnology Enterprise expertise and Luciano T. Talens, Ph. D of Microbiology, Virology and Immunology, under the DOST Balik Scientists Program.

This program is a government means to encourage or inspire our scientists abroad to come back to the Philippines to share their expertise to the Filipinos under the Balik Scientists Program of the DOST.

Dr. Custer C. Deocaris finished his Bachelor and Master of Biology and Biotechnology, from the University of the Philippines (UP), Diliman and his Ph. D Chemistry and Biotechnology from the University of Tokyo, Hongo, Tokyo, Japan in 1993, 2000 and 2006 respectively. He worked as a science researcher Specialist I at the Biomedical Research Section at the Atomic Research Division, at Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Quezon City, as a student researcher and guest researcher at the Research Institute for Cell Energy (RICE), post doctoral researcher in the Institute of Health and Sports Science, all in Tsukuba, Japan, and as a visiting scientist at the Laboratory of Embryology in Yonsei University School of Medicine in Seoul, Korea.

He is an advocate of breast feeding, who contested an advertisement on the intellectual quotient claim on two babies feed on advanced formula milk, which according to his studies did not end up satisfactorily in their targeted careers. He explained that intelligence is 75% genetic and 80% comes from the mother and that breast

feeding enhanced oxy toxin that induces compassion and altruism in a child that goes with the body contacts of the mother with the infant which makes that maternal love of the mother addicting to the baby.

Dr. Luciano T. Talens finished his Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Chemistry, Electro Microscopy from UP, Los Banos, Laguna, Master of Science in Plant Pathology-Virology in the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA and Ph.D. in Microbiology, Virology and Immunology in the University of California, Darius, California in 1953, 1967 and 1976, respectively. He worked as a veterinary Diagnostic Technical Support in Los Angeles, California, validation team leader in Northwest Washington, as process development scientist and Scientist (Virology and cell culture technology) in Washington.

He has developed a diagnostic kit for the testing or diagnosis of popular ailments and presently completing the test kit for fresh water worm infection, which are also found in carabao.

Dr. Reynaldo A. Garcia finished his Bachelor of Science in Biology in UP, Ph. D. Biochemistry of Molecular Biology in Australian National University and M Phil. Bioscience Enterprise in Cambridge, Australia in 1985, 1994 and 2006 respectively. He worked as staff scientist in New Zealand NIH postdoctoral fellow in Ohio, USA, Merck-funded Postdoctoral Research Associate, senior research scientist (cancer), project director The Bioguide, all in the United Kingdom and as intern at the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug in USA.

Dr. Garcia through extensive engagement with various stakeholders in academia, industry and government identified gaps in Philippine during discovery and development. This explains why the Philippines is yet to come up with its first locally developed new chemical entity or biologic drug. Most of our researchers are not doing the relevant pre-clinical essays which will be required by regulatory agencies, aside from the fact that there is no medical chemistry expertise in the Philippines as yet. Issues on diagnostics and vaccines development are equally important most especially issues on patent surrounding borrowed technologies. A better understanding of the route and options to commercialization, the time value of ­­­money in considering the return on investment were also given emphasis.