John Noel Viaña

Featured on March 21, 2021

This week we’re joined by Dr. John Noel Viaña, bioethicist and postdoctoral fellow at the Australian National University Centre for the Public Awareness of Science.

Noel graduated cum laude with a Bachelor’s in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the University of the Philippines Diliman. For his thesis, he developed three-dimensional scaffolds for neural cultures.

Noel then undertook the NEURASMUS Erasmus Mundus Master’s in Neuroscience across VU University Amsterdam, Netherlands and University of Bordeaux, France. There, he studied the neural mechanisms involved in the acquisition of fear behavior.

For his PhD in Bioethics, Noel then flew Down Under to the University of Tasmania, where he explored the ethical considerations of deep brain stimulation and other invasive neurotechnological trials in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

In his current position, Noel is in the process of evaluating the current global state of precision health research to develop responsible innovation frameworks.

Some fun facts about Noel:

1. He pursued molecular biology and neuroscience because of the tv series “Heroes”.
2. He recently marched with a Queer Zumba group for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade and is also working with other queer Filipino scientists and science communicators on queering Philippine science communication for equity and social change. Visibility matters, and Noel believes it is time that we elevate the voices of queer scientists of colour.

Let’s all welcome Noel to the ever-growing Pinoy Scientists fam!