Science Field: Biotechnology

Robert Aguilar is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, United States of America and Vice President of GradMAP Philippines. He is currently studying the genetics involved in the nervous system development of C. elegans.

Lorenz Chua is a postdoctoral researcher at the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH). Lorenz’s research revolves around high-resolution transcriptomic profiling using single-cell RNA-sequencing and spatial transcriptomics, with a special emphasis on respiratory diseases like COVID-19 and pulmonary fibrosis.

Melvin See is a Science Research Specialist at The Medical City’s Institute of Personalized Molecular Medicine. He undertook a research project characterizing stable and unstable Chinese hamster ovary cell lines for the production of monoclonal antibodies.

Carla Bertulfo is a PhD candidate in Biological Sciences at Columbia University. For Carla’s doctoral studies, they are using the Nobel Prize-winning gene editing technology CRISPR to explore combinatorial therapies against T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Emmylou Nicolas recently graduated with a Master of Biotechnology from the University of Adelaide in Australia where she used the Nobel Prize-winning gene editing tool CRISPR/Cas9 to investigate disease-causing gene variants.

Andrea Salvador is a neuroscience PhD student at the University of Virginia. Since starting her PhD, Andoi has already published in prestigious journals like Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Nature Immunology, Nature Reviews Immunology and Cell.

Ronilo “Onille” Flores is an Assistant Professor at the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) and Associate Dean of the UPLB Graduate School. Onille’s current research projects revolve on microbial ecology and biotechnology toward planetary health which includes exploring microoganisms from different habitats and sources and their biotechnological and medical applications.

Aeiou Martija is a doctoral researcher at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg. For his doctoral research, Aeiou is currently exploring the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying glioblastoma, a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumor.

John Noel Viaña is a bioethicist and postdoctoral fellow at the Australian National University Centre for the Public Awareness of Science. He is in the process of evaluating the current global state of precision health research to develop responsible innovation frameworks.

Krizelle Alcantara is a research assistant at the Center for Gene Therapy at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute in Ohio, USA where she works towards understanding her own disease – Neurofibromatosis – by developing a gene replacement therapy for NF2.