Pinoy Scientists

Dr Daryl Joe Santos is an Assistant Professorial Lecturer at De La Salle University and Assistant Professor II at Rizal Technological University. Daryl’s research interests span the physics of active galactic nuclei and studying them through various techniques, including interferometry, spectroscopy, and photometry.

Catherine “Cath” Mandigma, RND is a board-certified nutritionist-dietitian specialising in astronaut nutrition and commercial spaceflight. Cath works to advance the intersection of nutrition and space science.

Jayson Pasaol is a doctoral researcher at the Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Poland. His dissertation focused on discovering a novel therapeutic approach for treating canine cancer.

Julius Lustro is an Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UP Diliman. Julius now teaches fluids and thermal engineering courses and has led further projects on turbulence and indoor air quality.

Dr Natasha Benitez is the Chief of Health Informatics at the San Carlos City Health Office. To address the rising HIV cases among youth and other vulnerable populations, she now leads an initiative that aims to expand outreach, strengthen community education, and make testing more accessible and youth-friendly.

Anisa Pabingwit is a professional teacher taking up her PhD in Educational Science at the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary. She has published several articles and book chapters tackling the intercultural engagement of Asian students on the global stage.

Aaron Gabriel Espinosa is a PhD student in Earth and Environmental Science at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. His research tackles marine turtle genomics and conservation.

Dr. Therese Anne Rollan-Soriano is a Geospatial Solutions and Partnerships Specialist working with the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) as a Postdoctoral Researcher. She works on bushfire and algal bloom detection and monitoring.

Dr. Angel Bautista VII is the current Supervising Science Research Specialist and Section Head of the Nuclear Materials Research Section of the DOST-PNRI. His work focuses on analytical and isotope techniques for fields such as nuclear cycle research, geochronology, and environmental radioactivity, among others.

Juan Salvador “Duno” Dantis is a PhD candidate in Chemistry (Chemical Biology) and graduate teaching assistant/researcher at the University of California, Irvine, USA.

Mario Jr Rebosura, PhD is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Queensland, Australia with more than a decade of experience under his belt in project and wastewater management.

Jose Alfonso Ignacio “Oey” Mirabueno is a project coordinator for the Bachelor of Music Curriculum Review of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Music. His work revolved around decolonizing heritage curation through improving accessibility, transferring agency, and diversifying the dialogue around sound recordings made by colonial powers and heritage curation.

Denise Alcantara Garcia is a freelance writer and editor, and Academic Service Faculty at the Br. Alfred Shields FSC Ocean Research Center at De La Salle University.

Samantha Julia Eala is a lecturer at Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, research officer at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health (MSPGH), University of Melbourne and a project manager at the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health (ASMPH). She examines how climate change affects women and children, and how this can shape health system policies and programs.

Jose Joy “JJ” Gepanaga, a PhD Candidate at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He is studying how to align scientific innovation, regulation, and policy in the field of precision oncology.

Phoebe Nicole Perez, Ph.D is an affiliate researcher and project leader at the Department of Science and Technology – Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST – ITDI). She leads their “Characterization of vector-borne viruses using Raman spectroscopy for the Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines” project.

Cristal Balaga is a mineral and metal processing engineer who recently graduated with an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master across Chile, Austria, and Finland. She trained under the EMJM PROMISE programme in hopes of taking the mineral processing sector into a sustainable future.

Dr. Izrael Zenar Bautista is a licensed Electronics Engineer and a Chief Science Research specialist at the Philippine Space Agency’s Space Mission and Control Operation Division. He specializes in satellite engineering and operations.

Dr. James Cesar “Jace” Refran is the Supervising Science Research Specialist at the Earth Sciences Space Mission Studies Division of PhilSA. He is currently studying the utilization of space technologies for hazard preparedness in the country.

Dr. Ernest Macalalad of the Philippine Space Agency is a Chief Science Research Specialist at the agency’s Interdisciplinary Space Missions Development Division and a professor at the Mapúa University Department of Physics.