Chona Vince Cruz-Abeledo

Featured on April 5, 2020

This week, we’re featuring Professor Chona Vince Cruz-Abeledo, an Associate Professor at De La Salle University’s Biology Department! Chona graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from UP Diliman, after which she took up her Master of Environment and Natural Resources Management at UP Open University.

During her Master’s, Chona studied the traditional environmental practices of Eva Aetas and their application to the rehabilitation of degraded upland forests. She then pursued her PhD in Biology at De La Salle University, where she worked on the species identification and population genetics in king mud crab.

Now, Chona is a principal investigator at the DLSU’s Practical Genomics Laboratory, where she leads a team working on the validation of local practices using genetic markers and GIS technologies to maximize resource use in mangrove crab culture. In fact, last year, her team unveiled Crabifier, a mobile app that can help identify mangrove crabs!

Chona shares that while some use their graduate degrees to specialize, she used them to explore her options. Hence, she has gone from “ridge to reef,” having worked with indigenous people in the uplands all the way to coastal communities with conservation. Chona describes her life as a scientist as a front. Her full-time job is really being a cat sofa for her many kitties. Let’s all welcome Chona to the Pinoy Scientists fam!