Pinoy Scientists

Andrea Monica Ortiz is an interdisciplinary climate change scientist, honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Manila Observatory and Fellow at environmental consultancy Parabukas. Currently, she is in Chile, working on ways to connect science across the Pacific Ocean.

Kier Pitogo is a wildlife biologist with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – PENRO South Cotabato. Kier leads biodiversity field surveys in forest and wetland habitats, as well as maintains a biodiversity database system that is then used to inform science and evidence-based policy interventions.

Anjerick Topacio is a civil engineer, PhD Candidate, and faculty member at the Lyceum of the Philippines University – Cavite. Jerick is on a quest to ensure that the art of Civil Engineering will not be forgotten by new generations to come.

Marian De Chavez is a third year Computer Engineering undergraduate while undergoing training in data analytics through the data scientist pathway at the Development Academy of the Philippines. She created the I Hear U app, which aims to bridge the communications gap between hearing and non-hearing Filipinos.

Carmela Caballero, a Filipino surgeon, breast cancer researcher and a mentor for SIDHI. By merging science and creativity, she hopes to inspire people and encourage critical thinking while harnessing their artistry.

Johnathan Sarines is a molecular biologist in action amidst and for the global health crisis. His undergraduate thesis elucidated the effects of certain Philippine berries towards enzyme targets for diabetes.

Jerome de Leon is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Tokyo. He founded the Filipino Astronomy Community (FilAstroComm) and is also currently a mentor at SIDHI which provides mentorship to high school students.

Jane Garcia is a Physics PhD student at the University of California Merced (soon going to Johns Hopkins University!) At UC Merced, Jane is currently working on understanding the self-organization of topological defects in liquid crystal phase transitions.

Lian Castillo is a Build and Release Engineer at Cambridge University Press. She is the gatekeeper of code deployments in staging and production environments.

Jonathan Concepcion is a PhD student in Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology at Michigan State University.

Ray graduated with a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of the Philippines Diliman. He also holds an Assistant Professor position at the De La Salle University Manila.

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.

Lowell Iporac is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Environment at the Florida International University. In his current doctoral work, Lowell explores interactions between macroalgae and invertebrates as well as investigates the characteristics of habitat-forming organisms in tropical shallow coastal systems.

Johnny Altomonte is the CEO and founder of Verne Energy Solutions where he operates and implemented sustainable energy projects, from renewables to energy efficiency.

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.

Rommel Real is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of the Philippines Mindanao. He handles courses related to calculus, numerical analysis and optimization.

Alexa Abangan is a Marine Sciences graduate from Sorbonne University and is about to start her PhD journey with the French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER) where she will explore fish behavior and develop machine learning technologies.

Justine Millado is a soon-to-be Doctor of Agricultural Science from Nagoya University. Her doctoral thesis focuses on analyzing apoptosis regulation in the domestic silk moth.

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.

Adelle Yuson is a physicist and a faculty member at Central Mindanao University and program lead of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics’ online Physics Meetup. She is passionate about introducing global physics icons like Roger Freedman to students in rural areas.