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Two of the 11 winners of The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) 2022 are both experts in life sciences from the UPD-CS. As Director of the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NIMBB), Dr. Pia D. Bagamasbad has been a key player in the country’s pandemic response, while the Marine Science Institute’s (MSI’s) Dr. Aletta T. Yñiguez has continually been helping to improve the lives of fisherfolk and uplift the country’s fisheries sector through her work in marine ecology.

Spearheading Philippine COVID-19 response

With her years of extensive experience in using RT-PCR for various biomedical applications and assays, Dr. Bagamasbad quickly rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early on, she was able to train over a hundred medical technologists from dozens of testing laboratories and hospitals across the country in the use of RT-PCR testing. She is also deeply involved in research towards better understanding the molecular basis of hormone action and hormone-dependent cancers. As a researcher, she continually advocates government support for STEM practitioners, especially women scientists.

“My vision is for our country to get to a point where we have eliminated most, if not all, barriers to scientific progress, and prioritized the development of STEM professionals to give them enough motivation to stay,” Dr. Bagamasbad says.

ARAICoBeH, HABHub help empower fisherfolk

Meanwhile, Dr. Yñiguez is a well-known advocate of sustainable fishing practices and a staunch defender of marine ecology and biodiversity. Her marine research is focused on developing technologies and practices that can help oversee and protect coastal ecosystems, including an early-warning system for harmful algal blooms called HABHub. She and her team also developed a coastal monitoring system, officially called “A Rapid Assessment Instrument for Coastal Benthic Habitats”—but affectionately referred to by its tongue-in-cheek acronym, ARAICoBeH—that provides a low-cost way to take underwater photos of endangered areas such as coral reefs. Ultimately, Dr. Yñiguez is working towards forging close partnerships between coastal communities and public and private entities so that the science can be mainstreamed.

“It’s understandable that we want to have more and better production for a growing population and for economic growth, but the science and technologies to ensure sustainability and thus the health of the ecosystems for marine resources should also go hand-in-hand with these,” Dr. Yñiguez explains.

Inspiring future Filipina scientists

As professors at the UP Diliman College of Science, Drs. Bagamasbad and Yñiguez both continually inspire young students to become the country’s next generation of scientists. Their TOWNS win is a testament to the country and to the world of what Filipinas can aspire to and achieve. 

Since 1974, the TOWNS Awards have been bestowed on outstanding Filipino women between the ages 21 to 50 years old who have contributed invaluably to the country’s economic, social, and cultural development, as well as to national security and unity. The Awards are given every three years by the TOWNS Foundation, a non-profit organization whose members are committed to using their experience, skills, and resources to improve quality of life and to serve as catalysts for national development.

The first-ever sighting of an Irrawaddy dolphin off the shore of Calabanga, Camarines Sur, has left scientists of the University of the Philippines excited but concerned over the possibility of as-yet undiscovered marine biodiversity in the region.

Nicknamed “Calab” by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Philippine Marine Mammals Stranding Network (PMMSN), the dolphin was a healthy young female that unfortunately died after it accidentally got entangled in a fisherman’s net in San Miguel Bay off Calabanga, Camarines Sur, last Aug. 16. An autopsy found Calab’s stomach still full of undigested fish, indicating that she died relatively suddenly and unexpectedly.

“Calab’s death is an unfortunate incident, but it has paved the way to learning more about these rare and beautiful creatures,” said Dr. Lemnuel Aragones, the president of PMMSN and a professor at the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology (IESM) at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) are characterized by gray or dark-blue backs and pale bellies. O. brevirostris has a high tolerance to various levels of salinity, which enables the species to live in areas where salty seawater and freshwater meet – such as in the mouths of rivers and bays. They are among the world’s most endangered dolphin species, indicated as critically endangered on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They are also considered critically endangered by the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). 

This is the first time that an Irrawaddy dolphin was found on the Pacific or Eastern side of the Philippines. Apart from other Irrawaddy dolphin populations in South and Southeast Asia, all previous sightings in the Philippines were exclusively in the Western part of the archipelago – in Malampaya Sound, Palawan, and in the Iloilo-Guimaras Strait.

Experts have yet to understand how Irrawaddy dolphins found their way to Palawan, Iloilo, and Bicol. Aragones suggests that they might have been there since prehistoric times, before humans arrived in the archipelago and possibly even before humans existed at all, when environmental conditions were likely optimal for widespread migration.

“Basically, the populations have been there for a very long time, we just didn’t know to look for them,” he explained. Despite needing air to breathe, dolphins generally spend as much as 95% of their lives underwater, enabling them to elude discovery.

Aragones is eager to know more about other possible marine mammal species in San Miguel Bay. Calab is proof, he said, that there is still so much yet to be discovered in the Philippines’ richly biodiverse waters. He and his team of marine mammal scientists and local BFAR personnel are scheduled to visit San Miguel Bay to hopefully find more Irrawaddy dolphins and study them in their natural habitat.

Meanwhile, without a proper survey and understanding of the area’s ecosystems, unregulated human activity could kill off not just Irrawaddy dolphins but other possible as-yet undiscovered species in the area. Unsustainable and illegal fishing practices as well as poorly-planned infrastructure threaten to disrupt local marine environments and biodiversity even before scientists have a chance to study them. 

For further information and requests for interviews, please email media@science.upd.edu.ph