The University of Northern Philippines’ BS Biology program, in collaboration with the Philippine Society for Microbiology-Northern Luzon Chapter (PSM-NL), spearheaded the 24th Regional Convention & Scientific Meeting. The event, themed “Exploring Digital Science to Strengthen Microbial Research & Education,” took place at the UNP Tadena Hall in the Administration Building on April 11-12.

Assoc. Prof. Rhoda T. Garcia, President of PSM-NL, emphasized in her opening remarks that the regional convention aims to promote microbiological knowledge to professionals, students, and stakeholders, blending conventional science with an institutional and intellectual atmosphere for enjoyable exploration.

Additionally, Dr. Remedios T. Navarro, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, reiterated in her welcome address the significance of this activity for PSM, stating that it is a vital means for the organization to achieve its goals, particularly in promoting scientific knowledge. 

Dr. Erwin F. Cadorna, President of UNP, highlighted in his message the impact of digital science and technology, noting that microbiology research has greatly benefited from its emergence. “The use of digital science will certainly play a bigger role in advancing new knowledge as the discipline develops,” Cadorna stated.

Moreover, Dr. Shirley C. Agrupis, President of MMSU represented by Dr. Prima Fe R. Franco, VPAA of MMSU, highlighted in her message the need to digitally transform microbial research and education. “Digital science is of paramount importance. That is the reason why there is a need for us to really transform our ways, our processes in microbiology such that we can keep up with the big data that we generate and do some analytics, all for the sake of utilizing microbiology for the good of the country,” she quoted.

In the same vein, Dr. Thaddeus M. Carvajal, President of PSM, emphasized the importance of digital science in strengthening microbial education and research. “The intersection of computational tools with the study of microbiology and biotechnology has become increasingly vital in unraveling the complexities of microbial life,” Carvajal stated.

The organizers also opened the exhibits and poster presentations through a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Various sponsors of the event also presented product demonstrations.

Paper presentations were held, focusing on topics related to digital science and microbial research. Dr. Llewellyn M. Espiritu, Associate Professor from the Department of Biology at De La Salle University, presented her study entitled “Computational Tools in Fungal Therapeutics and Infection Research.” Asst. Prof. Jaymee R. Encabo from the Institute of Biological Sciences at the University of the Philippines Los Baños presented her study entitled “Uncovering the Diversity of Phages Infecting Soft Rot Bacteria Enabled by Web-Based Genome Informatics Tool.”

Furthermore, delegates from different universities presented their research poster presentations to be judged by Dr. Llewelyn M. Espiritu, Asst. Prof. Jaymee R. Encabo, and Dr. Charo Rojas.

As various institutions collaborate to enhance their research capacity, and with the advancements in digital technology enhancing fields like Microbiology and others, this event serves as a platform for stakeholders to introduce innovative processes for more efficient and beneficial discoveries.

Article by Kennedy Jetajobe. Photos by Sandy Gasatan.