[UPDATE, 30 November 2020]

 Faculty members Cyrose Millado (Dept. of Bio. Sci. and Environ. Studies) and Kriza Calumba (Dept. of Food Sci. and Chem.) are inducted as members of the National Research Council of the Philippines in the Biological Sciences Division virtual meeting on 30 November 2020. 

In the Scientific Webinar, Assoc. Prof. Lyre Anni Murao gave a talk, "Covert Battles: Are Wildlife Viruses Really Wild?" She said that about sixty percent of the emerging infectious diseases that are known so far are zoonotic in nature and that majority of these originated from wildlife. "The transmission of pathogens from animals to humans occurs in a multi-stage process. Nevertheless, less than .1% of the known animal pathogens can cross the species barrier and infect humans. There is a covert battle going on between the pathogen and the host and the outcome is determined by the barriers versus the driving forces that may favor transmission," she said.

The National Research Council of the Philippines Biological Sciences Division (Division V) will be having its first virtual meeting of the year on 30 November 2020, from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon. 

Part 1, the Scientific Webinar will feature talks by experts. Associate Professor Lyre Anni Murao of UP Mindanao, also the program director of Philippine Genome Center Mindanao, will deliver a  talk on, "COVert BATtles: Are Wildlife Viruses Really Wild?"  Associate Professor Rina Opulencia of the UP Los Baños Institute of Biological Sciences will speak on "Microbial Flora of the Philippine Native Swine in Quezon Province." Finally, Dr. Marian De Leon, UP Los Baños University Researcher and Curator of the Museum of Natural History will talk on "Microbes in Philippine Caves: A Continuous Research Investigation and Assessment."

Part 2 will be the Oath Taking of New Associate Members, and Part 3 will be the Business Meeting.

Slots are limited and priority will be given to Division V members but interested persons are welcome to attend. Register at https://bit.ly/3700PkX.