By: Janessa V. Villota

Philippine Genome Center (PGC) Mindanao in UP Mindanao embarks on a new research partnership designed to develop solutions and strategies to primary health problems of women and children in Mindanao.

Spearheaded by the Davao Medical School Foundation Inc. (DMSFI), the Research and Development Center for Maternal and Child Health (ReDMaTCH) Program aims to address major health problems among women and children in Mindanao, including childhood stunting, pediatric dengue, and postpartum depression. 

The program aims to understand these major problems through metabolomics, microbiome studies, metagenomics, and bioinformatics analysis. Dr. Genevieve Tupas, ReDMaTCH program leader, said that the program was conceptualized because of the inequality of healthcare delivery among women and children, particularly in Mindanao as compared to Manila. 

Too many women, infants, and children worldwide still have little or no access to essential, quality health services and education, clean air and water, and adequate sanitation and nutrition.  The research collaboration between DMSFI and PGC Mindanao in UP Mindanao gives an opportunity to end preventable deaths among women, children, and adolescents and to greatly improve their health and well-being.

In a message by PGCMin Program Director, Dr. Joel Hassan Tolentino, delivered by PGCMin technical expert, Dr. Aleyla de Cadiz, Dr. Tolentino expressed his excitement to provide the center’s expertise and state-of-the-art facility for the implementation of the program. “We would like to bring about more opportunities and advancements for the people in Mindanao, specifically women, and children”.

PGC Mindanao will provide training, consultation services, genomics-related laboratory services, and PGCMin facility use inside the College of Science and Mathematics, UP Mindanao. 

UP Mindanao Chancellor, Dr. Lyre Anni Murao, is thrilled to enter a close research partnership established between the university and a medical and university institution.  “Through our collaborative work, we hope to contribute to the advancement of science and technology in Mindanao and ultimately create a brighter future for Mindanaoans.”

The RedMaTCH program proposal was first crafted in 2020 with the help of PGC Mindanao, which served as a technical consultant during the development stage of the proposal. In 2022,  the ReDMaTCH program was granted P75 million in research and development funding from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and became one of the 26 Niche Centers in the Regions for Research and Development (NICER) centers in the country supported by the DOST-Science for Change Program (S4CP).

In the photo above: Seated left to right are Dr. Genevieve Tupas (ReDMatCH Program Leader), and Dr. Oliver Victoriano; Atty. Alberto Rafael Aportadera (DMSFI President), Dr. Lyre Anni Murao (UP Mindanao Chancellor), and Dr. Aleyla de Cadiz (PGCMin technical expert) show the Memorandum of Agreement for the RedMaTCH Program.

The University of the Philippines President Angelo A. Jimenez has urged the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin) to increase its carrying capacity to 5,000 students within the next six years. 

“We are committed to making UPMin a full spectrum university that offers the relevant skills and professional needs of our island,” said President Jimenez in a recent visit.  

To achieve this target, the UPMin administration has conducted a workshop on how to increase its capacity. The workshop involved the various academic units that crafted a proposal on its new academic offerings and various projects. The said proposal will be submitted to President Jimenez.

The UP Board of Regents (BOR) recently approved two new academic degree programs in its April 3, 2023 meeting. These are the  Bachelor of Science in Data Science and the Master of Science in Human Movement Science. These bring UPMin’s degree programs to 12 undergraduate and seven graduate programs, with more in the pipeline. 

“We have been looking forward to the approval of our new degree programs,” said UPMin Chancellor Lyre Anni Murao. “This is part of UP Mindanao’s commitment to innovate and broaden our academic offerings in response to the emerging demands of the 21st century,” she said.

The proponents earned the approval for the new degree programs from the planning and coordination in recent years, coupled with last-mile efforts through the University Council, the Academic Curriculum Committee, and the President’s Advisory Council. UPMin’s academic units can learn from the program proponents' experiences to expedite their new programs.

The efforts to add more academic offerings are part of Chancellor Murao’s commitment to UPMin’s continuum of strategic plans initiated by her predecessors. This strategy also addresses UPMin’s requirement for additional plantilla items for teaching and non-teaching personnel.     

 The UP Mindanao team was in Caraga Region on April 27-29, 2023, to conduct the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) Simulation Exam and Manual Application for Grade 11 students. This is because the UP Office of Admissions will open an UPCAT Test Center in Dinagat Islands Province.

On the first day, the team went to Cagdianao National High School, Municipality of Cagdianao, Dinagat Islands. This initiative is headed by the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod Mindanao, in partnership with the UPMin Office of Extension and Community Service, the UPMin Office of the University Registrar, and the UP Office of Admissions. For the second day, the UPMin team went to Ruben Edera Ecleo Sr. National High School and Primitivo J. Ebol Memorial National High School. The former is located in the Municipality of Cagdianao, Dinagat Islands, while the latter is located in the Municipality of Dinagat in the same province. On the third day, the UPMin team went to Dinagat School of Fisheries, Municipality of Dinagat, Dinagat Islands.

The UPMin team was composed of assistant professors Dennis Sumaylo and Annaliza Castro and staff members Methus Elisan (OUR), Roeviminda Delos Santos (Pahinungod), Joy Angela Ignacio, and Aladin R. Intoy, Jr., both of the Office of Extension & Community Service. The Youth Formation Unit under the School Governance and Operations Division of the Schools Division Office of Dinagat Islands guided the UPMin team throughout the three-day campaign.

(Source: OECS, UPMin)