CURRICULUM VITAE

• June 1982- September 2001: Work in biotechnology R & D as a member of the research staff of the National Institute of Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, Univ. Of the Philippines Los Baņos. Achievements include the isolation and characterization of industrially important microorganisms including streptomycin-producing Streptoverticillium mashuense and the biodegradable plastic PHB-producing Bacillus megaterium.
• October 1, 2001-to date: Assistant Professor, UP Open University, College Los Baņos, Laguna. Present involvement includes, as a full-time faculty member of the Faculty of Education, as an expert in biological sciences and as an affiliate faculty in UPLB team teaching a graduate-level course on Bioinformatics. Present work includes institution and teaching of Bioinformatics in the distance and open mode of learning.

Special Qualifications:

• Career Service Professional and accredited as Specialist Microbiologist by the Philippine Academy of Microbiology
• Recipient of a technical course, master's and doctoral scholarships including Phil. Dept. of Science & Technology overseas sandwich scholarship program
• Exemplary and Outstanding Service Awardee, Municipal Council of Lupi Camarines Sur Marquis Who's Who in Science and Engineering biographee, since 1996/1997 edition
• Authorship of publications in international and national journals as senior author and co-author; and presentor of seven papers/posters in scientific meetings
• Attendance to more than 10 international Seminars/ Workshops/ Symposia/ Trainings/ Visitorships /Lectures including:
  1. History of Genetics Lecture: "From the double helix to the human genome project", by James Watson at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
  2. Current Topics in Genome Analysis. Spring 1999 Course at the NHGRI-NCBI, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
• Membership in major academic/professional organizations in the Philippines including PSM, NRCP and PAM
• Science Advisorship in a number of science projects by high school students and
• Trainorship in in-house workshops/trainings
• Contributor to the Genbank dbGSS, a database for genome survey sequences of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
• Featured guest in IBC 13 (Phil. TV channel) in connection with biodegradable plastic PHB
• Author of a pending patent on the production of PHB from local microorganism
• Contributor to basic research through approved research project funded by NRCP involving the utilization of PHB-producing bacteria in removing nitrates from contaminated water