Research adviser from the Philippine Science High School Southern Mindanao Campus (PSHS SMC), Mr. Michael A. Casas won 2nd Place in the nationwide 3-Minute Pitch to Policymakers Competition conducted by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) on August 10, 2021.
Nine representatives from different regional health and development consortia of the Philippines participated in the event via Zoom and Facebook Live, which is line with the virtual celebration of the 14th Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS) week last August 9-13, 2021.
The competition aims to develop and cultivate the researchers’ presentation and communication skills in pitching their completed health research studies and share their findings to the stakeholders and policy makers. The participants will present their completed research in a three-minute, one-slide presentation for a non-specialist audience based on set criteria.
Prof. Casas presented his policy proposition entitled “Positioning the Philippines as the Traditional Medicines Hub of the World with Chromatography” after the completion of his DOST-PCHRD funded research entitled “Chromatographic Approaches in the Analysis of Blumea balsamifera (Sambong) and Vitex negundo (Lagundi). In his policy pitch, Mr. Casas said that his research can be a basis for the need to upgrade the Philippine Pharmacopeia, the official book of the standards and references for the determination of the identity, purity, and quality of pharmaceutical products and crude plant drugs in the Philippines, to include advanced techniques in the standardization and analysis of herbal plants and medicines.
Mr. Casas will be receiving Php 20,000.00 cash from DOST-PCHRD after placing second on the competition. Dr. Glory V. Baltazar from Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center bagged 1st prize, while Ms. Dessa Jean O. Casalme from De la Salle Medical Health Sciences Institute landed on the third spot.
Mr. Casas, a recipient of the BPI-DOST Science Award in 2010 and 2nd-runner-up for the Best Project of the Year competition, currently teaches research, coaches award winning students in international research competitions, and serves as the coordinator of the Innovation and Technology Support Office and Chief of the Student Services Division of PSHS SMC.
Additionally, two members of the Regional Health Research and Development Consortium XI (RHRDC XI) also participated in the Research Poster Contest, one of the activities during the PNHRS week celebration. Dr. Elsa Baron from San Pedro College and Ms. Nicci Orcena from Tagum Doctors College Inc. pre-qualified in the Poster Competition for Professional and Student categories, subsequently.
from DOST XI S&T Information and Promotion
