NATIONAL SCIENTISTS OF THE PHILIPPINES

RAMON BARBA

 He soon developed the plant growth enhancer “Flush” which speeds up the growth cycle
of trees and advances flowering.

From further studies conducted spraying “Flush” onto mango trees. This product tripled
the mango yield; making mangoes available thrice instead of just once a year; the fruits
were 15% smaller, but overall, the mangoes were of good quality. Later studies showed
that the trees which had been sprayed still bore fruit 30 years later.

 Barba developed a tissue culture procedure for the banana plant which enabled
production of large quantities of planting materials that were robust and disease-free.
 He also developed a tissue culture procedure for sugar cane that allowed the rapid
production of large amounts of disease-free planting materials.
 With his research team, Barba devised micro propagation protocols for more than 40
important species of fruit crops, ornamental plants, plantation crops, aquarium plants, and
forest trees.
 In 2013 Ramon C. Barba was conferred the rank and title of National Scientist in the
Philippines for “his distinguished achievements in the field of plant physiology, focusing
on induction of flowering of mango and on micro propagation of important crop species.”
 Barba was elected a member to the National Academy of Science and Technology,
Philippines in 2004.
 Barba was a recipient of the 1974 Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines in
Agriculture Awards. In 1974 and again in 1981, the Crop Science Society of the
Philippines awarded him the Best Paper Award.

ERNESTO O. DOMINGO

 Researched on Gastroenterology Hepatology at the Case Western Reserve University in

Cleveland, Ohio, USA
 Conducted investigations on liver organ particularly schistosome granuloma and its role
in hepatosplenic disease and the epidemiology and control of Hepatitis B
 Organized and led the Liver Study Group (LSG) which conducted major studies on viral
hepatitis including hepatitis A, B, C, D, E and G
 Together with RITM,they provided a very good picture of the burden of disease in
thePhilippines using the rapid epidemiologic assessment ofHbeAG-positive
individuals and the microparticle agglutinationtest (Arguillas et al. 1991). They were
able to study viralinfection among blood donors, medical personnel, and
patientgroups. One significant information that they established is thevertical
transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) from infectedmother to child (Lingao et al.
1989).Aside from hepatitis, Dr. Domingo also performedextensive studies on
hepatocellular carcinoma. His group wasable to establish a causative link between
viral hepatitis and livercancer (Munoz et al. 1989). They provided evidence of
patternsof transmission of HBV and the risk of developing liver cancer.Liver cancer
 has been very difficult to treat especially back thenwhen liver transplant was not yet
available. Almost allmodalities of treatment, like chemotherapy, resection,
andcombination of such, failed to cure hepatocelluar carcinomamost of the time. It
was resolved that the best way to reduce theprevalence of liver carcinoma is to
prevent HBV infectionthrough vaccination. It took a while for the government to
payattention to his research. But, Dr. Domingo was a strongintellectual force. He
succeeded in making his findings the basisof the decision of DOH in developing its
policy on hepatitis Bimmunization. As a hepatologist, Dr. Domingo is very proud
ofthis achievement

LOURDES CRUZ

 Dr. Cruz is known for her scientific contributions to the field of biochemistry,
particularly on the isolation and characterization of the venom called conotoxins from
marine cone snails.
 In 2001, Dr. Cruz established the Rural Livelihood Incubator also known as Rural LINC
Program. Asked about this project in her interview with an e-magazine called “Daigdig
Pinoy”, she explained, “I established the Rural LINC Program to mobilize science and
technology to alleviate poverty. This project involves building a fruit processing facility
run by women farmers where the indigenous tribes can sell fruits from the orchards and
forest trees.”
 Today, the conotoxin peptides are important, extensively used biochemical probes. For
example, ω-Conotoxin is used for testing calcium channels in neurons. Another one, µ-
Conotoxin, is used as a prohibitor of muscular movement when inspecting actions at
synapses.
 A total of seven Conus venom-based therapeutic products for pain, epilepsy and
myocardial infarction reached Phase 1 and preclinical trials on non-human subjects in
2006. Additionally, Dr. Cruz and fellow biochemist Dr. Baldomero “Toto” Olivera
received 13 patents for numerous conotoxins or conotoxin peptides and their applications.

Dr. Lourdes Cruz researches led in part to the biochemical classification of more than 50
biologically dynamic peptides from Conus venom, and the improvement of conotoxins as
biochemical probes for testing the behavior of the brain. W-Conotoxin is now one of the most
extensively used apparatus for studying neuronal calcium channels, and u-conotoxin is the
reagent of option in neuroscience when muscular movement must be prohibited to inspect
actions at the synapse.

Dr. Cruz has done important contributions to the biochemistry of toxic peptides from the venom
of Fish-Hunting Conus Marine Snails.

GAVINO TRONO JR.

 Gavino Cajulao Trono Jr., Ph.D. (born November 9, 1931) is a Filipino biologist
dubbed as the "Father of Kappaphycus farming".[1] He was conferred the rank of National
 Scientist of the Philippines for contributions to the study of tropical marine phycology,
focusing on seaweed biodiversity. He is currently working as a technical consultant for
the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Aquaculture Seaweed Research and
Development and is a professor emeritus of the University of the Philippines Marine
Science Institute.
 Trono led the assessment of several coastal areas in Western Mindanao as potential sites
for seaweed farms.

And discovered twenty-five (25) new marine benthic algae.

He also established the largest phycological herbarium in the country – the G.T.
Velasquez Herbarium in the University of the Philippines’ Marine Science Institute and
authored two-volume books on Field Guide and Atlas of the Seaweed Resources of the
Philippines, considered as the most authoritative books in the country on the seaweed
flora.

EDGARDO GOMEZ

Gomez saw the need to protect the Philippine archipelago's vast marine resources in particular
that of coral reefs. He led the world’s first national-scale assessment of damage to coral reefs
leading to international conservation initiatives such as the replanting of corals.[1][4] He also
pioneered giant clam (Tridacna gigas) breeding stationed in Bolinao and other protective areas
for coastal communities of the Philippines.[1][5]

Additionally, he took part in creating the baseline map of the Philippine, and provided
information to the Philippine government during talks over the territorial disputes in the Spratly
Islands.[1] In 2007, he pioneered the study on ocean acidification caused by increased levels of
absorbed carbon dioxide in the ocean.[4]

Gomez was conferred the rank of National Scientist of the Philippines in 2014 by Benigno
Aquino III, the President of the Philippines. This award, which comes with a lifetime pension,
has been bestowed upon over thirty leading scientists. The confirmation ceremony took place at
the Rizal Hall of the Malacañan Palace where Gomez was awarded for his research and
conservation efforts in invertebrate biology and ecology on 12 August 2014.[1]