TWO THOMASIAN researchers led the series of lectures of the 42nd Annual National Convention and Scientific Sessions of the Biology Teachers Association of the Philippines (BIOTA) last April 12 to 14 at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex.
With the event’s theme “The Biology Teacher as an Educator, Researcher, and Community Worker,” John Donine Ramos of the Research Center for the Natural Sciences (RCNS) discussed Understanding the Immunopathogenesis of Allergies among Filipinos. The study, which is part of the RCNS Allergy Project, say that common allergies affect more than 10 per cent of the Filipino population and that there is a need to present cures to prevent this figure from rising.
“Allergic asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis are the most common form of chronic illnesses and they have become major sources of disability in all parts of the world,” Ramos told the Varsitarian. “The allergy project intends to develop an accurate and reliable diagnosis and therapy of allergic diseases among Filipinos.”
Ramos said that the project is still on-going and no new findings have been reported so far.
“We are expected not only to teach but to do research and extend what we produce or what we actually finish in our researches to the community,” said Eduardo de Leon, president of BIOTA-Philippines and a Faculty of Pharmacy biology professor.
Meanwhile, Grecebio Jonathan Alejandro, also from RCNS, gave the lecture, An Update in the Taxonomy of Plants Ranging from Bryophytes to Angiosperms Based on Multiple Gene Sequence Data.
His lecture focused on the classification of two plant kingdoms, the bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) and the angiosperms (flowering plants), based on given molecular data that offer simpler variation and interpretation.
Other noted speakers were Department of Education Undersecretary for Muslim Affairs Manaros Boransing, Herbarium of Taiwan Forest Research Institute curator Dr. Wen Liang Chiou, and AGHAM party-list president Dr. Emil Javier.
The BIOTA-Philippines is a national organization of biology and science teachers from all school levels, both public and private, with about 1,000 registered members. K. M. A. V.
