July 25, 2015, 8:16 p.m. –
A COLLEGE of Science professor’s research on shrimp biotechnology bagged the
Outstanding Research and Development Award in the 2015 National Science and
Technology Week celebration at the SMX Convention Center last July 24.
Mary Beth Maningas, resident researcher
of the Research Center of Natural and Applied Sciences, was awarded the
Outstanding Research and Development Award for Applied Research — the Julian A.
Banzon Medal — for her research geared toward the development and
sustainability of the shrimp aquaculture industry in the Philippines.
Maningas was also cited for the
development of primers, or short strands of DNA or RNA, to be used in
researching the White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) plaguing the international
shrimp industry. Maningas and her team also developed a diagnostic kit for the
early detection of WSSV, which is undergoing testing.
“I consider this a milestone
in my career,” Maningas said in an interview with the Varsitarian.
“This is just the push that we needed as we introduce our diagnostic kit
to shrimp farmers all over the country.”
After pilot testing in 2016, the
researcher plans to commercialize the kit.
Maningas is doing research on
gene silencing technology and the utilization of waste materials as feed
additives. She was also a recipient of the 2015 Outstanding Scientific Paper
last July 9 for her paper on shrimp biotechnology.
Other Thomasian researches were
also featured as part of the event’s exhibits. Maritz L. Lubo