THREE PROFESSORS from the UST Faculty of Pharmacy have been elected to the pharmaceutical sciences division of the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP).
Assoc. Prof. Agnes Castillo, Prof. Mary Jho-Anne Corpuz, and Asst. Prof. Jay Jazul will serve a three-year term following their induction on June 9.
Castillo will serve as the new vice chairman of the division, while Jazul is the new secretary.
Corpuz, head of the UST Department of Pharmacy, will head the NCRP pharmaceutical division’s research and development committee.
According to Castillo the chairpersons of the council plan to boost the quality of pharmacy research being produced in the country.
“With this, NRCP will recognize this field and will support such research in terms of funding. The outcomes of social and administrative pharmacy research contribute to public health in terms of medication adherence, medication therapy management, drug safety and information,” Castillo told the Varsitarian.
Jazul, who is a researcher at Research Center for Social Sciences and Education (RCSSEd), said he would lobby for the promotion and incentivization of clinical pharmacy research to recognize its importance in the pharmacy and healthcare sectors.
“It’s about time to redirect the research focus on the pharmacy practice for the delivery of healthcare service and access to the general population,” Jazul said.
Corpuz said she would focus on identifying research strengths of current NRCP members to pool researchers of the same interest.
“Aside from the usual experimental research, the division is also planning to encourage members to conduct [research] in Social and Administrative/Clinical Pharmacy,” she said.
The three were nominated by NRCP member Assoc. Prof. Maria Cristina Doria after a call for nominations was announced on May 24.
The NRCP is the scientific body of the Department of Science and Technology that promotes research in sciences and the humanities.
