Assoc. Prof. Sumaya, who teaches at the Department of Biological Sciences of MSU-IIT’s College of Science and Mathematics (CSM), will impart her professional and personal experiences of working in the field of nematology with her talk entitled Life after nematology graduate studies: making the most of every opportunity to learn, lead and serve during the Nematology Seminar Day 2021 that will be held on May 19, 2021.
Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) faculty member Assoc. Prof. Nanette Hope Sumaya’s talk will be one of the highlights in the Nematology Seminar Day 2021, an annual event organized by the Faculty of Science of Ghent University (UGent) in Ghent, Belgium, in association with Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad -Universitaire Ontwikkelingssamenwerking (VLIR-UOS), Nematology Education in Sub-Sahara Africa (NEMEDUSSA), and the Eramus + Programme of the European Union.
This year, the seminar focuses talks about life after getting a degree in Nematology and career development. A workshop on “Let’s talk Gender!’’ will also take place in the afternoon.
Assoc. Prof. Sumaya, an alumna of International MSc in Agro- and Environmental Nematology (IMaNema), formerly known as Postgraduate International Nematology Course or PINC, was invited by IMaNema of UGent to speak to students at Auditorium 6 of Campus Ledeganck, 04.10 – L2.
Aside from Assoc. Prof. Sumaya’s talk, the event will also feature talks of other invited speakers, namely, Mrs. Lirette M. Taning of ILVO and UGent (Faculty of Biotechnology); Dr. Annika Pieterse of Nemlab/ Stellenbosch University in South Africa; Mr. David Pires of MED/University of Évora & INIAV in Portugal; Dr. Sidy Diakhate of Green Agro Consulting in Sénégal; Mrs. Lilian Mendoza, the Director of the Human Resources Department of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria; and Dr. Gundula Fisher, a social scientist and gender expert from IITA-CGIAR.
The Seminar Day, which is organized in the frame of the Summer Course: Networking and Seminars for the IMaNema students, is also open to the public and can be followed online.
The Department of Physics of MSU-IIT led the conduct of the first virtual annual conference of the more than two decades- old Samahang Pisika ng Visayas at Mindanao (SPVM).
“ConVIRTUALisation,” the 22nd SPVM National Physics Conference was conducted via the video conferencing app, Zoom, on October 17, 24, and 31, 2020.
The three-day event charged no registration fee, had 15 plenary speakers, and boasted an attendance of about 350 international and local participants.
The SPVM is a very active and independent association of physics teachers, researchers, and students from Visayas and Mindanao that is based in MSU-IIT.
Its annual conference is conducted in cooperation with two other universities – Silliman University in Dumaguete City and Mapua University in Manila.
The scientific talks at the 22nd SPVM conference were grouped as follows: Materials and Functions held on October 17; Science Education and Fundamental Physics held on October 24; and Biophysics and Complex Systems held on October 31.
Chancellor Sukarno D. Tanggol of MSU-IIT, Dr. Betty Cernol-McCan, President of Silliman University, and Dr. Reynaldo B. Vea, President of Mapua University, delivered messages of support for the conduct of the conference and to the organization.
During the closing ceremonies held on October 31, SPVM welcomed 52 new members from all over the country and inducted newly elected officers that will constitute the leadership of SPVM.
Dr. Eli Christopher I. Enobio and Dr. Rolando T. Candidato, Jr., both from the Department of Physics of MSU-IIT were the new SPVM President and Vice-President, respectively.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Enobio invoked the four I’s: Information, Interest, Incentive, Involvement, which he envisions to be the guiding pillars of SPVM to achieve its objectives in the new normal.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Physics and SPVM conducted a series of online trainings and webinars since March 2020.
In his status report and exit speech as the Officer-in-Charge of SPVM, Dr. Mark Nolan P. Confesor said that it was a testament to the resiliency of the organization when it stayed true to its mandate of promoting and furthering physics research and education in the country.
For more information about SPVM and its upcoming activities, please visit the website:https://spvm.org.ph/.
For the second time in a row, MSU-IIT marks International Cosmic Day (ICD) in the Institute by holding a series of lectures and participating in a one-day international collaborative meeting (video conference) where scientists, teachers, and students meet to talk and learn about cosmic rays.
MSU-IIT participates in the November 6 ICD along with 67 other schools, universities, and research institutes from over 15 countries.
The observance of the ICD in the Institute is led by the Mindanao Radiation Physics Center (MRPC) of the Premier Research Institute of Science and Mathematics (PRISM) and the Physics Department, with the assistance of the Center for MSU-IIT e-Learning (CMeL).
The ICD, which is already on its 8th year, is organized by Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), the largest accelerator center in Germany conducting a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary scientific research in high energy physics, photon science, and particle accelerators.
ICD serves as a platform where groups of scientists from renowned collaborations like Fermilab, International Particle Physics Outreach Group (IPPOG), NETZWERK TEILCHEMWELT, and QuarkNet, and teachers and students meet for one day to learn about cosmic rays and carry out an experiment with secondary cosmic ray particles.
During the ICD, school groups from across the globe get together to ask questions like: What are cosmic particles? Where do they come from? How can they be measured?
According to MRPC head Dr. Angelina M. Bacala, the series of lectures is held on November 6 from 2:00-4:00 in the afternoon at the Conference Room on the 3rd floor of the PRISM building.
Vernie C. Convicto, a PhD Physics student, gives a lecture on the overview and nature of cosmic rays that is followed by a lecture and demonstration on muon detection by Prof. Lowell Pamatong of the Physics Department.
Vanessa Destura, MS Physics student, gives a talk on the applications of muon, the most abundant of the charged cosmic ray particles at sea level, in imaging.
The goal of the ICD is to investigate the zenith angle dependency of particle showers induced by cosmic rays. In the absence or inaccessibility to functional Cosmic Ray Detector, participating groups or institutions can analyze publicly-available data through the learning platform Cosmic@Web, along with the background knowledge, description of the experiments and data sets and how it can be interpreted.
To conclude the ICD2019, an international video conference is made for international exchanges of the results and analysis of the data, description of the detector, and presentation of school, institute, and country.
Prof. Pamatong, on the evening of November 6, leads more than two dozen Physics students at the CMeL during the ICD2019 video conference where he reports the results of the analysis of the angular distribution of cosmic ray muons.
Prof. Mylene M. Uy, Acting Director of the Premier Research Institute of Science and Mathematics (PRISM) presented her paper entitled The Antioxidant Properties of Medicinal Plants Found in Mindanao, Philippines during the 47th IUPAC World Chemistry Congress held at the Palais des Congres de Paris in Paris, France on July 7-12, 2019.
This paper is part of her research project funded by the DOST-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development under its “Tuklas Lunas” Development Program. The study is also under the Discovery, Development and Delivery of Natural Products (D3NP) core program of PRISM.
The 47th IUPAC World Chemistry Congress was organized jointly with the IUPAC Centenary Celebration and the IUPAC 50th General Assembly. The program of the Congress was built to merge the different fields of Chemistry and to address today’s most challenging issues relevant to human well-being and sustainable development, reviewed by a worldwide panel of recognized scientists.
Thirty (30) symposia were offered with multiple half-day sessions co-organized by teams of foreign and French scientists. Symposia themes featured were Chemistry for Life, Chemistry for Energy and Resources, Chemistry for the Environment, Chemistry Across the Themes, Chemistry and Society, Chemistry Education, IUPAC and Chemistry, Young Scientists Programme and Special Symposia and Workshops.
About 900 oral presentations were delivered including 260 lectures and 640 oral contributions. Two sessions of 750 posters each were also organized.
At YSP headquarters with Senior Regional Manager Mr. Ong Pang Toon, Junior International Business Executive Ms. Yeine Lee, Unilab Business Development Group Director Ms. Elaine Munsayac, Vice- President Ms. Grace Yap, RiteMED Group President and Unilab Vice-President Atty. Jose Maria Ochave, and International Business Div. General Manager Mr. Peter Sia..
Pursuant to the partnership of MSU llT and United Laboratories. Inc. (Unilab) for the development of a utilization/commercial pathway in research and studies on herbs and plants of the Premier Research Institute of Science and Mathematics (PRISM), and upon the invitation of Unilab, Vice-Chancellor for Research and Extension Dr. Jinky B. Bornales and PRISM Director Dr. Mylene M. Uy, conducted a visit and benchmarking activity with Yung Shin Pharma (YSP), Alpha Active Industries (AAl) and UCSI in Malaysia. They were joined by their hosts, Atty. Jose Maria A. Ochave, Senior Vice-President of Unilab and Ms. Elaine A. Munsayac of the Business Development Group of Unilab,
YSP is a pharmaceutical manufacturer for both ethical and over the counter segments. lt specializes in the production of oral dosage format, liquid, external and sterile preparations. During the visit, we met with the company’s Vice-President, Ms. Grace Yap Yen Mee, the Senior Regional Manager Mr. Ong Pang Toon and other company officials. After some presentations and discussions, we were given a tour of the company’s facility.
Alpha Active Industries (AAl), on the other hand, is a subsidiary of YSP. Ml is a company that manufactures a range of products – particularly traditional herbs, health supplements and food supplements. The reliability of Ml’s product/s is tested via in-house R&D and in collaboration with local partner Universities – one of which is UCSI University. For the visit, the MSU-IIT and Unilab team were introduced to key officials of the company headed by Chief Executive Officer Mr. Chong Kak Siong and Dr. Chong Pei Nee. Presentations and plant tour then ensued.
UCS| University is the first private university to provide Food Science course in Malaysia and is considered one of the best universities to provide the course. UCSI is a Praxis University that focuses on developing their students to not only excel in studies but to also have the ability to apply that knowledge into the industry. With AAI’s access to one of the best research teams in Malaysia for Food Science Research (i.e. professional nutritionist, food scientist, biotechnologist and engineers), AAI is able to provide a one-stop solution from formulation, registration, manufacturing and delivery to their customers. During the visit, the MSU-IIT and Unilab team met with officials and research faculty of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Faculty of Applied Sciences. The University’s profile was presented to the team by the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Prof. Dr. Mogana. For MSU-IIT, Dr. Bornales gave an overview of MSU-IIT followed by an introduction of PRISM and its D3NP Core Program by Dr. Uy. A tour of the University with emphasis on the two departments then followed.
Over-all, the benchmarking activity was a fruitful experience. It gave Dr. Bornales and Dr. Uy more insights on the dynamics among pharmaceutical companies and more importantly, on industry-academe partnerships.
Dr. Angel Yanagihara of the University of Hawaii, Manoa will be conducting a crash course on Marine Toxicology starting April 23, 2019 to May 2, 2019.
The following is the proposed itenerary schedule for Dr. Yanagihara
Schedule of Activities
Date
Activity
Corresponding Office
22 April 2019Monday
Pick-up from Airport and billeting to IIT Hostel;Courtesy Call to Chancellor Sukarno D. Tanggol, Vice Chancellor Teves, Vice Chancellor Bornales, Vice Chancellor Alagao, Research Director Creencia, CSM Dean Confesor;Welcome Dinner
OVCPD Vehicle; OVCAA (Welcome Dinner)
23 April 2019Tuesday
Field Ecology of Cubozoans in the Philippines (1 hour lecture, 3 days field work) (Day 1)A. Mangrove outflow habitats (Chirodropid and Tripedalia sampling)8:00AM to 5:00 PM
DMS/CSM
24 April 2019Wednesday
Field Ecology of Cubozoans in the Philippines (Day 2)B. Pelagic sampling (Day and night time net tows Night time surface light Day and night (if possible) time dive surveys8:00AM to 5:00 PM
DMS/CSM
25 April 2019Thursday
Field Ecology of Cubozoans in the Philippines (Day 3)B. Pelagic sampling (continuation)8:00AM to 5:00 PM
DMS/CSM
26 April 2019Friday
Cubozoan Biodiversity (1 hour lecture, 1 day field work, 1 day field lab work) (Day 1)A. Voucher collectionB. Voucher photography8:00AM to 5:00 PM
DMS/CSM
27 April 2019Saturday
Cubozoan Biodiversity (1 hour lecture, 1 day field work, 1 day field lab work) (Day 2)C. Voucher preservation for anatomical studies, for DNAD. Results of Yanagihara, Saguil LNU Samar Collection with analysis by Smithsonian collaborators8:00AM to 5:00 PM
DMS/CSM
28 April 2019Sunday
Envenomation Pathophysiology (4 hours lectures, 3 days field lab work): Day 1A. Biochemical composition of cubozoan venomB. Bioassays of isolated venom Introduction to time course and dilution based assays Hemolytic assay MacConkey agar assay8:00AM to 5:00 PM
DMS/CSM
29 April 2019Monday
Envenomation Pathophysiology: Day 2C. Bioassays of live cubozoan tentaclesD. Ultrastructure of nematocysts and physical trauma caused upon envenomation Microscopy8:00AM to 5:00 PM
DMS/CSM
30 April 2019Tuesday
Symposium 8-12 AMCollaborative Meeting 1-5 PM8:00AM to 5:00 PMFarewell Dinner with Faculty and IIT Officials
DMS/CSM;Meeting (OVCPD);Dinner (OVCRE);
1 May 2019Thursday
Envenomation Pathophysiology (4 hours lectures, 3 days field lab work): Day 3E. Pathophysiology of acute cardiovascular collapse after cubozoan envenomationF. Pathophysiology of Irukandji Syndrome after cubozoan envenomationG. First Aid and Clinical management considerations8:00AM to 5:00 PM
DMS/CSM
2 May 2019Friday
Public Health Impacts (1 hour lecture, 1 day field work)A. Documentation of public health burden Survey in person interviews On line surveys FB or other platformB. Public Health out reach Make a presentation to an identified stakeholder group Develop signage for potential beaches affected by box jellies Initiate collaborative networks with Rural Health Units and other Health Care providers Develop a mini course coloring book or other format for school age children8:00AM to 5:00 PM
