5 Pinoy scientists take spotlight on NAST PHL’s annual research tilt

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Five emerging Filipino scientists took the center stage to show off their scientific expertise and excellence as they advanced to the final round of the 2026 National Academy for Science and Technology - Philippines’ (NAST PHL) Talent Search for Young Scientists (NTSYS), April 22.

Besting among a pool of 19 local experts across the country, Timothy Scott C. Chu, Joe Anthony H. Manzano, Ronnel C. Nolos, John Vincent R. Pleto, and Rance Derrick Pavon were named as the finalists for this year’s edition, and presented their studies before the NAST PHL at the Admiral Hotel, Manila.

Timothy Scott C. Chu: UAV-based infrastructure monitoring

Timothy Scott C. Chu, an assistant professor at the De La Salle University (DLSU), focused on developing AI models that can be applied to structural monitoring through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to monitor and quantify cracks across infrastructures in high-risk environments, which are often exposed to earthquakes, typhoons, and environmental degradation.

His study, titled “A UAV-Based Concrete Crack Detection and Segmentation Using 2-Stage Convolutional Network with Transfer Learning,” embeds a lightweight artificial intelligence-enabled inspection and detection systems deployable on UAV platforms with centimeter-level positioning control.

Particularly, Chu worked on using a hybrid two-stage convolutional neural network architecture, AlexNet classification and YOLOv4 (You Only Look Once) segmentation, performing the “inspection task in two steps instead of trying to do everything at once.”

Combining these approaches, the model first determines, through AlexNet, whether a crack is present and only those images are passed to YOLOv4 for the detailed localization and refinement.

It improves both efficiency and accuracy by avoiding unnecessary analysis of images without damage, which posted above 90 percent accuracy and success rate during its experimental validation.

 “The proposed system contributes to practical inspection workflows aligned with Industry 5.0 principles by supporting human-centered, intelligent infrastructure monitoring, strengthening national infrastructure resilience, and advancing Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities),” the finalist said.

 Also, Chu shared that the technology has recently passed the proof-of-concept stage and is not yet ready for deployment within national institutions supporting infrastructure resilience.

“Scaling toward operational deployment will require integration with larger UAV platforms, which is currently in development,” the researcher added while reaffirming that his study demonstrated strong potential for future practical application with emphasis on safety and accuracy.

Chu’s research program is anchored in the concept of his published article, “Robotics in the Fifth Industrial Revolution,” which positions robotics and AI for human-centered intelligence systems technologies to enhance the quality of life.

Joe Anthony H. Manzano: Bayag-usa and its anti-cancer potential

Validating the potential of the Philippine endemic plant Voacanga globosa, locally known as bayag-usa, Joe Anthony H. Manzano from the University of Santo Tomas, assessed the anticancer properties and mechanisms through a molecular and computational approach.

The ethnomedicinal claim of the plant's antitumor properties had never been scientifically validated before this study, “Globospiramine from Voacanga globosa exerts robust cytotoxic and antiproliferative activities on cancer cells by inducing caspase-dependent apoptosis in A549 cells and inhibiting MAPK14 (p38α): In vitro and computational investigations.”

Manzano isolated the alkaloid globospiramine, which shows significant cytotoxic and antiproliferative effects against seven different cancer cell lines including those from globally common cancer cases—lung, prostate, breast, and ovarian—and induced caspase-dependent apoptosis, a type of cell death, preventing its growth and spread.

“The compound was particularly potent in stopping the growth of cancer cells, with the strongest effects on lung cancer cells (A549), and other cancers like prostate cancer (PC-3) and ovarian cancer (SKOV-3),  This makes it a promising candidate for cancer treatment, as it can target a variety of cancer types by disrupting their growth and survival,” the finalist shared.

Moreover, he also determined, through bioinformatics and computational analyses, that the interaction of globospiramine and MAPK14, a protein responsible for cell growth, response and death, deregulate the cell’s survival mechanism which provides further evidence that its anticancer mechanisms are preferred in drug discovery.

“More than putting forward globospiramine as an agent in anticancer drug agent, or at least a scaffold, [...] we get to go back to the community and tell them that we are able to validate the traditional claims of V. globosa against a variety of tumors,” he emphasized.

Manzano fronted leveraging the Philippine biodiversity and the need for ethnomedicinal plants to address global health risks, such as cancer, through his expertise, including molecular and computational biology, drug discovery, and biotechnology.

Ronnel C. Nolos: PTEs and their risks in Marinduque

Ronnel C. Nolos, an environmental scientist from the  Marinduque State University (MarSU), presented the first-ever comprehensive, quantitative assessment of soil potentially toxic elements (PTEs) contamination and its associated human health risks in his province.

Through his study, titled “Distribution of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and health risk assessment of soil in an island province in the Philippines,” the associated health risk and mapped the distribution of PTEs including cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, and lead.

Soil samples across different land use areas were collected to capture the spatial variability of PTE contamination in the study area and subjected it for analysis which served as the basis for calculating both cancer and non-cancer health risks for adults and children.

Nolos revealed that communities with high PTE distribution are vulnerable to risks, underscoring that children with lower body weight and hazardous behavioral tendencies tend to be exposed more through ingestion, dermal contact, and inhalation.

“Now, we are in the process of doing extension projects, trying to disseminate the information that we have. And also identifying potential endemic [or] native [plant species] that can be used in bioremediation activities,” Nolos shared.

His PTE studies started in 2019, springboarding the establishment of a community-based program called MINA Talks to educate residents about reducing their PTE exposure risk and serving as one of the scientific references in drafting the Marinduque Environment Code of 2023.

“I have communicated with a municipal health officer who mentioned a municipal resolution in support of our findings and recommendations, though, I believe, this is still in the planning stage,” he said.

Moreover, his ongoing Doctoral studies focus on environmental remediation, reclamation, and restoration, hence his pursuit of determining plants to hyperaccumulate PTEs, a lasting impact of mining activities in Marinduque, especially on its soil health.

John Vincent R. Pleto: Phytoplanktons and the seven lakes of San Pablo City

John Vincent R. Pleto of the University of the Philippines Los Baños presented his evaluation of the ecological health of the seven lakes of San Pablo City, Laguna, which is considered as the first-ever published article in the Philippines on the development of a multi-metric index of phytoplankton.

His study, “Evaluating ecosystem health of the Seven Maar Lakes of San Pablo City, Philippines using phytoplankton index of biotic integrity (Phyto-IBI),” focused on simplifying the extensive datasets for stakeholders to easily assess the ecological health of the said maar lakes, or shallow volcanic craters filled with precipitation.

Phyto-IBI is designed to simplify ecological indices into a single dimensionless value that could assess ecosystem health, which is coupled with Trophic State Index (TSI) in this study, to assess the environmental pressure in the form of nutrients.

He explained that these could be used as a “pressure-response” framework wherein Phyto-IBI reflects the response of the phytoplankton species on the nutrient levels of the lakes assessed through the TSI.

Its findings, moreover, demonstrated aquaculture-impacted lakes such as Lakes Bunot, Calibato, Palakpakin, and Sampaloc exhibited low Phyto-IBI and high nutrient pollution (TSI) compared to those of eco-tourism focused lakes, which include Mohicap, Pandin, and Yambo.

“This dual-index, tiered management framework is proposed to provide a robust roadmap for pollution control and long-term restoration of biological integrity. So, I hope this research [will help] the development of the Philippine Lake Index (a science-based policy),” the finalist emphasized.

With his expertise on freshwater ecology, plankton ecology, and modelling freshwater ecology, these lakes have been the focal subject of his research endeavors as he has become part of various studies funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) since 2019.

“We already perceive the various problems facing these lakes and it is mainly due to anthropogenic activities. The study sites could represent the different usage of the lake - aquaculture and ecotourism around the country,” Plato shared.

The long-term assessment and monitoring efforts conducted on the lakes of San Pablo City has influenced local ordinance that could help protect and conserve the lake ecosystem.

Rance Derrick Pavon: Alternative visual detection of Salmonella

Addressing the required yet limited crucial reagents, costly production, and long turnaround time, Rance Derrick Pavon of the University of the Philippines Diliman, featured his study focusing on finding an alternative or complementary option to detect and identify Salmonella.

The study of Pavon, titled “Loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for visual detection of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in food animal meat products,” aimed to ensure fast, sensitive, and accessible detection of Salmonella and other foodborne pathogens for protection of farmers, processors, and consumers.

Hence, he optimized the utilization of an isothermal molecular technique (LAMP) to detect Salmonella Typhimurium using a calcein-based and closed-tube platform, which yielded higher or comparable specificity, sensitivity, and positivity rates as a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay.

The LAMP assay method works at a single temperature, having a potential for onsite or point-of-care testing, compared to other common molecular techniques, such as PCR, which require multiple temperatures, rely on non-portable equipment, less sensitive, and require post-PCR workflows.

“[With this], it is perhaps more well-equipped for us to utilize calcein-based closed-tube LAMP assay to be able to solve or enforce food safety and public health in the Philippines,” Pavon said.

He also added that the application of closed-tube and calcein-based platforms to the LAMP assay reduces contamination risks, workflow, and result turnaround time, enabling timely detection of relevant foodborne disease-causing bacteria such as Salmonella in resource-limited settings like the Philippines.

While the method has gone through initial optimizations, testing, and validation, Pavon shared that further research and tests are required for its optimization and packaging prior to kit development.

This study received a thesis grant from the DOST-National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) and was hailed as the best thesis.

Meanwhile, Pavon also conducted several training workshops on PCR-based Salmonella detection and identification, antimicrobial resistance profiling, and alternative molecular tools like LAMP to regulatory agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Animal Industries, and the National Meat Inspection Services.

The winners of this year’s edition of NTSYS will be awarded at the 48th Annual Scientific Meeting of NAST PHL on July 9, 2026, wherein the first placer shall receive a recognition plaque, a cash prize worth Php 100,000, and a research grant of Php 500,000 from the DOST.

The NTSYS is an annual research competition for emerging Filipino scientists with the age of 35 and below. It is one of the initiatives of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) aimed at providing science-based, innovative, and inclusive solutions across four strategic pillars: human well-being, wealth creation, wealth protection, and sustainability. These pillars embody the mantra OneDOST4U: Solutions and Opportunities for All. For more information, visit www.nast.dost.gov.ph. (By Karl Jerome M. del Mundo, DOST-STII and photos by Xyrus Ivan De Gracia, DOST-STII)