PGC Visayas holds training on molecular techniques for COVID-19 testing

Six medical technologists and the chief of hospital of Angel Salazar Memorial General Hospital (ASMGH) completed the Training on Molecular Techniques (RNA Extraction and rRT- PCR) for COVID-19 Testing last April 29-30, 2021, at the Philippine Genome Center Visayas in the Regional Research Center, University of the Philippines Visayas, Miagao, Iloilo.

This is the first hands-on training under the UP TRAINS 2 Program held at the newly inaugurated PGC Visayas Laboratories.

The UP TRAINS 2 Program is a training assistance initiative designed by the National Institute of Health in UP Manila, the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology in UP Diliman, and the PGC System in Diliman, Visayas, and Mindanao that aims to increase the number of laboratories capable of conducting RT-PCR based COVID-19 testing.

Previous trainings conducted by PGC Visayas for COVID-19 testing were held at the Center for Chemical Biology and Biotechnology & Center for Natural Drug Discovery and Development (C2B2&CND3) of the University of San Agustin, West Visayas State University – Green Technology Business Incubator (WVSU-GTBI) and the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology – University of the Philippines Visayas (NIMBB-UPV) from April 2020 to February 2021.

The April 29 – 30, 2021 hands-on training brings the number of medical personnel trained by PGC Visayas to 80 across Western Visayas.

The Philippine Genome Center Visayas was established through the DOST project entitled, “Enhanced Capability Building in R&D in Genomics” Project 2. The establishment of the Genomics Consortium and Core Facility in the Visayas (PGC Visayas) was initiated last February 2019. (Claire Samantha Juanico and Andrea Danica Bernas/PGC Visayas)