UPV to launch PGC Visayas

The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) will officially launch and inaugurate the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) Visayas Satellite Facility which will be streamed real-time via Zoom and Facebook live on Nov 20, 2020.

Department of Science of Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato T.  dela Peňa, UP President Danilo L. Concepcion, UP Vice President for Academic Affairs Maria Cynthia Rose B. Bautista, DOST VI Regional Director Engr. Rowen R. Gelonga and PGC Executive Director Cynthia P. Saloma will grace the virtual ceremony.

Established in 2019 with funding support from DOST-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) to advance genomics in the region, PGC Visayas serves as a hub for extensive research in agriculture, medicine, fisheries and aquatic sciences. The facility is located at the Regional Research Center of UP Visayas, Miagao, about 40 kilometers south of the Province of Iloilo.

“Through genomics research in these various fields, we will be pushing the boundaries of knowledge generation in the region. By partnering with various State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and other research institutions, we ensure the continuity of this knowledge generation through capacity building investment,” said PGC Visayas program director Assoc. Prof. Victor Marco Emmanuel N. Ferriols.

Equipped with state-of-the art facilities, PGC Visayas is envisioned to pave the way for HEIs and other research stations to gain access to these facilities. The facility offers services such as nucleic acid extraction, basic library preparation for new generation sequencing (NGS), and bioinformatics analyses.

PGC Visayas played a significant role in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. It assisted in the establishment of COVID-19 testing centers and laboratories in the region. It conducted online and hands-on training on molecular biology techniques for RNA extraction and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) to medical personnel for COVID-19 testing.

As of November 2020, PGC Visayas trained a total of 79 pathologists and medical technologists from nine (9) different institutions from Western Visayas since April this year.

Moreover, PGC provided scientific advice and assistance to Manila HealthTek team and Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) of the Department of Health, among others.

As part of this activity, PGC will also launch its official website and conduct a webinar on “PGC Visayas: Bridging Gaps in the Midst of COVID-19” that features the contribution of the facility in the fight against the global health crisis with the participation of Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treňas and Iloilo Provincial Governor Arthur R. Defensor, Jr.

(https://www.upv.edu.ph/index.php/news/upv-to-launch-pgc-visayas)