PAPA, Rey Donne S.

PAPA, Rey Donne S.

Rey Donne S. Papa (born October 17, 1981) finished his B.Sc., M.Sc. (cum Laude) and Ph.D. (cum Laude) degrees at the University of Santo Tomas (UST). He holds the rank of Professor from the same university and teaches Zoology, Freshwater Biology, and Ecology courses to graduate and undergraduate students. In 2011, he established the UST Zooplankton, Ecology, Systematics, and Limnology (ZESL) research group. His laboratory houses the UST Zooplankton Reference Collection – the first and so far only existing organized repository of freshwater zooplankton in the Philippines. He has authored / co-authored more than 75 publications, mostly in freshwater zooplankton ecology and systematics and tropical limnology. These outputs were supported by projects with funding from the US National Academy of Science and USAID, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the International Society of Limnology (Tonolli Award), the Commission on Higher Education, the Department of Science and Technology, the National Academy of Science and Technology, and the National Research Council of the Philippines. He has also been recognized by the National Academy of Science and Technology as an Outstanding Young Scientist in Biological Sciences (2021). From 2017 to 2019, he served as Chair of the UST Department of Biological Sciences before being appointed Dean of the UST College of Science – a post he has held since January 2020. He is likewise actively involved in professional and scientific organizations such as the National Research Council of the Philippines, the Association of Systematic Biologists of the Philippines, the World Association of Copepodologists, the Philippine Society for Freshwater Science, and the International Society of Limnology. In 2016, he was one of the lead organizers of the first-ever Philippine Symposium on Freshwater Biodiversity and Ecosystems (PSFBE) held at the University of Santo Tomas. Since 2018, he has been serving as the Vice President of the Philippine Society for Freshwater Science, established as an offshoot of the first PSFBE, and has been the National Ambassador of the Philippines to the International Society of Limnology since 2020.

Updates

Academic Qualifications

Research Highlights

Research Interests

Academic Qualifications

Degrees

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Biological SciencesUniversity of Santo Tomas – Manila, Philippines, 2011
  • Master of Science in Biology, University of Santo Tomas – Manila, Philippines, 2005
  • Bachelor of Science in BiologyUniversity of Santo Tomas – Manila, Philippines, 2002

Research Highlights

  • Ecology and systematics of freshwater zooplankton and limnology, including studies on invasive copepods, long-term limnological research, palaeolimnology, freshwater biodiversity and aquaculture impacts.
  • Maintains the UST Zooplankton Reference Collection – the first and so far only organized repository of zooplankton in the country

Research Interests

  • Freshwater Zooplankton Ecology and Systematics
  • Limnology

Courses Handled

Major Recognitions

Professional Activities

Courses Handled

  • Advanced Ecology
  • Freshwater Biology
  • General Ecology
  • Research 1

Major Recognitions

  • 2021 Outstanding Young Scientist Award in Biological Sciences – National Academy of Science and Technology
  • 2017 Gawad San Alberto Magno (Outstanding Researcher – Science and Technology Category), Dangal ng UST Awards
  • 2014-2016 Principal Investigator -PEER Science Grant by the U.S. National Academy of Science and USAID
  • 2013 NCR Qualifier –  CHED Republica Awards
  • 2010 German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Research Fellowship (February – July 2010)
  • 2008 Tonolli Fund Postgraduate Fellowship, International Society of Limnology

Professional Activities

  • Project Leader, UST – Accelerated Science and Technology Human Resource Development Program – National Science Consortium, 2023-present
  • Member, Editorial Board, National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) Research Journal, 2023-2025 
  • Editor-in-Chief, 2016-2022; Member, Editorial Board, 2023-present, The Antoninus Journal (UST Graduate School)
  • Member of Pool of Experts for Biodiversity Science, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), 2022-present
  • Chair of the Research Council of the Protected Areas Management Office, Taal Volcano Protected Landscape (PAMO-TVPL), 2021-present
  • Dean, University of Santo Tomas College of Science, 2020-Present
  • National Representative for the Philippines, International Society of Limnology (SIL), 2020-present
  • Vice President, Philippine Society for Freshwater Science, 2018-present
  • Member, Editorial Board, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, 2015-present
  • Member, Editorial Board, Philippine Journal of Systematic Biology, 2013-present
  • President, Association of Systematic Biologists of the Philippines, 2018-2020
  • Program Lead, Natural Sciences Cluster, UST Graduate School, 2017-2023
  • Chair, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Santo Tomas, 2017-2020
  • Vice-President, Association of Systematic Biologists of the Philippines, 2016-2018
  • Business Manager, Association of Systematic Biologists of the Philippines, 2014-2016
  • External Expert, development of Laguna de Bay Ecosystem Health Card for Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) and Partnership in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), 2013-2016
  • Reviewer for Acta Manilana, The Philippine BIOTA, Hydrobiologia, Philippine Agricultural Scientist, Philippine Science Letters, Crustaceana, Journal of Crustacean Biology, Philippine Journal of Science, Tropical Ecology, The Philippine Scientist, Inland Waters, Fundamental and Applied Limnology, Environment, Development and Sustainability

Selected Publications

Selected Publications