Prof. Alicia M. Aguinaldo, PhD, a faculty member of the Graduate School and researcher of the Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences, and BS Microbiology alumnus Raul Destura are two new Thomasian scientists who featured in The Asian Scientist 100 list.
Aguinaldo, a retired faculty member of the Department of Chemistry, was recognized in 2019 by the Philippine Federation of Chemistry Societies with the Shimadzu Achievement Award for Chemical Research “for her studies into the anti-tuberculosis and anti-diabetic properties of Philippine plants.” A multi-awarded researcher, Aguinaldo was the first faculty researcher from the University of Santo Tomas to have been conferred the National Academy of Science and Technology Outstanding Young Scientist Award in 1993. She received the National Research Council of the Philippines Achievement Award for Chemical Sciences in 2011.
Destura, who rose to national prominence this year for the development of the COVID-19 testing kit, was recognized by The Asian Scientist magazine for being a 2019 Presidential Lingkod Bayan awardee. The 2019 award was conferred for his creation of Biotek-M dengue aquakit, which helped in providing “faster, more affordable, and accessible dengue diagnosis.” Destura was conferred the highest recognition UST bestows on its alumni, The Outstanding Thomasian ALumni (TOTAL) Award, in 2015.
Aguinaldo and Destura join the likes of Prof. Raymond Rosales, MD of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery and Assoc. Prof. Ricardo S. Balog of the Faculty of Engineering as Thomasians who were featured by the magazine.
Asian Scientist 2020: https://www.asianscientist.com/as100/?fbclid=IwAR0ubDbY5uLP7Vrv62nYDRTR8_Dq5O1V54u0eoc_qYINiv2TKs8z25PpBqE#2020
