Mr. Leonardo A. Guevarra, Jr., MSc, along with 2019 BS Biochemistry alumni Austin James Z. Sta. Maria and Nikki Cyrill C. Capistrano, won the Best Scientific Poster in the Health Sciences award during the 42nd National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) Annual Scientific Meeting.
The study, entitled “Isolation and Affinity Purification of Peptide Analog of In Silico of Zika Virus,” utilized IgY technology, “a cost-effective, high antibody yield, and animal-friendly technology [in which] antibodies are harvested from egg yolks of chickens immunized with known antigens.” The researchers produced IgY specifically raised against in silico predicted unique immunogenic epitope of Zika NS1 antigen, which may be used in the development of a Zika virus-specific serological test.
The UST researchers joined Prof. Leslie Michelle Dalmacio and Asst. Prof. Laarni Grace Corales of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila, and funding was secured from the UP National Institutes of Health.
The present study gave UST its back-to-back win in the said category.
