Assoc. Prof. Maria Ruth B. Pineda-Cortel, PhD is the country’s finalist in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – United States Science Prize for Women 2020, which will provide promising ASEAN-based, early- to mid-career female scientists with awards from the ASEAN and US Government for their academic and professional achievements.
The 2020 competition bears the theme “The Preventive Healthcare,” which will be awarded to two of the ten finalists.
Pineda-Cortel, who holds a doctorate degree in biological sciences from UST, specializes in gestational diabetes mellitus, specifically the analysis of gene expressions from patients who have contracted it. Her research interests also include dengue and malaria, as well as climate change. In 2018, she was one of the 20 ASEAN Science Diplomats.
Pineda-Cortel teaches at the Department of Medical Technology, where she is also the Laboratory Coordinator. She is a researcher at the Research Center for Natural and Applied Sciences.
