The Research Center for the Health Sciences (RCHS) inaugurated its Human Performance Laboratory on March 13, 2024 at the 5/F of Fr. Roque Ruaño, O.P. building.
Borne out of a Department of Science and Technology (DOST) research grant, the said laboratory is built to ramp up research with state-of-the-art modern equipment and field rooms, as well as to assess the condition of the athletes, aid them in recovery after injury, and keep track of their performance.
RCHS Supervisor Prof. Consuelo G. Suarez, MD, PhD, FPARM proudly shared that the laboratory is the first of its kind in the country. Moreover, Suarez envisioned the laboratory to be a niche of research innovations where they can forge ties with researchers from various walks of life to gain a multitude of inputs, and then serve as a venue for seminars and workshops to empower medical and paramedical personnel, athletes, coaches, and educators alike.
Meanwhile, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation Rev. fr. Jannel N. Abogado, O.P., DThPatSc emphasized that the UST research centers are guided by the anecdote that “science must be felt by people”, with the aim to give light to others. “We want research projects and our research programs to have an effect in the lives of people and the community […] we do so because this is our job, this is our role, this is our mission,” fr. Abogado said. “We constructed this laboratory because we know that the works and the technologies that will come out to this will be beneficial to people,” he added.
For Faculty of Medicine and Surgery Dean Assoc. Prof. Ma. Lourdes D. Maglinao, MD, the new facility aims to be the niche of groundbreaking research works that are envisioned to change people’s lives. “This center represents a symphony of expertise, a collaboration between the healers who mend and the coaches who push us to soar,” Dean Maglinao said.
The academic units that are primarily involved in running the laboratory are the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Engineering, and the College of Rehabilitation Sciences.
