Written by Vince Albarillo and Raul Estrella / Photo by Philippine Society for Cell Biology
The Philippine Society of Cell Biology (PSCB) conducted its 5th International and 13th Annual National Scientific Meeting at Ateneo de Manila, with the theme “Cells and the Path to Recovery.”
The face-to-face portion of the hybrid conference was held on October 20 and 21 at Escaler Hall, and aimed to highlight the latest updates on various research findings regarding the repair and recovery of cells within the body, with emphasis on immunological responses, as well as cellular and molecular therapeutic options.
A diverse gathering
Ateneo’s Department of Biology, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, served as this year’s host for the conference.
Dr. Vivian A. Panes, Chair for the PSCB 2022 convention and PSCB Vice President, warmly welcomed the diverse guests, speakers, and participants of the convention.
“…I am incredibly eager to get to know the diverse participants from across the globe and here locally,” she said in her message.
Many of the conference attendees hail from both local and international institutions, including plenary speakers from Korea, USA, Belgium, and India.
Presentation of findings
The talks and oral presentations within Escaler Hall introduced research results from a variety of topics, including mRNA vaccines and the mitigation of senescent cell effects.
Aside from the plenary sessions, poster presentations were also held in concurrence with various talks that were presented.
In an interview with Mr. Lawrence Macalalad and Mr. Rainier Ulrich Velasco, who worked together on the Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Model Analysis of the TGF-β and Ras/MAPK Pathway, they stated how effective PSCB was in regards to its objectives.
“We [were] able to receive newer insights and perspectives, especially in doing molecular [and cellular] studies,” Macalalad said.
“It pays to know [updates], and PSCB delivers it,” Velasco added.
Moreover, from their experience with PSCB and previous events, they expected and received an opportunity to learn and interact with different scientists in diverse fields, as well as tackle in-depth cellular mechanisms.
Conference sponsor booths
A number of booths manned by PSCB’s sponsors were erected at SEC-A and SEC-B lobbies. Among their top sponsors are RainPhil Inc., ITS Science (Phils.), Noveaulab Asia Corp., and MedTest Inc.
Attendees and students were free to go around and inquire regarding the pertinent company’s products, especially those who would make use of their services for their thesis and research.
Moreover, participants were incentivized to visit the booths to receive freebies, as well as discounts on aforementioned products, which were mostly laboratory equipment.
Towards the road to recovery
With the end of this year’s conference, attendees were able to acquire updates regarding the state of molecular and cellular biology.
“PSCB is the way to go for budding molecular biologists or fresh graduates, [especially if you want to see] interesting thesis topics [by] students or undergrads with presented posters of top-notch quality,” Velasco said.
“Science grows from different places. It does not start from one country [or] one school. [It’s] a great integration, as sir [referring to Velasco] said, as young budding scientists who want to dig deeper, especially in cell biology,” Macalalad concluded.
For curious readers, the entirety of the conference’s plenary sessions and further details may be found on their website. Those who are interested in a future conference may stay updated on their Facebook page.
References
Facebook. Philippine Society for Cell Biology. [cited 2022 Oct 27]. https://www.facebook.com/PhilippineSocietyForCellBiology
Philippine Society for Cell Biology. 5th International and 13th Annual Meeting (Webinar). PSCB. 2022 [accessed 2022 Oct 27]. https://sites.google.com/site/pscellbiology/conventions/13th-annual-meeting-and-scientific-convention?authuser=0.
Philippine Society for Cell Biology. Cells and the Path to Recovery. PSCB. 2022 [accessed 2022 Oct 27]. https://heyzine.com/flip-book/164eaf3ad7.html.
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