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PGMA recognizes
Filipino world class scientists
(from left: Corresponding Member Baldomero M.
Olivera and National Scientist Lourdes J. Cruz during
the conferment at Malacañan last 14 January 2008)
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in simple rites in
Malacañan conferred the Order of National Scientist to
Dr. Lourdes J. Cruz and the Philippine Legion of Honor
Rank of Grand Officer to Dr. Baldomera M. Olivera.
Both scientists have been collaborators in a number of
research works on conotoxins from Conus sp. marine
snails (Cone shells) that are collected in the
tropical waters of the Philippines.
Dr. Cruz, who is an Academician of the National
Academy of Science and Technology, is currently doing
research on neuroactive peptides and other marine
toxins at the Marine Science Institute of the
University of the Philippines Diliman. She has also
been noted for her passion for science and technology
that is strengthened by her compassion for the poor
rural communities. She has conceptualized and
established the Rural Livelihood Incubator or Rural
LINC in 2001 with the help of volunteers and seed fund
from the private donor. One of its aims is to generate
employment opportunities and establish sustainable
means of livelihood as long-term solutions to poverty
and socio-political instability in rural areas
especially among Aytas, upland farmers, and fisherfolk.
As a
hard-core scientist, Dr. Cruz’s scientific
achievements include among others the elucidation of
the biochemical and molecular structure and
properties, and mechanisms of action of conotoxins
from the Philippine marine snails. She has also evoked
inspiration and challenge on Filipino and
international scientists from her pioneering work in
conotoxins.
Dr. Cruz’s expertise in marine toxinology
has been recognized not only here but also in the
international scientific community. In 1993, she was
awarded the Sven Brohult Award by the International
Science Foundation for Science in Sweden. She also
received the Outstanding ASEAN Scientist and
Technologist Award in 2001.
Dr.
Baldomero M. Olivera, who is a Corresponding Member of
the National Academy of Science and Technology, is a
distinguished professor at the University of Utah. His
group made a breakthrough discovery of a family of
biomolecules they collectively called conotoxins.
These biomolecules are widely used in neuroscience
research today in the study of ion channels and neuro-muscular
synapses.
The research of Dr. Olivera’s group, which
included Dr. Lourdes J. Cruz, was prominently featured
on and was in the cover of Science (Conus markings) in
1990 and the EMBO Journal (European Molecular Biology
Association) on that same year.
In 2007, Dr. Olivera was chosen Scientist
of the Year by the Harvard Foundation.
Dr. Olivera grew up in the Philippines,
where cone snails were sold in seafood markets and
where fishermen occasionally were stung by the snails
and killed by their venom. Dr. Olivera’s boyhood
fascination with cone snails led him to the discovery
of a powerful painkiller which could be a relief for
thousands who suffer from intractable pain, epilepsy,
or neurodegenerative disorders.
His primary interest is in the molecular
mechanisms underlying nervous system function. His
work has led to the development of a drug, now in
clinical trials, that appears to be more effective
against chronic pain than morphine.
Attending the ceremonies were Science Secretary
Estrella F. Alabastro, NAST President Emil Q. Javier,
Academicians, government officials, and friends and
relatives of the awardees. Five living National
Scientists were also present: Gelia T. Castillo,
Dolores A. Ramirez, Bienvenio O. Juliano, Ricardo M.
Lantican, and Benito S. Vergara. Other National
Scientists who were not present are Fe Del Mundo,
Onofre D. Corpuz, Clara Y. Lim-Sylianco, and Claire R.
Baltazar. Since the title was first awarded in 1978,
there have been 31 National Scientists in the roster
and only 10 of them are living. (Aristotle P.
Carandang, S&T Media Service)
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