Researchers from the National Center for Biosafety and Biosecurity (NCBB) of the University of the Philippines Manila – National Institutes of Health (UPM-NIH) proudly participated in the World Conference on Lung Health (WCLH) held on November 18–21, 2025 at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The team presented four posters highlighting innovative research on tuberculosis diagnostics and drug resistance.
Poster Presentations:
- Evaluation of Locally Synthesized Silica-coated Magnetic Nanoparticles for the Development of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA Concentration Assay – John Meldwin C. Cuales
- Development of a CRISPR-Cas13a-based SNP Detection Assay for the Identification of Bedaquiline (BDQ) Resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis – Michael Kim Jr. B. Mendoza
- Comparison of Different Chemicals as Alternative Sputum Liquefaction Reagents to NALC-NaOH – Jo Mary Lei C. Majaducon
- Development of a Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) Assay for the Detection of the pepQ Gene in Mycobacterium tuberculosis – Joannah Marie T. Bislumbre
The presenters were accompanied by Dr. Raul V. Destura (Principal Investigator), Dr. Midori Kato-Maeda (US Co-Investigator), and Ms. Coleen M. Pangilinan (Research Manager).
This multidisciplinary research is led by NCBB in collaboration with the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), UP Diliman Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute (UPD-EEEI), Ateneo Research Institute of Science and Engineering (ARISE), and UP Diliman Department of Mining, Metallurgical, and Materials Engineering (UPD-DMMME).
The project is funded by the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) and the United States National Institutes of Health – Civilian Research and Development Foundation Global (CRDF Global).
Mabuhay to our dedicated scientists for advancing global TB research!
