THE FIRST Philippine Genome Center in Visayas has opened at the main campus of the University of the Philippines in Miag-ao town, Iloilo province.

“This is the leading institute for genome research, which serves as a means to empower the community through science and technology,” Chancellor Clement Camposano said during the inauguration of the center.

Dr. Victor Marco Emmanuel Ferriols, program director, said the PGC-Visayas will expand genomics research in the fields of fisheries and aquatic sciences, agriculture and health.

Ferriols said research to be conducted by the PGC-Visayas will not only benefit communities in the Visayas, but the rest of the country.

The PGC-Visayas has been at the forefront of providing technical assistance to testing centers for coronavirus disease  in Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas.

The center’s teams have given online and in-person trainings for extraction of ribonucleic acid as well as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction  that are used for diagnostics of Covid19 specimens.

The team of PGC-Visayas also tested the proficiency of the GenAmplify RT-PCR kits, which was also developed by UP.