A RESEARCHER of the University of the Philippines-Visayas placed second in the Best Oral Health Research Competition held during the Philippine National Health Research System Week.

Julia Theresa Aujero-Regalado was recognized for her thesis “Whole genome sequencing and analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genome in samples collected from the Lung Center of the Philippines.”

“This bioinformatics work was in partnership with Philippine Genome Center and the Lung Center of the Philippines,” the school said.

“It documented the different mutations in SARS-CoV2 variants during the height of the pandemic as part of national biosurveillance,” it added.

Professor Philip Ian Padilla, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, mentored Aujero-Regalado, a research associate of the UPV Philippine Genome Center Visayas.

She finished her MS Biology at UPV in 2023.