A PROFESSOR of the University of Santo Tomas won this year’s Outstanding Achievement Award in Chemical Research by the Philippine Federation of Chemical Societies.

Mario Tan, who was recently appointed assistant research director of the university’s Research Center for Natural and Applied Sciences, was recognized for his contributions in the field of chemistry, specifically his research on drug development from natural products.

Tan’s research interests lie in the isolation and identification of secondary metabolites from endemic Rubiaceae plants, indigenous Pandanus species, and endophytic fungi; chemotaxomic significance of the isolated natural products; pharmacological activities of the isolated natural products; and total synthesis and chemical modifications of bioactive natural products.

Tan was a recipient of the Outstanding Young Scientist in Pharmaceutical Science award given by the National Academy of Science and Technology in 2018.

He was also recognized as a fellow in Basel, Switzerland in 2016.

Tan, a former chairman of the Department of Chemistry, currently teaches at the UST Graduate School.