“Findings from basic research lay the groundwork to establish validated data and information needed to prepare the country should there be an epidemic or a pandemic”. - Dr. Doralyn Dalisay, NRCP Member of Division IV (Pharmaceutical Sciences) and Chair, DOST - NRCP Visayas Chapter

While we are in the midst of discovering the cure and eventually producing the vaccine to combat COVID-19, the National Research Council of the Philippines of the Departmnt of Science and Technology (DOST-NRCP) researchers have discovered medicines (antibiotics) from unexpected sources like marine sediments.

At the University of San Agustin (USA), Iloilo City, two DOST-NRCP researchers - Dr. Doralyn S. Dalisay and Dr. Jonel P. Saludes - have discovered antibiotics from a bacteria thriving in marine sediments in the Philippines. The antibiotics are effective in killing the multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MDRSA), a pathogen or germ that causes a range of illnesses from minor skin infections to life-threatening diseases, by breaking the protective membrane of the cell. The findings of this research provide evidence that these antibiotics potentially serve as leads to combat antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

Dr. Doralyn S. Dalisay: Eureka! Antibiotics from marine sediments!

The research work was reviewed by antibiotic experts from Italy and Russia and was published on 24 April 2020 in a high impact international journal, Frontiers in Microbiology, under the research topic “Marine Microbial-Derived Molecules and Their Potential Medical and Cosmetic Applications”. Frontiers in Microbiology, one of the most cited microbiology Q1 journals, has an Impact Factor of 4.259 and publishes rigorously peer-reviewed manuscripts across the entire spectrum of microbiology.

Read more about the discoveries in Frontiers in Microbiology at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00743.

“Findings from basic research lay the groundwork to establish validated data and information needed to prepare the country should there be an epidemic or a pandemic,” according to Dr. Dalisay, the lead author of the paper.

This research was made possible through a grant awarded to University of San Agustin by the Grant-in-Aid Program of the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) and Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

This funding enabled the University of San Agustin to develop groundbreaking drug discovery research competencies in Region VI in particular, and the Philippines in general.

Dr. Jonel P. Saludes (center) describing to DOST Undersecretary for R&D, Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara (right) the invaluable role of forward-looking and organized planning on infrastructure, equipment acquisition, and human resources development by the Center for Chemical Biology and Biotechnology (C2B2) and Center for Natural Drug Discovery and Development (CND3) of USA that elevated the quality of health research in Region VI.

Dr. Dalisay is a member of Division IV (Pharmaceutical Sciences) and currently the Chair of DOST-NRCP Visayas Chapter and the Director of the USA Center for Chemical Biology and Biotechnology. On the other hand, Dr. Saludes is also a DOST-NRCP member of Division X (Chemical Sciences) and the Associate Vice President for Research and Global Relations also at the University of San Agustin. They are both DOST Balik Scientists. (Maria Elena A. Talingdan, DOST-NRCP)