Mariano Marcos
State University

MMSU pharmacy students secure ₱75K DOST research grant

By Criztalene Victorio  

Out of 110 nationwide entries, students of Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy secured ₱75,000 in research funding from the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) for their undergraduate thesis.

Under the screening process for the 2026 DOST-PCHRD Undergraduate Thesis Grant in Natural Products under the Tuklas Lunas Initiative, their thesis titled “Molecular Docking, ADMET Profiling, and In Vitro Validation of the Mucoprotective Potential of Psychotria luzoniensis (Tagpong-Gubat) against LPS-Induced Intestinal Inflammation,” was awarded as the only grant recipient across Region 1 and ranked MMSU among 14 institutions in the Philippines to host the implementation.

The study investigates the mucoprotective properties of Psychotria luzoniensis, a native shrub from the coffee family (Rubiaceae). It also assesses the roles of specific phytochemicals in treating gastrointestinal Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

The recognized team is composed of Waylan Kantrel Guiang, Cassandra Jane Batallones, Ruth Danielle Emnace, Meia Nicole Ibus, Rossel Pagnanawon, and Levy Utleg under the supervision of their thesis adviser, Dr. Ma. Danica Ines-Ramil.

Dr. Ines-Ramil extended her gratitude to DOST-PCHRD for their active support of drug discovery and development in the university, emphasizing grant benefits to students-researchers of the Department of Pharmacy at the same time.

“We are deeply grateful to DOST-PCHRD for their continued trust and support. This initiative directly strengthens drug discovery and development at MMSU, a mission we are committed to at the Tuklas Lunas Development Center. It gives our student researchers hands-on experience by immersing them in the actual drug development process,” she stated.

“In the long run, this project reinforces the role of our Department of Pharmacy in helping MMSU grow into a national research hub that harnesses the therapeutic potential of our indigenous plants,” she added.