Mr. James Paul Icalla, Instructor III at the College of Agriculture, Food, and Sustainable Development, bagged two top awards in an international conference.

The papers, Novel genetic population for bovine breeding programs identified through molecular diversity analysis, and Extraction methods for high quality and quantity genomic DNA from Bovine whole and FTA stored blood both by won first and second place, respectively, during the 1^st International Conference on Food, Environment and Culture (ICFEC) held in Baguio City on May 16-17.  The first paper competed in the environment sector besting three others for the best paper, while the latter vied in the food sector category consisting of 10 other research papers.

The research studies were among the 10 other MMSU researches that qualified in the three categories: best paper competition, which had 23 entries; oral presentation, which had 105 entries; and poster presentation, which had 40.

The ICFEC is an event that brought together local and foreign researchers who showcased and enhanced their learning experiences from research outputs in the multidisciplinary areas of food, environment, and culture. It was hosted and organized by the Benguet State University with the theme “Fostering international cooperation for sustainable development through multidisciplinary RDE.” (By Lea C. Agbigay)