Antibiotic potential of fish mucus brings world science honor to 'Seafood Capital'
ROXAS CITY -- A member of Class 2007 of Capiz National High School (CNHS) here has made his alma mater and fellow Capiceños proud by winning a major award in the 2007 International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) held May 14-19 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Sixteen-year old Melvyn Carlo Barroa, who graduated from CNHS in March this year, won a Fourth Grand Award in the Microbiology Category in the world's largest pre-college science competition for his study that explored the potential of fish mucus as an antibiotic.
Narcisa Artates, School Principal IV of CNHS, said she is proud of the achievement of her student that earned global recognition for their school.
Artates, who had worked for the incorporation of a special science and technology class program in said school right after she became school principal in 1989, described Barroa as a dedicated and consistent honor student during his time.
Barroa's study, "Fish Mucus: Its Potential Antimicrobial Effects on Human Pathogens and Possible Role in Innate Immunity," is the first study ever conducted about the potential of fish mucus as possible antibiotic.
The idea for his study came from other school alumni who said that if prawns were cultured with Nile tilapia, they do not contract any disease without knowing, however, what caused it.
Barroa, who will take up Political Science at the Ateneo de Manila University, made a research on it on the Internet and libraries in Manila and then conducted the experiment for the study. He also acknowledged the support extended to him by his parents and teachers.
Five other Filipino students from various science high schools around the country shone with Barroa in the annual science competition which was participated in by 1,500 students from 51 countries this year and sponsored by world-renowned company Intel. The Department of Education (DepEd) has been working with Intel in organizing the competition in the Philippines since 1998.
The five other students are Hester Mana Umayam of Philippine Science High School in the Cagayan Valley, Luiji John Suarez of Doña Hortencia Salas Benedicto in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, and the team of Ivy Razel Ventura, Janine Cindy Santiago and Maria Elaine Villaverde.
Umayam, 16, also won a Fourth Grand Award in the behavioral and social sciences category for her research on the use by natives of Kalinga of mathematics in their woven fabrics.
Also an individual winner, 17-year old Suarez won a scholarship award from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance-The Lemelson Foundation for his study on the potentials of a type of bacteria in controlling pests in plants.
The team of Ventura, Santiago and Villaverde, all 16 years old, won a Fourth Award in Team Projects for their study that explored the potential use of Nudibranchs or sea slugs in tumor research.
A German research institution offered to buy Barroa's study but latter declined and pushed for a collaborative further study on it so that his project would also benefit his fellow Filipinos.
Artates said Barroa is the first CNHS student to receive the prestigious international award for outstanding cutting-edge science projects from students.
Barroa's father, Dr. Elmer Barroa is an ophthalmologist and has a doctorate in said profession. His mother, Dr. Purisima Barroa is a physician and at the same time a Medical Technologist. They reside in Roxas City.
The awardee is the second in a brood of three children who are all products of the CNHS Special Science and Technology Class here.
CNHS held a motorcade May 30, 2007 around the city to give recognition to the honor brought by Barroa to Capiz and his fellow Capiceños.
Capiz is one of the country's major producers of aqua-marine products, which are presently within the focus of the government's overall development agenda, particularly food production. As such, the province has earned the sobriquet as "seafood capital of the Philippines."
The provincial government has also adopted a program to accelerate the modernization of the local agriculture and fishery sectors to boost the productivity and income of farmers and fishermen.
(PIA)