Rene Abesamis, PhD of the UP Diliman Marine Science Institute (MSI) has been recently conferred with the 2024 Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation Award by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Abesamis is currently working on climate-resilient coral reefs in two marine protected areas at the South Negros Marine Key Biodiversity Area. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts website, he “will collaborate with local researchers, train citizen scientists to survey and assess reefs, and streamline processes for sharing information with environmental managers.”

An associate professor at the MSI, Abesamis specializes in marine fish ecology and marine management and conservation. He received the Outstanding Young Scientist Award from the National Academy of Science and Technology–Philippines in 2013. He earned his PhD (marine biology) from James Cook University in Australia in 2011.

According to the Pew Charitable Trusts website, the Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation “awards fellowships annually to midcareer professionals whose future contributions to marine conservation will be significantly enhanced by their Pew-funded projects.”

Each marine fellow receives a “US$150,000 grant, allocated over three years, to complete an original, research-based marine conservation project,” Pew stated.

Abesamis is the fourth Filipino to receive the prestigious award. The other three are National Scientist Angel C. Alcala (1999), National Scientist and MSI founder Edgardo D. Gomez (2001), and National Academy of Science and Technology-Philippines academician Jurgenne H. Primavera.—With a report from the MSI