A faculty and a research analyst of the UP Diliman Marine Science Institute (MSI) were among the newly elected nine members of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Association of Systematic Biologists of the Philippines (ASBP).
Wilfred John E. Santiañez, PhD and Gizelle A. Batomalaque, PhD were elected as ASBP public relations officer and secretary, respectively, at the International Symposium and 42nd Annual Meeting of the ASBP on June 2 at the University of Santo Tomas.
Santiañez is assistant professor and head of the MSI Marine Phycology Laboratory. He also serves as the collections manager of the MSI Gregorio T. Velasquez Phycological Herbarium.
He earned his PhD in natural history sciences (biodiversity) from Hokkaido University, Japan. His research interests include seaweed biology (biodiversity, systematics, molecular phylogeny), biogeography, ecology, and mariculture.
Meanwhile, Batomalaque is senior research analyst at the Marine Biodiversity Resources and Information Systems. She has a PhD in environmental science from Drexel University, Pennsylvania, USA. Her research interests include phylogeny and biogeography of Philippine land snails, molluscan systematics, and evolutionary ecology of land snails.
According to its website, the ASBP was established in 1982. Currently, “its membership has grown to encompass professionals, students and enthusiasts all over the Philippines and abroad. Its scope has expanded in recent years outside of the traditional sphere of basic taxonomy and systematics to include ethnobiology, biodiversity conservation, and public education.”
Batomaloque and Santiañez will serve as ASBP BOT members from June 2025 to May 2027. —With a report from the MSI