RECOGNITION AND AWARDS
Academician of the Philippine National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST)
In 2008, Dr. Concepcion was elected Academician of the Philippine National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST). The NAST citation reads: “Dr. Gisela Padilla-Concepcion is recognized for her significant contributions in the field of marine natural products. With students and co-workers, she led researches that: isolated, purified, identified and characterized marine natural products with anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, anti-tuberculosis, antimalarial, anti- inflammatory and immuno-suppressant properties; developed innovative and inexpensive bioassay methods for platelet inhibition and other bioactivities; and developed targeted drug delivery systems for efficient and effective immunosuppression and anti-cancer treatment. Dr. Padilla- Concepcion has mentored graduate students and research associates and imbued them with the passion to pursue scientific research. She has demonstrated inspiring leadership in the campaign to promote and increase government support for Science and Technology in the country.”
Dr. Concepcion is a member of the Biological Sciences Division (BSD) of NAST. She serves in various NAST committees such as the NAST Talent Search for Young Scientists Committee, NAST Transactions Publications Committee, and the Annual Scientific Meeting Finance Committee. She is involved in planning and conduct of the annual Regional Scientific Meetings; she co-hosted a webinar series on viral evolution, hosted discussions on climate change mitiigation through coastal greenbelts of mangroves, and she has contributed to NAST position papers on COVID-19, Avian Flu and African Swine Fever.
NAST Biosketch 2017-18
GISELA PADILLA-CONCEPCION Academician, 2008 (1954– )
Dr. Gisela Padilla- Concepcion is recognized for her significant contributions in the field of marine natural products biochemistry.
With students and co- workers, Dr. Conception has led researches that isolated, purified, identified, and characterized marine natural products with anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, anti-tuberculosis, antimalarial, anti- inflammatory, and immuno-suppressant properties. Her team successfully isolated and purified pentacyclic quinones from Philippine sponge which were found to be highly cytotoxic to human colorectal cancer cell line. They isolated, purified and identified at least 15 marine and plant compounds with significant cytotoxicity to two human breast cancer cells. In 2000, they reported the isolation of agelasine F from a Philippine sponge which exhibited significant activity against four single drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. They have also discovered the presence of a novel bacterial isolate from a tunicate which produces heptiyl prodigiosin that is active against susceptible- and methicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus. Dr. Concepcion and her team developed new, simple and inexpensive assay for the screening of large number of marine samples for platelet inhibition. More recently, their collaborative work with scientists from the US and France on the discovery of chemoautotrophic symbiosis in the giant shipworm Kuphus polythalamia was published.
Dr. Padilla-Concepcion has been actively involved in the campaign to promote and increase government support for science and technology in the country such as the Philippine American Academy of Science and Engineering (PAASE) campaign that led to the allocation of PhP500 million from the Philippine government for the National Science Complex at UP Diliman. As UP vice president for academic affairs, she strengthened the R &D of the national university by upgrading research manpower and facilities through various research grant programs, scholarships and fellowships she initiated or strengthened.
Dr. Padilla-Concepcion obtained her BS Chemistry cum laude (1975) from the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, MS Biochemistry (1982) from UP Manila and PhD Chemistry (1995) from UP Diliman. She joined the Department of Chemistry at UP Los Baños as instructor in 1975 and transferred to UP Diliman in 1976. From 1984–1989, she was assistant professor at the Department of Biochemistry, UP Manila and has been with Marine Science Institute, UP Diliman, since 1989 and has mentored many students and researchers. She is presently professor and served as vice president for academic affairs of the UP System from 2011 to 2017.
Dr. Padilla-Concepcion initiated the column Star Science in the Philippine Star and is the founding co-editor of the Philippine Science Letters, an online free access journal. She served as president, Philippine Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PSBMB) (1997–1998) and PAASE Philippines Inc. (2007) and organized several national and regional scientific conferences.
Among the awards of Dr. Padilla-Concepcion include: NAST-LELEDFI Award for Outstanding Research in Tropical Medicine, 2006; Gregorio Y. Zara Award for Basic Research (PhilAAS), 2006; Achievement Award in Chemistry, National Research Council of the Philippines, 2007; Centennial UP Alumni Association (UPAA) Outstanding Award for Science and Technology, 2008; Outstanding Achievement in Science and Technology of the Philippine Development (Ayala) Foundation USA, 2010; UP Scientist I, 2008–2010, UP Scientist III, 2012– 2014, 2015–2017; Outstanding Research Administrator Award, Department of Science and Technology, 2016; and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) fellow, 2016.
Dr. Gisela Padilla-Concepcion was elected to the National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines as academician in 2008.
Academician of the Philippine National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST)
TWAS Photo Feature at the Central Station in Trieste, Italy in March, 2022
Dr. Concepcion was nominated by NAST-PHL for membership in The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and she was elected TWAS Fellow in 2015. She was accorded this recognition for her work on bioactive marine natural products. In her batch, she is the lone Fellow from the Philippines and one of only ten women who were selected.
Recognition and Awards
Dr. Concepcion has received various prestigious awards in recognition of her scientific contributions to the field of bioactive marine natural products, and as a science advocate and administrator. The most recent awards are: PAASE Distinguished Service Award in 2022, DA Filipino Faces of Biotechnology Award in 2019, Scientist III, UP Scientific Productivity System Award in 2019, One UP Professorial Chair Award in 2017, and NAST-DOST Dioscoro Umali Outstanding Science Administrator Award in 2016.
PAASE Distinguished Service Award in 2022
DA Filipino Faces of Biotechnology Award in 2019:
https://www.da.gov.ph/24666-2/
Scientist III, UP Scientific Productivity System in 2019:
https://upd.edu.ph/up-fetes-outstanding-scientists/
NAST-DOST Dioscoro Umali Outstanding Science Administrator Award in 2016:
https://ovpaa.up.edu.ph/vp-concepcion-among-st-awardees-from-up/ https://www.facebook.com/nastphl/posts/1072061362830735
