This was bared by DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Peña during his weekly report streamlined on Friday.
He said the DOST-PCHRD has entered into an agreement with the University of Trieste (UNITS) and Fondazione Italiana Fegato (FIF) to develop and implement a three-year program focused on molecular hepatology within the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program in Molecular Biomedicine of UNITS.
"This Fellowship program integrates basic research and clinics focusing on the study of molecular approaches to cancer biology, genetics, jaundice and metabolic diseases,” dela Peña noted.
He disclosed that two scholars namely, Loraine Kay D. Cabral and Dr. Noel C. Salvoxa are pursuing their PhD at UNITS.
"The research project of Ms. Cabral focuses on the molecular profiling of liver cancer with an emphasis on the genetic and epigenetic variation aspects, while Dr. Salvoza focuses on the translational study of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).”
Dela Peña also announced that in April this year, the DOST-PCHRD under its Research Enrichment Program (Sandwich Program) is sending to Italy two more scholars for their Doctorate of Medicine and of Philosophy (MD-PhD) program.
He said Dr. Inah Aquino and Dr. Eric Ornox will pursue their MD-PhD program studies in Fondazione Italiana Fegato and University of Pisa, respectively.
"This human resource and development efforts is in line with the objective of establishing a Philippine Liver Network with the assistance of FIF. This network will serve as a hub responsible for facilitating the conduct of collaborative research work on liver diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, hepatocellular carcinoma, and can expand later to cover research on other related diseases,” he said.
The DOST Chief explained that the Liver Research Network is a collaborative network to be composed of liver research experts who are highly trained, motivated, and willing to work on research on liver.
"It is focused on speeding up the science needed to find new diagnostic tools, understand the genetic reasons for liver diseases, and deliver new treatment options for liver diseases. The network will enable shared learning, new research opportunities and projects, joint applications for funds, and technology transfer,” he said.
He noted that last year, Philippine and Italian experts attended various virtual meetings to discuss the research and development landscape, identify priority health research topics for research implementation and funding and focus resources on research topics with a high potential for translation towards better health.
According to him, seven research priorities were identified.
"Through the capacity building scheme implemented by DOST and FIF, it is expected that in three years the Philippines, will have a well-trained team of transitional hepatologists who will substantially raise the level of liver-related basic and clinical activities for the network,” Dela Peña said.