About P175 million has been allocated for the establishment of a research facility that may be used for better diagnosis or management of diseases.
The Protein, Proteomics and Metabolomics Facility (PPMF) is set to be inaugurated this September, Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) Executive Director Jaime Montoya said.
“The PPMF will provide Filipino researchers the capability to investigate proteomes and metabolomes. These are the collections of proteins and metabolites within an organism that provide their actual characteristics. While the genomes provide a glimpse of the potential traits, the proteomes and metabolomes show the actual picture of the state of an organism or target sample,” Montoya said.
He cited proteomics analysis may be used to identify “biomarkers” of a disease like cancer.
“Relating these biomarkers to the state of the disease may reveal important proteins that may be used for better diagnosis or management of the disease. Detecting these biomarkers in successive patients may then be used for better ‘personalized treatment’ of these patients,” Montoya said.
The facility would allow researchers to do more direct analysis on the causes of certain diseases, or of special traits that may be found in unique resources found in the Philippines, he said.
Montoya said the Department of Science and Technology has allocated P175M for the project.
Montoya said the new facility will expand the country’s capacity to use multi-omics technology, which scientists use in analyzing complex biological data to find novel associations between biological entities and build markers of disease and physiology, among other things.
“Combined with (PGC’s) DNA Sequencing Core Facility which studies the DNA and RNA, the PPMF expands the available infrastructure to allow analysis of the protein and metabolite products in target organisms. These capabilities are (intended for all) Filipino researchers,” he said.
He added PGC’s mission is not just to conduct world-class research within the institution, but also to facilitate the use of available resources for the empowerment of researchers.
The PPMF is located at the second floor of the PGC building within the National Science Complex of the University of the Philippines-Diliman. – PNA
April 26, 2024
