Young Filipino scientists off to Switzerland for Novartis international biotech workshop

MANILA, Philippines - Carlo Castillo and Karen Rosal proudly display their certificates of recognition after being selected to represent the Philippines in the prestigious International BioCamp, which will be held from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2, 2010 at the Novartis International Headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. Castillo is currently taking up Master of Science in Molecular Medicine at St. Luke’s College of Medicine while Rosal completed her Master in Molecular Biology at Okayama University in Japan.

They were among the almost 120 participants of the local BioCamp organized by research-based Swiss healthcare company Novartis for entrepreneurial graduate and postgraduate students in the natural sciences who are interested in pursuing a career in biotechnology.

Flanking them are the members of the panel of judges (from left): Dr. Jaime Montoya, executive director, Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, Department of Science & Technology; Novartis Philippines chief scientific officer Dr. Francis Domingo; Novartis Philippines HR director Rose Katalbas; Bureau of Patents director Dr. Epifanio Evasco; and Novartis Philippines corporate affairs and market access director Christine Liwanag.

Through BioCamp, Novartis hopes to enhance the knowledge and skills of Filipino scientists and ultimately improve the quality of Philippine healthcare.