Ask Theory

This episode features Jean Utzurrum, a marine biologist with field research experience in coral reef restoration, coral reef and mesophotic fishes, and fisheries. She has volunteered with Reef Check Philippines and the World Wildlife Fund, and also served as an elasmobranch specialist for the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines. We talked about the search for a blue whale in the Philippines,...

This episode features Albert Yumol, a full-stack data scientist and machine learning engineer specializing in data architecture, analytics, and ethics.  He is well-versed in supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms for industry and research applications.  On the side, he teaches data science in a bootcamp company called Eskwelabs and spearheads a curriculum on data et...

This episode features Kier Mitchel Pitogo, a wildlife biologist at the Protected Area Management Office of the Allah Valley Watershed Forest Reserve. In 2021, he rediscovered a Philippine frog that had been lost to science for 28 years. He also co-authored the first extensive herpetological survey conducted in southern Mindanao. We talked about the story of rediscovering Guttman’s stream frog, fin...

This episode features Jason Tan Liwag, a molecular biologist, theater and film actor, and writer. He is the Founder and President of Queer Scientists PH and the President of Cine Crítico Filipino. We talked about falling in love with science through Pokémon, balancing hobbies and passion projects as a scientist, the lessons that science can gain from art and vice versa, the myth of the “boring” sc...

This episode features Dr. Rey Ordonio, a plant molecular geneticist from the Philippine Rice Research Institute. He is also the head of the Healthier Rice Project at DA-PhilRice. He was named as one of the Philippines’ Outstanding Young Scientists for 2021. We talked about GMOs, the science behind the development of Golden Rice, fears and misconceptions about GMOs, the future of GMOs in the Philip...

This episode features Purple Romero, a fact-checking journalist based in Hong Kong. Her articles on health, environment, and gender issues have been published on international websites such as Vice, SCMP, Foreign Affairs, Mongabay, Channel News Asia, and Agence France-Presse. We talked about the history of fake news, the difference between misinformation and disinformation, why people create and s...

This episode features Sabrina Ongkiko, a public school teacher at Culiat Elementary School. A vocal advocate for science literacy, she received The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) Award for her commitment towards educating children, empowering teachers, and helping to transform the Philippine education system. We talked about her most memorable experiences as a science educator i...

This episode features Maybelle Fortaleza, a marine scientist and member of the research team at the Coral Reef Resiliency and Ecology Studies Laboratory in UP Mindanao. We talked about the possible reasons why the Philippines is so biodiverse, the biggest problem in marine conservation, how to change or improve the way we talk about saving marine species, meeting science idols and celebrities, the...

This episode features Dr. Enrico Paringit, the Executive Director of Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) under the Department of Science and Technology. A licensed geodetic engineer, he served as the project leader of the Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation (DREAM) initiative. We talked about how the Philippines is im...

This episode features Dr. Jomar Rabajante, a faculty member of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Physics at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. He is the OIC-Dean of the Graduate School of UPLB, a fellow of the UP Resilience Institute, and a lead researcher of the UP COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team. We talked about simulation theory and our concept of reality, the surprising and...

This episode features Mark Ivan Roblas, a science communicator and Supervising Science Research Specialist at DOST-PCIEERD. He also served as the project leader of the Science Explorer, the Philippines' first mobile learning science facility, and is managing the agency’s social media scicomm initiatives. We talked about his most memorable experience as a science communicator, why it’s important to...

This episode features Dr. Nathaniel Hermosa, the Program Coordinator of the Photonics Research Lab at the University of the Philippines Diliman’s National Institute of Physics. He has been recognized as an outstanding young scientist by the National Academy of Science and Technology of the Philippines. We talked about unlocking the secrets of light, how a crazy idea helped his team develop an invi...

This episode features Dr. Lillian Rodriguez, an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Biology in the College of Science. In 2016, she became a National Geographic Explorer, and was given a grant to study the biogeography and evolution of pollinator fig wasps associated with sycomorus figs in the Philippines. We talked about why fig (balete) trees and fig wasps are important in Philippine ecosyst...

This episode of Ask Theory features Kristine Sabillo, a science journalist and digital media manager. She has covered stories about science, politics, technology, and current events for ABS-CBN and Inquirer.net, with a particular focus on topics related to climate, energy, and health. We talked about telling science stories to the public, the biggest challenges of being a science journalist, the t...

This episode of Ask Theory features Kristine Jane Atienza, a licensed nutritionist-dietitian who has worked with the United Nations World Food Program and World Vision. A space enthusiast, she is also a founding member of the Philippine Union of Student Organizations for Astronomy (PUSO for Astro) and a core member of the Manila Street Astronomers. We talked about why trans fats are so bad for the...

This episode of Ask Theory features Dr. Gerry Bagtasa, an atmospheric physicist and a Professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman’s Institute of Environmental Science & Meteorology. We talked about why certain parts of the Philippines could go underwater by the year 2050, how well we’re preparing for natural hazards and the effects of climate change, a mysterious (and major) climate...

This episode of Ask Theory features Nikki Dyanne Realubit, a terrestrial vertebrate biologist and board member of the Biodiversity Conservation Society of the Philippines. She has played an active role in numerous biodiversity conservation and awareness initiatives, including the ORIS Project, a volunteer-led team working for the conservation of the Isabela oriole ( Oriolus isabellae ). We talked...

This episode of Ask Theory features Dr. Ronald Allan Cruz, an Assistant Professor of Biology at Ateneo de Manila University. A biologist, science writer, and speculative fiction author, he marries his two passions — science and pop culture — in order to effectively popularize and communicate science to the public, whether through his published works or via his YouTube channel. We talked about inco...

This episode of Ask Theory features Dr. John Wong, a Filipino epidemiologist with over 30 years of experience in epidemiology and health systems research. In 2016, he became the first Filipino to win the Roux Prize, an international award that honors innovation in the application of disease burden research, from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) of the University of Washington...

This episode of Ask Theory features Dr. Deborah Tangunan, a geologist specializing in micropaleontology, biogeochemistry, paleoceanography, and paleoclimatology. Aside from her research, she also devotes time and energy to science communication, like when she became part of the Department of Science and Technology’s Balik Scientist program. We talked about what paleoceanographers and paleoclimatol...

This episode of Ask Theory features Gabriel-Philip Santos, the Collections Manager and Outreach Coordinator at the Alf Museum of Paleontology in Los Angeles, California. He is also the co-founder of the Cosplay for Science initiative. Aside from the paleobiology of marine mammals, he also studies diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in science education and STEM as a museum educator and...

This episode of Ask Theory features Shiella Mae Olimpos, a botanist and researcher from the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc. (PBCFI). She recently discovered and co-authored a paper on Aeschynanthus rejiea e, a new species of lipstick vine from Tawi-Tawi that she found during PBCFI’s Sulu Hornbill Expedition. We talked about the characteristics of A. rejieae , how one can tel...

This episode of Ask Theory features Dr. Trina de la Llana, a consultation-liaison psychiatrist who practices online as part of the Mindcare Club and the Quezon City General Hospital, and onsite at The Medical City and the Philippine General Hospital. She completed her residency training in Psychiatry at UP-PGH, with a subspecialty in psychiatry in the medically ill. She is also interested in sexua...

This episode of Ask Theory features Abigail Garrino, a Research Associate at the Biodiversity Research Laboratory of the University of the Philippines Diliman. An early-career botanist, she conducts botanical assessments in some of the country’s unexplored forests, filling the gaps in what we know about our own floristic biodiversity. The information she generates on forest dynamics and restoratio...

This episode of Ask Theory features Dr. Aletta Yñiguez, an Associate Professor of biological oceanography and ecological modeling at the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Combining her interests in ecology and computer science, she uses field, laboratory and computational approaches in developing tools to assess the health of marine ecosystems and understanding...