Congratulation Dr. Lilibeth A. Salvador-Reyes

Recognized by the Philippine Federation of Chemistry Societies for her outstanding contributions to Chemistry

We would like to congratulate Dr. Lilibeth A. Salvador-Reyes for being recognized by the Philippine Federation of Chemistry Societies for her outstanding contributions to Chemistry. She is the recipient of the 2023 PFCS Oustanding Achievement Award in Chemical Research.

Currently a professor and the Deputy Director for Instruction at the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP MSI), Dr. Salvador-Reyes’ research interests focus on the discovery of natural products from marine organisms, including bacteria, cyanobacteria, sponges, and mollusks.

Her life’s work is dedicated to natural products purification, structure elucidation, and bioactivity assessment, obtaining new compounds and working on the preclinical development of marine natural products.

Dr. Salvador-Reyes together with marine scientists from UP MSI established the mariculture of biomedically-important marine sponges, identifying high-value characteristics of these organisms and the factors that are responsible for the production of bioactive compounds. She is the curator of the Marine Natural Products Legacy Collection at UP MSI, a microbial biobank and chemical library representing the diversity of microorganisms found in the Philippine waters. This biobank now includes over 6,000 microorganisms and 5,000 extracts and compounds. She also researches on harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Philippines, working to understand the chemical basis of the toxicity of marine organisms and determine emerging toxins from the Philippine seas.

With her research, she continuously works to discover the chemistry of marine organisms to yield high-value products, while also protecting the country’s marine resources.

The awarding ceremony is on July 26, 2023, during the 37th Philippine Chemistry Congress Fellowship Night.