UP MSI’s Dr. Lilibeth A. Salvador-Reyes as Sole Female Speaker from Southeast Asia at prestigious Marine Natural Products Conference
Dr. Lilibeth A. Salvador-Reyes, a professor at the UP Marine Science Institute (MSI), presented breakthrough research titled “Philippine Biodiversity as a Starting Point for Neuroactive Compound Discovery” at the Marine Natural Products Gordon Research Conference (GRC) in Ventura, California. Her presentation distinguished her as the sole female Plenary Speaker from Southeast Asia at the premier conference, held from March 10-15, 2024. As the Principal Investigator of MSI’s Marine Pharmacognosy Laboratory, Dr. Salvador-Reyes shared research insights during the Structural Diversity from Untapped Biodiversity Libraries session, particularly focusing on the potential to discover novel neuroactive compounds given the biodiversity of the Philippines and leveraging the innovative dorsal root ganglion assay.
This year’s Marine Natural Products GRC had the theme “Enabling Technologies, Discovery, Production, Function, and Applications”. It featured a diverse range of 47 speakers from all around the globe and provided a platform for scientists of various career stages from academia, government, and industry to present advanced and unpublished research. Various talks and a total of 122 poster presentations addressed themes from different perspectives, such as technologies, disease indications, biological targets, applications, and ecological context. Beyond the discussions, there was a designated time for networking opportunities with leaders in the field, fostering collaborations and friendships. With 200 attendees from every continent, the conference facilitated discussions about identifying and characterizing the structure and function of natural products, utilizing the potential of marine organisms, ensuring adequate production of marine natural products to thoroughly study pharmacology, as well as promoting their development and application for human health and well-being.
Natural products research is an interdisciplinary field being advanced by collaborations from different disciplines. It is through these collaborations that solutions to methodological and technical challenges in studying natural products can be innovatively devised. Platforms such as the Marine Natural Products GRC can facilitate these collaborations and discussions, paving the way for cross-cutting and cross-disciplinary research directions in the science of marine natural products.
References:
College of Pharmacy University of Florida. (2024, March 15). Dr. Hendrik Luesch chairs prestigious Gordon Research Conference on Marine Natural Products. Retrieved from https://pharmacy.ufl.edu/2024/03/25/dr-hendrik-luesch-chairs-prestigious-gordon-research-conference-on-marine-natural-products/
Gordon Research Conference. (2024). Enabling Technologies, Discovery, Production, Function and Applications. Retrieved from https://www.grc.org/marine-natural-products-conference/2024/#:~:text=The%202024%20Gordon%20Research%20Conference,harnessing%20the%20biosynthetic%20potential%20of
LASR Lab. (2024, March 15). Dr. Lilibeth A. Salvador-Reyes Showcases Breakthrough Research at Marine Natural Products Conference. Retrieved from https://www.lasrlab.com/news.html