DOST-SEI fetes women's role in pandemic response Trainings on the use of the MPA-FishMApp tool has started Data, Projections, and COVID-19: CFI Mini-symposium on December 7, 2020 DOST SEI Webinar Activity for the Health Sector Introduction to Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) Pia Zamora and Jonathan Rico, CIP Scholars Working with CFI, were featured in DOST's the Patriot COVID-19 Data Issues analyzed by CFI volunteer student Dominic Karl Bolinas Exit Report of Dr. Romulo de Castro New Research Publication from CFI, CND3, and Chemistry Disparities in Healthcare Delivery in Western Visayas during the COVID-19 Pandemic CFI and partner modelers offer free epidemiological modeling service to LGUs Western Visayas COVID-19 Cases Data CFI assists PAASE and PASUC with a PPE Needs Dashboard App RAPPLER publishes Lockdown Analysis by a team of researchers led by CFI CFI assists NCMH with contact tracing and monitoring tool COVID-19 Disease Burden vs Hospital Capacity A Recommendation for COVID-19 Testing in Low Resource Countries COVID-19 Outbreak and Response

COVID-19 Toolkit

 We prepared this toolkit to assist local governments, private organizations and health decision-makers across the Philippines in their response to CoViD-19. It currently consists  of guidelines, recommendations, data, estimation tools and support, and informatics tools for contact tracing and monitoring. We believe these tools may help users tailor their response according to how the epidemic behaves in their communities.   See the COVID-19 Toolkit menu item above and the Apps and Services buttons below.

CENTER FOR INFORMATICS
THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN AGUSTIN ILOILO

The CFI’s overarching objective is to develop and implement informatics resources to support policies and decisions. These resources include data sets, data collection and management tools, scientific expertise, and user support, in collaboration with researchers and other users in, but not limited to, the Western Visayas region.

Apps and Services for the Community

Why we do not have a treatment for Alzheimer's disease yet: A systems biological perspective - CFI Talks Session 2 

For this CFI Talks session the CFI,   in collaboration with the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) and  Negros Oriental Rehabilitation Foundation, Inc. (NORFI), invited   Dr. Bernd Moosmann, Professor of Physiological Chemistry at Johannes Gutenberg University and   a winner of the Oskar Fischer Prize, to  lecture on a synthesis of various lines of evidence pointing to chronic excitatory insufficiency as the cause of Alzheimer's Disease. You can listen to  his lecture  from this link.

Examining Barriers and Opportunities of Conducting Genome-Wide Association Studies in Developing Countries

​The CFI recently published  "Examining Barriers and Opportunities of Conducting Genome-Wide Association Studies in Developing Countries."  The CFI authors are visiting scientist Dr. Gerard Dumancas, postdoctoral research fellow and telehealth coordinator Dr. Pia Zamora, and director Dr. Romulo de Castro.

Click this   link   for the pdf.

Intersections of Higher Education, Government, Healthcare, and Communities - CFI Talks Session 1

The Center for Informatics  is proud to present the  first session of CFI Talks  where we invite international and local experts to discuss their work and contributions to societal progress.  For this session we have invited   Dr. Christian Gloria, a renowned expert in public health from the Columbia University Irving Medical Center to tell us about his experiences   in  promoting and improving public health.

Watch Dr. Gloria's talk    here.

Expanding the Edge of Philippine Medicine

​The  University of the Philippines Medical Alumni Society in America (UPMASA)     and the  UP College of Medicine  (UPCM),  presented the eleventh installment of the online research series titled  "Expanding  the  Edge  of  Philippine  Medicine"  on  June 28, 2022 (Tuesday),  at 8:00 AM via Zoom.   The session featured CFI director Dr. Romulo de Castro. He discussed the current efforts of the center in improving  the reach of medical services in the Philippines with telehealth. Watch his talk here.

Trends in Genetics: Are phenome-wide association studies feasible in a developing country?

​Our most recent publication "Are phenome-wide association studies feasible in a developing country?", was authored Dr. Gerald Dumancas, Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Scranton and Balik Scientist, with CFI researchers (Jonathan Adam Rico, and Drs. Pia Zamora and  Romulo de Castro) and their collaborators from various institutions in Western Visayas. Trends in Genetics has an impact factor of 11.639!

DOST-SEI fetes women's role in pandemic response.

Last March, DOST-SEI celebrated the National Women's Month and the International Women's Day and part of this event is to highlight the efforts of three women  professionals and scholars in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which includes the CFI's very own Dr. Pia Zamora.

Visit this link to  read  through DOST's article on the event.
Click this link to an FB post  from DOST on this event.

Trainings on the use of the MPA-FishMApp tool has started

​Dr. Rene Abesamis, a Marine Protected Area (MPA) specialist  from the Silliman University  began conducting trainings on a simplified method of monitoring and analysis of MPAs. This method utilizes the MPA-FishMApp, a data collection and visualization tool developed out of a collaboration between CFI and Dr.  Abesamis.
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Follow this    link to an FB post from USAID on this news.
Follow this link to read through an article from Silliman University on this.

Data, Projections, and COVID-19: CFI Mini-symposium on December 7, 2020 

Researchers from the University of San Agustin Iloilo, University of the Philippines and National Center for Mental Health have collaborated on numerous projects to help in the local and national COVID-19 response.

Link to the entire webinar recording & program segments. 

Introduction to Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap)

Pia Zamora and Jonathan Rico, CIP Scholars Working with CFI, were featured in DOST's the Patriot

"We can always do something to further the welfare of Filipinos. However you want to help  any of our countrymen in need, give it your all and do it with the right intention".  

- Pia Zamora and Jonathan Rico on The Patriot

COVID-19 Data Issues analyzed by CFI volunteer student Dominic Karl Bolinas

Dominic Karl Bolinas, MD-PhD student  in UP Manila and volunteer at the CFI, investigated the different data channels used by the DOH to disseminate COVID-19 information and found dissimilarities.

Exit Report of Dr. Romulo de Castro

Dr. Romulo de Castro delivered his exit report for his Balik Scientist medium-term stint as the director  of the Center for Informatics. He emphasized his collaborative work with multiple organizations and many other scientists and researchers. Specific focus was given to his work on COVID-19.

New Research Publication from CFI, CND3 and Chemistry

​CVD and diabetes risk scoring research is particularly limited in the Philippines due to challenges related to costs, gaps in policies, and stakeholder involvement. A possible theoretical framework for the analysis and utilization of data sets as well as recommendations and research directions were discussed in this manuscript.

Disparities in Healthcare Delivery in Western Visayas during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The lack of an  efficient healthcare  delivery system   has  always been  an issue in the Philippines.  The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on   healthcare delivery in  Western Visayas was discussed in this manuscript. 

This analysis was submitted as a commissioned paper to  the 42nd Annual Scientific  Meeting of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST).

CFI and partner modelers offer free epidemiological modeling service to LGUs​

CFI collaborates with its research partners (UP Diliman, the National Center for Mental Health, UP Manila and UP Visayas) to offer free epidemiological modeling services to LGUs using existing methods (FluSurge, Hill) and the newly-created ASQ (Age Stratified SEIR with Quarantine).

Western Visayas COVID-19 Cases Data

We compile Region VI (Western Visayas) Covid-19 data from the DOH, media reports and  other sources.

CFI assists PAASE and PASUC with a PPE Needs Dashboard App

PAASE is partnering with PASUC to set up a PAASE-PASUC dashboard in our websites, that would reflect real-time data on the demand for PPE in underserved hospitals and other facilities in the country.

The dashboard was created by Dr. Romulo de Castro and   Mr.   Raphael Nelo Aguila of the University of San Agustin's Center for Informatics (CFI) with   inputs from the PAASE PPE Team and PASUC & BSU Pres. Ronquillo.

RAPPLER publishes Lockdown Analysis by a team of researchers led by the CFI​

"...we must will ourselves to test massively and extensively if post-lockdown decisions are to be driven by data. Lack of testing is lack of data."

CFI assists NCMH with contact tracing and monitoring tool

Covid-19 has recently hampered operations at the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH).  This requires immediate action in reporting, contact tracing and monitoring cases. The CFI  immediately helped to develop and  deploy a  tool to assist the NCMH in  tracking the disease among its staff and within their grounds.

COVID-19 Disease Burden vs Hospital Capacity

We modeled the  healthcare burden for this epidemic using the FluSurge 2.0 tool  adjusted for Covid-19 conditions and the status of regional (Panay + Guimaras) and provincial hospital capacity.

A Recommendation for COVID-19 Testing in Low Resource Countries

Sample pooling  can save in the number of tests to be performed when resources (for testing) are scarce, and has been used   to track pathogen spread early in an epidemic.

COVID-19 Outbreak and Response

The University of San Agustin Iloilo Office of Research and Global Relations, the Center for Informatics and the Department of Biology hosted a lecture on COVID-19 by Dr. Mario Antonio L. Jiz II last March 13, 2020. Dr. Jiz highlighted updates on disease epidemiology, surveillance, and diagnosis and discussed preventive measures to help curb the spread of the virus.