30/04/2026
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐. ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐! โค๏ธ
This day, the 30th of April, we celebrate the birthday of our National Scientist, ๐๐ฟ. ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฎ! ๐
Dr. Padilla is a ๐ฐ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป who is a proud alumna of the University of the Philippines Manila, where she finished her ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฟโ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ in 1981 and ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟโ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต ๐ฃ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ in 2005. ๐
One of her renowned contributions in the field of clinical genetics is being an advocate of the ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ป ๐๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ for detecting genetic disorders. She conducted multiple studies to find out how often certain conditions appear in newborns and whether a nationwide screening program would be more efficient. These researchesโ findings helped lead to the passage of ๐ฅ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ด๐ด, or the ๐ก๐ฒ๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฐ. ๐ถ She is also the founding president of the ๐ก๐ฒ๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฆ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ and served as the ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ผ๐ฟ of her alma mater, the University of the Philippines Manila, from 2014 to 2023, and continues to teach at the same institution as a Professor Emeritus in the College of Medicine. ๐ฉโ๐ซ
She also played a key role in advancing genomics in the Philippines by helping establish the ๐จ๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ (๐จ๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐๐), which brings together different fields to improve health testing, treatments, forensic work, and even crop development. She served as its ๐๐
๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ from 2011 to 2016, guiding its growth into an institution that later supported the governmentโs public health response during the COVID-19 pandemic. ๐ฅ
In 2023, she was conferred the ๐ข๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐
, the highest recognition for a scientist in the Philippines, which recognized her outstanding contributions in medicine and clinical genetics, especially in the Philippine context!
Hereโs to celebrating the birth of a ๐๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ, who embodied the true essence of being an ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ด๐ต๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ! ๐ฅ
๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฝ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ฎ, ๐ฟ๐ง. ๐พ๐๐ง๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ก๐! ๐
References:
Mendoza, D. (2018). Screening the new born, starting a healthy new life. Sunstar Publishing Inc. https://www.sunstar.com.ph/amp/story/manila/feature/screening-the-new-born-starting-a-healthy-new-life
UP System Media and Communications Office. (2023). UPMโs Dr. Carmencita Padilla conferred the Order of National Scientist. University of the Philippines. https://up.edu.ph/upms-dr-carmencita-padilla-conferred-the-order-of-national-scientist/