MMSU-Research Directorate

01/10/2026

01/10/2026

𝐈𝐅𝐒𝐔-𝐋𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐰𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐌𝐌𝐒𝐔-𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐜 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬

29/09/2026

USEP (CHED-IBP project) benchmarking at the Research Directorate

23/09/2026

Congratulations Dr. Dionisio S. Bucao

𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 | MMSU Research Director among Region 1 qualifiers for Gawad Lingkod Bayan

By Jareason Fabre

Dr. Dionisio Bucao has spent decades turning agricultural science into practical solutions for local farmers, first as a researcher and now as Research Director of Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU). His work earned him a spot among Region 1’s qualifiers for the prestigious 2026 Gawad Lingkod Bayan ng Pangulo, conferred on September 21 in San Fernando City, La Union.

The Gawad Lingkod Bayan ng Pangulo, administered under the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Honor Awards, is reserved for public servants whose extraordinary work yields nationwide impact.

Dr. Bucao was one of only five individual qualifiers chosen across the entire region. Standing alongside established leaders like Candon City Mayor Eric Singson, Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) President Dr. Jaime Manuel Jr., DMMMSU South La Union Campus Chancellor Joanne Rivera, and Alaminos City Social Welfare Officer Elizabeth Radoc, his inclusion underscores how vital scientific research is to public service and community progress.

While the regional recognition is a major milestone, the journey is just beginning for the regional qualifiers. CSC Regional Offices are currently endorsing Region 1’s qualifiers to the National Honor Awards Program Secretariat to join 219 regional contenders nationwide.

From there, a Presidential Committee on Awards, composed of cabinet officials appointed by the President of the Philippines, CSC Commissioners, constitutional body heads, and prominent private citizens, will deliberate on national finalists before submitting them to the Office of the President for final vetting and conferring.

For MMSU, Dr. Bucao’s qualification reflects a career dedicated to ground-level agricultural transformation. An MMSU alumnus with a doctorate in Soil Science from UP Los Baños, he is a widely published expert in soil carbon sequestration, nutrient management, and water conservation.

As Research Director, Dr. Bucao currently steers high-impact research programs for the region’s priority commodities. His work includes leading initiatives to produce virus-free planting materials to revive local garlic and shallot crops, as well as driving MMSU's breakthrough partnership with the Philippine Coconut Authority on embryo-cultured macapuno seedlings.

"I am deeply honored by this recognition, which I consider a reflection not only of my work but of the people and institutions who continue to support our research efforts," Dr. Bucao shared. "I share this recognition with MMSU and our research community, and I hope it inspires us to keep pursuing research that creates meaningful benefits for our communities."

Dr. Bucao also expressed his sincere appreciation to MMSU President Virgilio Julius P. Manzano, Jr. for his backing of university research and innovation, as well as to the researchers, project leaders, staff, and agricultural partners whose daily work made this regional honor possible.

https://www.mmsu.edu.ph/article/news/3188/mmsu-research-director-among-region-1-qualifiers-for-gawad-lingkod-bayan

22/09/2026

MMSU Research director named regional qualifier for Gawad Lingkod Bayani

Dr. Dionisio Bucao, the director of the MMSU Research Directorate, has been named a regional qualifier for the Gawad Lingkod Bayan ng Pangulo in Region 1 under the Civil Service Commission’s (CSC) 2026 Gawad Lingkod Bayani, recognizing his outstanding contributions and commitment to public service.
Dr. Bucao received the recognition during the “Pagpupugay at Pasasalamat: Parangal para sa mga Lingkod Bayani,” held on September 21, 2026, at the Speaker Pro-Tempore Francisco I. Ortega Convention Center in San Fernando, La Union. The ceremony honored the notable contributions of the 18 qualifiers from Region 1 in the Gawad Lingkod Bayani across different categories.
Dr. Bucao was among the five regional qualifiers for the Gawad ng Lingkod Bayan ng Pangulo in the individual category of the prestigious government service award. His recognition reflects his sustained commitment to advancing research, innovation, and public service through programs and initiatives that benefit MMSU and its stakeholders.
The Gawad Lingkod Bayan ng Pangulo is one of the country’s highest recognitions for government workers. It honors individuals or groups whose outstanding performance and contributions have produced significant or nationwide impact. Regional qualifiers endorsed by CSC regional offices proceed to the next stages of national evaluation.
Dr. Bucao’s selection as a regional qualifier further boosts MMSU’s expanding record of achievements in public service and highlights the University’s dedication to excellence, innovation, and impactful societal contributions.

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21/09/2026

MMSU strengthens researchers’ publication skills through research-to-publication training

The Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) Research Directorate, through its Research Publication Office, conducted a three-day Research-to-Publication Capacity-Building Program on September 15 to 17, 2026, at the Center for Flexible Learning, MMSU, City of Batac, Ilocos Norte.

About 60 faculty members and full-time researchers participated in the training, which focused on translating completed research into submission-ready articles for refereed and Scopus-indexed journals. The activity was part of the Research Directorate’s efforts to establish a systematic publication support mechanism that guides researchers from manuscript development through journal submission, peer review, revision, and eventual publication. Participants worked directly on their draft journal articles through short lectures, guided writing sessions, and consultations. As a required output, participants must finalize and submit an article to a Scopus-indexed journal.

Topics covered scientific publishing and the Scopus landscape, research gaps and scientific contribution, literature reference management, and the preparation of the introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion sections. Participants were also guided on research integrity, journal selection and verification, manuscript formatting, submission requirements, and peer review.

Resource persons were Dr. Andrea Roxanne Anas, a researcher at Meijo University in Nagoya, Japan, and currently a visiting researcher at MMSU through the DOST-Balik Scientist program; Dr. Peter James Icalia-Gann, chief of the MMSU Center for Cellular and Molecular Medical Research and editor-in-chief of the Science and Technology (S&T) Journal; and Dr. Don Carlo Batara, Dr. Raymund Julius Rosales, and Dr. Bryan Realgo, MMSU faculty members and associate editors of the S&T Journal.

Dr. Dionisio S. Bucao, Research Director, expressed optimism that the capacity-building program will help transform more MMSU studies into journal articles, share important findings with the global scientific community, and increase MMSU's research visibility.

📷StratCom

09/09/2026

Your research doesn’t have to end with a terminal report. Turn it into a publishable journal article! ✍️

Join the Research-to-Publication Capacity-Building Program – Publication Writeshop on September 15–17, 2026, followed by the Publication Mentoring Program in October. The program will help full-time researchers and faculty researchers transform completed research into submission-ready articles for refereed and Scopus-indexed journals.

Have completed research? Take the next step toward publication.

08/09/2026

📢 𝙋𝙐𝘽𝙇𝙄𝘾𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 𝘼𝙇𝙀𝙍𝙏 📢
The Functional Foods and Nutraceutical Research Center (FNRC) is delighted to share the recent publication of its researchers titled“𝑳𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒖𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒊 𝑫𝑺𝑩22 𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒃𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒐𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒚𝒕𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑳𝑷𝑺-𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝑩𝑨𝑳𝑩/𝒄 𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒆.”The study was published in Pharmacia, a Scopus-indexed Q2 journal.

In this study, 𝘓𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘪 DSB22, a potential probiotic isolated from bamboo shoots, showed promising effects in protecting the gut and regulating immune responses. In mice with experimentally induced inflammation, the probiotic helped strengthen the gut’s immune defenses, reduced harmful inflammatory markers, increased anti-inflammatory responses, and helped maintain a healthier intestinal structure. These findings suggest that 𝘓. 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘪 DSB22 may have potential as an immunomodulatory probiotic that supports gut health and promotes a balanced immune response during inflammation.

The study was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Mammalian Cell Culture and Pharmacology Laboratory, Functional Foods and Nutraceutical Research Center, Center for Cellular and Molecular Medical Research, Center for Histomodeling and BioComputing in Applied Biomedical Research, and the Research Directorate of Mariano Marcos State University. The authors also express their sincere gratitude to Dr. Shirley C. Agrupis, Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and former Program Leader of the Indigenous Food Plants (IFP)-Probiotics Program, for her invaluable support and leadership.

This study forms part of the program “Advancing Ilocos IFP Food Systems Through Academia-Industry Collaborative Research and Innovations Toward Healthy Food Security,” funded by the Philippine Government through the CHED-LAKAS Program (Grant Project No. 2022-005).

🔗 Access the full paper here:
https://doi.org/10.3897/pharmacia.73.e198561

06/09/2026

06/09/2026

LAOAG CITY – The establishment of climate-resilient food gardens is being promoted in Ilocos Norte as a practical way to strengthen household and community food security amid the increasing effects of climate change. Funded by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for…