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PCHRD @ 35, sets light on translational research

The Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) will celebrate its 35th year anniversary on 17 March 2017 at the Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay City.

With the theme, “Health Innovations: Translating Science to Benefit,” the anniversary will feature talks from translational medicine experts and stakeholders, specifically on the role of the health research community in cultivating an enabling environment for research translation. Current trends, issues, and challenges in the field will also be taken up in the discussions.

Part of the program is recognizing DOST-PCHRD’s longstanding partnership with Gruppo Medica, Inc., that led to the creation of the DOST-PCHRD – Gruppo Medica Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis in Herbal Medicine. The award was granted to motivate students to view research as an opportunity to contribute to the national health agenda while they develop their careers in research.

During the anniversary celebration, the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board will also be awarding newly-accredited Research Ethics Committees that are expected to uphold the highest standards of ethics in health research.

The Clinical Research Fellowship Program for Hepatology will also be launched during the event. The program is a partnership among DOST-PCHRD, Hepatology Society of the Philippines, Inc., and Fondazione Italiano Fegato, an Italy-based heath institution dedicated to liver studies.

“The research process does not end with project completion. Research results must be translated into quantifiable outputs and must be able to reach its target beneficiaries,” said Dr. Jaime C. Montoya, DOST-PCHRD Executive Director.

Health researchers and policymakers nationwide are expected to grace the celebration. DOST-PCHRD hopes to foster local and international partnerships and provide an opportunity to present existing research products and services to a wider set of intended users and contribute to national health goals.

Click here to access the program

Call for Research Ethics Proposals

The Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) calls for research proposals on the nine (9) listed topics on research ethics.

2017 -2020 Research & Development Agenda on Research Ethics

· Benchmarking: Study of comparable standards and ethics review procedures in countries with systems or practices that can serve as models for further improvement

· Evaluation of possible impact of revisions in the CIOMS Guidelines and Helsinki Declaration on research ethics review in the Philippines

· Impact of the implementation of the Data Privacy Act on research ethics review in the Philippines

1. Possible changes in the NEGHR

2. Possible changes in ERC SOPs

· Development of a Philippine glossary of terms used in health research (different dialects: Tagalog, Ilocano, Cebuano, Ilonggo, Kapampangan, etc.)

· Impact of ethics review on the quality and quantity of Philippine health research

· Evaluation of the implementation (Operational Research) of research with IPs

1. Genetic/ genomic research

2. Herbal medicine studies

3. Health Care practices (e.g., perinatal and post-natal)

· Ethical Issues in the Engagement of Filipinos in Research

1. Promotion of Rights and Responsibilities of Participants

2. Knowledge of and attitudes towards the Informed Consent Process

3. REC and Researcher KAP on vulnerability

4. REC and Researcher KAP on Conflict of Interest

Administrators KAP re ethics review and the REC
Determination of Filipino Perspectives on the following;

1. Data management

2. Data Privacy Act

3. Post-research benefits

4. Authorship and Publication

5. Peer Review

6. Research Misconduct

7. Whistle blowing

PCHRD encourages interested parties to submit the full proposals online through Project Management

System http://www.projects.pchrd.dost.gov.ph and upload the following documents:

· Letter of Intent

· Curriculum Vitae of Lead Researcher

· Profile of Institution

· Proposal using PCHRD proposal template

Deadline of submission of proposals is every 30th of June.

For inquiries, kindly contact the Ethics Secretariat through telephone: (632) 837 75 37 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Call for Nominations: Alberto G. Romualdez, Jr. Outstanding Health Research Award (AROHRA)

GUIDELINES

PURPOSE

The Alberto G. Romualdez, Jr. Outstanding Health Research Award (AROHRA) encourages researchers to be sensitive to the scientific and technological requirements of the health delivery system and rewards those whose research have contributed significantly to addressing prevalent health issues.

The Award gives recognition to a research program or project that has demonstrated the link between research and practice through the utilization of research findings in the health delivery system. Given by the Department of Science and Technology- Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) in collaboration with the Department of Health (DOH), the award has two (2) categories: Biomedical Research and Health Services Research.

NOMINATION PROCEDURES

1. What can be nominated

Any health research program or project may be considered for the Award. Work to be nominated may fall under any of two categories: Biomedical Research or Health Services Research.

For Biomedical Research, the program or project must be engaged in generating and/or adapting appropriate health technologies that address specific health problems and emphasize the development of diagnostic tools and techniques, biological (e.g. drugs, vaccines, functional foods, etc.), biomedical devices, and ICT-based healthcare technologies.

For Health Services Research, the program or project must be involved in the organization, administration, operation, utilization and other aspects of health services delivery systems that address the country’s social, political, cultural, and economic conditions.

2. Who can nominate

Any institution; members of the consortium; scientific, technological and professional societies or associations; research institutes; universities and colleges; and individuals may nominate. Self-nomination is not allowed.

3. Who can be nominated and what can be a nominated entry

The award is open to a completed research program or project done by Filipino researcher/s. The nominated entry must be done mainly in the Philippines.

For purposes of this Award, a research program refers to a group of interrelated or complementing research projects that require an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary approach to meet established goal/s within a specific time frame, while a research project refers to the basic unit in the investigation of specific research problems with predetermined objective/s to be accomplished within a specific time frame.

4. How to nominate

Nominations should be made using the prescribed nomination form. Entries from both consortium member institutions and non-consortium member institutions must be submitted to and endorsed by the Chair of the consortium. Each nomination should include ALL of the following:

a. Write-up on the impact of the project on health delivery,a contextualization of the problem that the project/program seeks to address and a description of the program/project, highlighting how the results were utilized, as well as the benefits derived from their utilization.
b. One copy of each of the technical reports and/or publications of the completed projects leading to technology transfer and/or translation to a policy formulation or program intervention.
c. Statement from the technology user(s) and program or project end-user describing the contribution of the technology and project or program in improving health delivery.

• After the preliminary screening, the judges may ask for additional supporting documents from the nominees.

5. Schedule of Selection and Awarding

The Award is given every three (3) years.

6. Where to send nominations

a. Nominations should be submitted to the regional consortium secretariat not later the deadline. (Please refer to the attached paper for list of addresses)

b. Endorsed entries by the consortium chair should be submitted to DOST-PCHRD.

INCENTIVES

The Award consists of a cash prize of P 500,000 and a trophy for winners of each category.

DEADLINE OF SUBMISSION
Consortium: March 24, 2017
DOST-PCHRD: March 31, 2017

Call for Participation: 29th PALAS Annual Scientific Conference

Six writing practices you should avoid when writing for a journal

Writing for a scholarly journal publication is entirely different from thesis-writing. While the aim of your thesis is to present everything you know and discover on a particular topic, the goal of a journal article is to present research findings in a shorter and more focused format that scientists and researchers can read despite their hectic schedules. Moreover, journal editors sift through several submissions every publication cycle and would not bother reading an article that lacks clarity and brevity.

In the recently concluded 11th National Medical Writing Workshop and 4th Writeshop for Young Researchers held January 30-31 at the Isabela State University – Cauayan Campus, journal-writing experts from the Asia Pacific Association of Medical Journal Editors, together with proficient mentor-facilitators from different health fields, trained health investigators in developing/refining manuscripts that are worthy of a scholarly journal publication. Here are few practices researchers should avoid when writing a scientific journal article as pointed out in the writeshop*:

Mr. Diomerl Baldo, Bicol University, reviews the draft journal article of his groupmate during the small-group exercises at the
11th National Medical Writing Workshop and 4th Writeshop for Young Researchers held January 30-31
at the Isabela State University – Cauayan Campus

Writing only in the active voice

More often, research writing guidelines encourage writing sentences in the active voice rather than in the passive voice. Recently, journal editors encourage writing in both the active and passive voices depending on what section you are working on. Writing in the passive voice would enable you to focus more on the results of your study. e.g. (active) The researcher classified vapor as gas. (passive) Vapor was classified as gas.

Presenting data in both narrative and illustration forms

Avoid redundant data presentation when writing for journals. This can be achieved by carefully choosing which presentation form would best express your data. If data cannot be explained in three to four paragraphs, it is best to use illustrations. Graphs effectively present trends and relationships among variables.

Using statistical terms that have common meanings

Using the statistical words such as random, correlate, significant, and normal in non-technical parts of your journal article may confuse readers into what the meaning of your statements. Save statistical words for your materials and methods prose. All statistical terms should be defined if used in the Results section.

Presenting all the results of your research

Only include results that are relevant to your stated problem whether or not they support the hypothesis. This technique would also make a journal article more focused and specific.

Including only the references that agree with your research

Journal manuscripts can be venues for discussion and scholarly disputes. Try to argue and provide enough data on why you don’t agree with previously published results and contribute another perspective to existing research.

Using one writing style for all your journal submissions

Journals do not follow a single format. While most of scholarly journals go by the IMRAD (Introduction-Methodology-Results-Discussion) format, it is best to check the corresponding guidelines/instruction to authors of your prospective journal to know about their style requirements.

Journal articles should be short, sharp, and swift, says Dr. Jose Florencio Lapeña, President of the Philippine Association of Medical Journal Editors during his talk. A clear and concise journal manuscript is your best bet to get published.

Dr. Jose Florencio Lapeña, Philippine Association of Medical Journal Editors President,

lectures on how to prepare journal manuscripts for submission

at the 11^th National Medical Writing Workshop and

4^th Writeshop for young Researchers

*taken from the presentations of the 11th National Medical Writing Workshop and 4th Writeshop for young Researchers' resource persons: Dr. Jose Florencio Lapeña, Dr. Wilfred CG Peh, and Dr. Cecilia C. Maramba-Lazarte