The Men and Women of RCRSI

RAINIER B. VILLANUEVA, MD

• CHAIRMAN

Dr. Villanueva is an acknowledged leading proponent of the power of medicinal plants and their health benefits. Being a neurosurgeon, pharmacist and medical technologist, his training allows him to merge the importance of scientific evidence and technical data with his deep appreciation for traditional medicine. After many years of promoting traditional medicine and herbal-based products, he has earned several awards and citations for his advocacy. As the President and chief formulator of RRDI, one of the pioneers in the Philippine herbal industry, he has also been given recognition, both local and abroad, for his inventions and formulation. A former National Vice President of the Filipino Inventors Society (FIS), he is also the founding President of the Chamber of Herbal Industries of the Philippines, Inc. (CHIPI) and founding trustee of the Philippine Cosmetic Technical Assistance Center Foundation, Inc. (PCTACFI).

JESUS N. SAROL JR., PHD

• PRESIDENT

An epidemiologist and biostatistician, Dr. Sarol has vast experiences in the field of health and clinical research in the Philippines. He served as biostatician and consultant in several clinical trials for drug companies and field studies of the Department of Health. He earned his BS Statistics in University of the Philippines Diliman, MSc and PhD in Epidemiology from the School of Public Health University of California in Los Angeles (USA), and post-doctoral training in biostatistics at the Free University in Berlin (Germany). He retired as a full professor after 22 years of teaching at the Department of Epidemiology and Bistatistics at the College of Public Health in University of the Philippines Manila. He also worked briefly as a research scientist at the Humboldt University in Berlin, migration health studies manager at the International Organization for Migration in Geneva, and academic visitor at the University of Reading in UK. He was awarded Outstanding Young Scientist for Epidemiology in 2003 by the National Academy of Science and Technology.

BLANQUITA B. DE GUZMAN, PHD

• VP FOR ADMIN AND TECHNICAL AFFAIRS

Dr. De Guzman earned her PhD in Medical Science from the Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Nagasaki (Japan) and is a practicing research scientist with many years spent in the Research and Biotechnology Division at St. Luke's Medical Center. She attended seminars in Tokyo and Osaka (Japan), Salt Lake City, Utah (US), and London (UK) in the field of biomedical research applications, advanced techniques in molecular and cell biology and electron microscopy. Her published papers include studies in cytotoxicity and recognition of receptor-like protein tyrosine phosphatases (2005) and validation of Rapid Urease Test medium in patients with Helicobacter pylori infection (2008).

LORNA E. FILIPINO, LLB

• VP FOR LEGAL AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS

Atty. Filipino is a former Head of the Legal, Information and Compliance Division of the Bureau of Food & Drugs (BFAD), now known as the Food & Drugs Administration (FDA). She held that post for almost 11 years. Prior to that, she was the Chief Legal Officer at the Department of Health (DOH). She is recognized in the industry as one of the foremost legal experts on regulatory harmonization in the ASEAN region, being part of the ASEAN harmonization of the cosmetics industry and currently a member of the Technical Working Group (TWG) in the ongoing ASEAN Harmonization of Traditional Medicine and Health Supplements. She is currently the Managing Director of the Filipino & Associates Law Office.