Dr. Mariejim Diane Payot of the Department of Medical Technology, under the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Faculty of Pharmacy, marched onstage to become the first recipient of the degree Doctor of Philosophy major in Medical Technology.
The doctorate program was first offered in January 2017, and is the first such program in both university’s and the country’s history.
Ms. Payot completed her doctorate with an awarded study that helped differentiate the expressions of five candidate genes to detect gestational diabetes mellitus (GLM) early.
The 50-unit program is one of the majors of the Doctor of Philosophy program of the Graduate School. It includes courses on advanced clinical toxicology, advanced endocrinology, immunohematology, biomedical engineering, microbial genetics, and medical forensics, among others.
When the program launched in 2017, Faculty of Pharmacy Dean Aleth Dacanay had said it would “address the demands of an ever-changing and ever-evolving profession.”
“The MS (master of science) graduates pursue doctorate studies by enrolling in other programs like Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, Doctor of Public Health, Ph.D. in Education, etc., which are not at all aligned with their Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Medical Technology/Medical Laboratory Science,” Ms. Dacanay told the university paper at the time.
“The success of the MS Medical Technology/Clinical Laboratory Science program has become its own advertiser and the demands for a doctorate degree program have escalated not only from Thomasian graduates but from graduates of other institutions as well,” she had said.
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