Leslie Traqueña is a Master’s student in Microbiology at the University of Santo Tomas. Her research focuses on the biodiversity distribution of marine-sediment-derived fungi in the northern part of the Philippines. In her work, she plans on extracting the secondary metabolites of each marine fungi, and identifying its antibiotic mechanism against multi-drug-resistant bacteria.
Residing in the Philippines, a hub of marine biodiversity, Leslie seeks to highlight the unique contributions of Filipino scientists in environmental protection through research, advocacy, and programs. She aims to emphasize the importance of persistence in community communication and the role of empathy and cultural understanding in strengthening science communication across diverse regions.Leslie hopes to maximize the hidden potential of young scientists by bridging the gap between the scientific and non-scientific communities. She believes that by first helping undergraduate students explore their personal interests in science, she can gradually engage the broader public and introduce the concept of citizen science to foster greater community involvement.
For her outreach project, Leslie created Bio-Kumustahan, a science communication program that combines “Bio” (life/biology) with “Kumustahan” (the Filipino term for “How are you?”). Bio-Kumustahan is a community program designed to connect undergraduate and graduate students in biology, microbiology, ecology, and medicine, while promoting collaboration with experts across various fields. It aims to explore diverse interests in science, introduce the One Health concept, and engage citizen scientists to bridge the gap between the science and non-science communities.
The event also provides a safe space for learning and discovering personal interests in science. Leslie is working with undergraduate students in the Biology program at the University of the City of Manila, master’s students in Biology and Microbiology at the University of Santo Tomas, as well as scientists, researchers, and medical doctors across various fields. You can keep up with the projects here: Facebook; Instagram.
