Marilou G. Nicolas, Ph.D. is a retired professor in Biochemistry at the University of the Philippines Manila. Her career in chemistry started upon completion of her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1974. Recognizing that chemistry is the foundational science of life, she proceeded to further her career in the biomolecular sciences, graduating with a Masters degree in Biochemistry and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. In 1996, she, together with colleagues at the Department of Physical Sciences and Mathematics, established the B.S. Biochemistry programme. The programme was designed to develop human resources capable of recognizing the importance of understanding the chemical foundations of the processes that govern life.
Throughout her teaching career she pushed for the continued improvement of the biochemistry curriculum through reviews using quality assurance tools. She presented the outcomes of such reviews and improvement in various national and international fora culminating in a co-authored publication in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, an IUBMB journal. She has received various awards for education, including “Outstanding Teacher of the University of the Philippines Manila” in 1997 and 2007, Outstanding contribution to Biochemical Education in 2004 by the UP Preparatory High School Alumni Association and the Philippine Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Award for Education in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2005. She had mentored students in research by training and engaging them in several government-funded research that established a small natural products laboratory at the College of Arts and Sciences, UP Manila. Despite involvement in various administrative positions for a span of 20 years, she continued to engage in both teaching and research with major publications on research on eye diseases including macular degeneration and those of infectious aetiology as well as on natural products for targeted diseases and health maintenance. Some of these publications were co-authored by student mentees and established biochemistry as tools of the health sciences.
University of the Philippines – Manila (Retired)
