Original Varron and Academician With A “K”

As one of the foremost scientists in the Philippines today, years of routine work along the far reaches of specialized human knowledge would probably have confined lesser individuals within the comfort zones of their basic science work and would probably be confounded as to how they connect with practical concerns. Cion is definitely not an ivory-tower scientist. She maintains multi-faceted activities in research, extension work, teaching, and linkage with the private sector to know the problems on the ground. As a matter of fact, her pioneering work in microbial genetics finds its applications in agriculture. Her study on the molecular analysis of a hypervirulent strain of Ralstonia solanacearum has a direct connection in the farmers’ fields. Her research team proved that the causative organism of banana diseases bugtok and moko is the bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum, thus, solving a problem which has confounded industry specialists for decades and caused tremendous losses to banana farmers big and small. Her work eventually resulted in the development of a technique to detect contamination in banana fruits and plant parts.

Cion takes regular trips outside the Philippines with China as one of her destinations.

Likewise, her current research work in the construction of a metagenomic DNA library from Mudspring (referring to a volcanic hot mud area located within the dormant Mt. Makiling near UP Los Baños) may be too basic for some. But an investigation of extremophiles (i.e., microorganisms that thrive on extreme environment like high temperature) is considered practically significant because these organisms can be a great source of economically important metabolites.

Her enjoyment in microbial research can only be matched with her enthusiasm for teaching. Aside from offering courses on recombinant DNA techniques, she has taught 15 courses and instituted three courses in microbiology/plant pathology, wrote six laboratory and seven training manuals for various courses in microbiology, and has supervised and served as major adviser to 81 undergraduate thesis students, 15 Master’s students, and 6 Ph.D. students.

She served two consecutive terms as Director of the Institute of Biological Sciences, UP Los Baños from 1999 to 2006. She was selected as CAS Dean immediately afterwards.

Through the years she has built an impressive body of work that included the implementation of 33 research projects, including studies in bacterial taxonomy, antibiotic production, and genetic diversity and detection of bacterial plant pathogens using recombinant DNA technology, some funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, UNIDO, and Australian Center for International Agriculture. A prolific writer of scientific articles, Cion has published 82 of these in refereed local and international journals (please see Varrons-related bibliography) and together with collaborators, has presented 108 papers at local and international conferences, annual meetings, workshops and symposia.

Cion has been elected to several honor societies including the Gamma Sigma Delta (Honor Society of Agriculture), the Phi Kappa Phi, and the Phi Sigma. She is also actively involved in several professional societies. She was the president of the Philippine Society for Microbiology in 1992-93 and the chairman of the Council of Regents of the Philippine Academy of Microbiology in 1998 to 2001.

Her expertise allows her to be involved in carrying other academic-related activities in international and private institutions including the Euro-Med Laboratories, Annamalai University in India, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and the United Nations Development Program External Advisory Committee.

Cion obtained her Bachelor’s degree from UP Los Baños in 1966. Three years later, she earned her Master’s from University of Hawaii in Honolulu. She finished her PhD in Plant Pathology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1980. She constantly refreshes and advances her knowledge by doing a number of postdoctoral research studies in prestigious institutions including IRRI, Monash University in Australia, Osaka University, and Kansas State University.

During her undergrad Varrons days, she held the position of Secretary (among other subsequent positions). Currently she is Vice President of the UP Varrons Foundation, Inc. She credits her Varrons membership with having provided her “with contacts in various places.” Asked what were some of the memorable events that she remembers as a member of the UPVL, she reminisces about the time “when the Varonnettes first met to form the forerunner of the sister organization of Varrons; the first time we initiated the first batch of members.”

The recent award from the UP Alumni Association, she says, is “for all of us Varrons.”

To Cion, an Academician with a “K,” we can simply add another K: Kudos!

Last Updated on October 12, 2016 by Tudla_Admin