Florence Pauline Basubas

Pau is currently working with Stealth Healthcare Startups, with her work revolving around Medical Affairs and Scientific Strategy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences (Applied Biochemistry) and Social Sciences (Economics and Policymaking) from Minerva University, California, USA. Pau’s research interests and field of specialization includes drug discovery for infectious diseases and cancer, environmental protection and sustainability, and innovative materials.

What is your most exciting mentorship experience?

“I've always had great mentors and it has been an important criterion for me when choosing a laboratory to work at/for. Initially, most of my mentors were male and they were great and very helpful - they kept challenging me as a young female scientist, inspiring me to promote male-female mentorships and to not be scared in pursuing Science regardless of age, gender, and ethnicity. They also introduced me to other principal investigators in the field of infectious diseases, so I had a string of supervisor-mentors who introduced me to other great scientists because they really wanted me to learn from the best. However, I think my most memorable mentorship experience was with my very first female supervisor, who was also my undergraduate thesis adviser. She is an MD-Phd, who recently go awarded Forbes 30 under 30 in science. It was very difficult for me to initially join cancer research because I didn't have any experience in the field, but she kept encouraging me to be confident and to work hard to pursue big dreams. I am still in contact with all my mentors, and I continue to update and visit them whenever I visit the city they are located at.”

Why did you join SIDHI?

“We started SIDHI because we found how in other countries, student as young as high school could get mentors to help them conduct high-caliber research projects, enabling them to join and win international research contests and help in their applications to great STEM universities. However, our experience in the Philippines when we were in high school was very different and we wished we had mentors who could've helped and guided us, too. It's not easy to pursue a career in science because the pay and rewards in the Philippines are not as high as other jobs. Therefore, we wanted to help high school students get opportunities to be successful in this career path as early as they can so they can have a network that keeps encouraging them on their way to becoming Pinoy Scientists.”

What piece of advice can you give to an aspiring young Filipino Scientist?

“Like all things, falling in love with Science is easy but staying in love with Science is a difficult choice you have to make every day. Having a career in science is difficult, there will be challenges and barriers along the way but if you truly love it, the ultimate reward is being able to define your own meaning of success and realize the essence of why Science. Celebrate both successes and failures because every time you fail, you just haven’t succeeded yet.”

What is your hope for the future of Science in the Philippines, and Science as a whole?

“I envision a future where Science becomes valued in the Philippines - when ordinary Filipinos can become scientifically literate and understand basic scientific method so that hopefully, we can have a social culture where science becomes accepted as the norm instead of fake news, a political culture where policymaking is data-driven and evidence-based instead of being anti-poor and useless for the target beneficiaries, and most of all a progressive economic future fueled by innovative dreams.”