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May 21, 2010
Lady in the lab
Prof. Lourdes Cruz, award-winning biochemist
Text by Mira B. Gloria
Photos from L’Oréal-For Women in Science
Prof. Lourdes J. Cruz in her lab at the Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines in Diliman. |
Ask anyone which female scientist he or she remembers from history books and you'll likely get a blank stare. Ever heard of Jane Goodall and her work on African chimpanzees? Or how about Marie Curie, the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize for discovering Radium, which also paved the way to the discovery of cancer therapy?
It's true that when we think of a scientist, the first image that comes to mind is Albert Einstein. It would be hard to imagine picturing a woman in a lab coat in place of Einstein's wearied countenance and unruly long hair, wouldn't it?
Surprisingly, this still seems to be the case today. In the age of female prime ministers and stiletto-wearing CEOs, women are still underrepresented in the world of science. According to a survey published by UNESCO recently, out of seven million researchers around the world, women represent only 29 per cent of this population. Which brings us to the question, “With their triumphs in gender equality, why can't women still break into the field of science?”
We've heard of the usual factors that figure into the equation: there's politics, economics, traditional mindsets, and education. In the L'Oreal Foundation website called Agora, it says that many scientific women explain that family was the reason their career was stopped or slowed down. When faced with the dilemma to choose between family life and a scientific career, women tend to make “unfair” choices by giving up one for the other.
Will there be a chance for women to become the rulers of the lab? Professor Lourdes Cruz thinks so, and she has the prestigious L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards in Life Sciences to prove it.
Prof. Lourdes J. Cruz showing Conus specimens handed by a diver in Sabang, Morong, Bataan. |
“Women have always been attracted to science. Even back in my time, I think 61 percent of B.S. Chemistry graduates were women. Maybe because women are more meticulous, we like tinkering, and we are more patient [than men], that's why we're very good at it,” she said during a sit-down interview with Herword.com.
Professor Cruz, who is a National Scientist and member of the faculty of the Marine Science Institute in the University of the Philippines Diliman, is the first Filipina to be chosen as one of the five women scientists (one for each continent) to receive such award.
The UNESCO-L'Oreal Women in Science awards was the first international scientific awards dedicated to women scientists all over the world and has become an international reference of scientific distinction. The award, which includes $100,000 cash grant or roughly Php5 million, recognizes Professor Cruz's pioneering work on “conotoxins” produced by certain marine snails that can serve as painkillers (primary substitute to morphine) and pharmaceutical probes to study brain function.
The tale of the deadly snail
“We started it some 30 years ago. Back then we were just testing samples. Nothing serious. I started it with my colleague, Toto Oliveros (who is now in the US working as a professor in the National Academy of Sciences). He was a shell collector since he was a little boy. So he knew that some snails are deadly. That's why we decided to pursue this together while we were doing other research works at the same time,” she said.
“With this kind of work, you really have to spend overnights to monitor developments. It's a very tedious process but once you find new discovery, it makes all the work worthwhile.” |
What they thought to be a two- to three-year project became almost a lifetime pursuit. Professor Cruz went around the country to look for suppliers of deadly sea snails, also known as Conus geographus.
“The conus [snail] pala are not that simple,” she said, her eyes suddenly lighting up with excitement. Even at 67, Professor Cruz admits that she still gets thrilled at new discoveries on snails. Apparently, her 30-year old research is still ongoing.
As she grabbed a piece of paper and started drawing a diagram to illustrate how complicated her test subject is, she explained, “Its venom have so many components that can do many different things. There's a group of components that's deadly or paralyzing. And each venom contains 100 to 200 neuro-active peptides which affect different components of the brains and muscles. These are now being used by neuroscientists to study how the brain works. That's one of the pleasant surprises about this research.”
Her eureka moment happened when she noticed one compound recording the highest activity. “It was very potent, even at the smallest amount. That's how we discovered the lethal components of the cone shell venom,” she said.
The chemist's daughter
Professor Cruz was not stranger to lab experiments when she was growing up. Her father was a chemist, who would often be commissioned to do concoctions for private firms or clients. She even recalls her father creating the formulation of a banana ketchup for a Chinese client, which she believes could be the very first banana-flavored ketchup in the country.
Prof. Lourdes J. Cruz examining a sample in a test tube as an extract is being dried in a rotary evaporator. |
“He worked as an instructor in UP and also as the research director for the Philippine Sugar Institute in the '40s. But because he had to support us, we were eight kids, he also had to work in the private industry. He became the research director and consultant for various firms.”
She regarded her father as one of the most hard-working chemists she has ever known. He refused to retire until he was 81.
Although he never forced her or any of his children to follow his footsteps, Professor Cruz said taking up chemistry in college was an obvious choice. In fact, one of his sisters, also set out to become a chemist.
“There were more women chemists than men during my time. That was in the '60s. But I think those who pursue research are men. Some women after graduating work in the industry. But for me and my colleagues, we chose an academic career,” she said.
Indeed, research work was far more important than a higher-paying career in the industry. And she doesn't feel any regret. Her work on the Conus venom research was the highlight of her career, she said. She recalled having spent an entire summer in the chemistry laboratory in UP Diliman isolating proteins and peptides.
“With this kind of work, you really have to spend overnights to monitor developments. It's a very tedious process but once you find new discovery, it makes all the work worthwhile.”
Prof. Lourdes J. Cruz and her team (top left to bottom right): Christopher Mendoza, Santos Surio, Helen Antonio, Karen Grace Bondoc, Arielle Kae Sulit, Jenelyn Mendoza, Aileen de Leon. |
To date, Professor Cruz's work on conotoxins has been cited in numerous scientific publications. This, she believes, increased her chance to be shortlisted in the UNESCO-L'Oreal awards. “The value of your work is validated when you get cited in scientific journals,” she said.
She has also engaged in other researches, such as paralytic shellfish toxins and anti-TB compounds from marine organisms. Her research team is currently involved in the development and adaptation of assays for marine toxins in the Philippines, particularly the paralytic shellfish toxins, which are responsible for the highly negative impact of toxic algal blooms on the lives and livelihood of many Filipinos.
Bringing science to the people
Professor Cruz said she appreciates the recognition of her work, but to her, or to any scientist, what's more important than awards is the impact of their studies. With this, she established the Rural Livelihood Incubator (Rural LINC) in 2001, a social enterprise that aims to generate employment opportunities and establish sustainable means of livelihood to rural areas.
The idea came up when she and her research team were looking for local suppliers of snail samples in order to cut down cost.
“It was difficult because we don't have research agencies here. You have to import everything from abroad. It was really expensive. Grants really helped but they were not enough. Sometimes, we'd get money from our own pockets,” she said.
With the help of volunteers and seed fund from a private donor, Rural LINC was able to provide livelihood training to hundreds of Aetas in Bataan. The training program includes wine-making, making fruit jellies and jams, and other food processing techniques.
Using the money she received from the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award, she also bought 1.3 hectares of land in Bataan, where she plans to put up a community immersion and training facility.
“We will install a fruit processing plant for farmers, where local tribes can sell their products locally. It's not much, but I'd like to believe that our advocacy would bring science closer to the people,”she said. Within the confines of her laboratory, Professor Cruz has proven that even a humble chemist can strive for a better world.
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