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Dissertation defense

After months of writing, revising, defending every word, and answering questions I did not know were possible, my dissertation defense is finally done.

This video is a recording of that day. No edits, no highlights, just the real thing. It includes the presentation, the panel questions, and a few moments where I had to think on my feet. I am sharing it because when I was preparing, I wished I had seen more real defenses.

My work focused on diagnostic peptides and how we can improve test accuracy through avidity and polymeric design. The process was anything but simple. There were failed experiments and more revisions than I can count.

If you are a student preparing for your own defense, I hope this helps you see what the experience looks like. The key is knowing your work deeply and staying calm when the unexpected comes up.

If you are interested in diagnostics, peptides, or medical research in general, feel free to watch. And if you are in the middle of writing your thesis or dissertation right now, I promise there is life after the final draft.

My peptide research featured at the UPCM faculty research fourm and the LabRoots Clinical Diagnostics & Research 2025

My project was recently featured in the UPCM DBMB Faculty Research Forum of the UP College of Medicine, and it is also now included in the Labroots Clinical Diagnostics and Research 2025 online poster showcase. Both events highlight scientific work in biochemistry, molecular biology, clinical diagnostics, and peptide based innovation. Seeing the project appear in both the UP Manila academic community and an international research platform feels both rewarding and energizing.

Being featured in the UPCM Faculty Research Forum means a lot because the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology continues to support research on peptides. Sharing this update helps people discover ongoing efforts in the College of Medicine to explore peptide structure, peptide signaling, and peptide based applications in health sciences.

At the same time, the Labroots Clinical Diagnostics and Research 2025 event brings the project to a broader audience of international researchers. Labroots is well known for global poster sessions focused on biomarkers, laboratory medicine, diagnostic innovation, and peptide based assays.

View the labroots poster feature here

My research posters featured at the 25th UP Manila Science & Technology Week

I am excited to share that my research posters were featured during the 25th UP Manila Science & Technology Week. This event is an important gathering for innovation in the Philippines because it brings forward new scientific ideas from students, faculty, and researchers. Having my work included in this year’s UP Manila Science and Technology Week felt like a milestone for both my academic journey and my continuing projects in health sciences research.

Being part of the 25th UP Manila Science & Technology Week emphasizes the value of accessible Filipino scientific work. It contributed to a growing set of searchable Philippine academic content that includes peptide research. I hope that this Google Sites blogpost helps more people discover the event and engage with the research.

Visit my Substack to read my essays

I’ve started a new Substack where I’ll be posting essays and reflections about things that interest me. It’s a place for longer pieces that don’t quite fit on social media or in scholarly publications. The kind of writing that needs a bit more space to breathe.

My first post is up now. It’s called “Is a Hotdog a Sandwich?” It sounds funny, but it’s actually about how we define things, what counts as meaning, and how thinkers like Plato and Wittgenstein might see something as ordinary as street food. If you like ideas that connect logic with real life (and maybe a few pop culture references), I think you’ll enjoy it.

I’ll be posting new essays regularly, plus some notes, quotes, and behind-the-scenes thoughts about what I’m reading or researching. Subscribing is free and just means you’ll get them straight to your inbox.

Thanks for reading and supporting my work. It means a lot. Hope to see you there!

Check out my methods on protocols.io

Ohdo Syndrome in a Filipino Teen: Article In-Press

We’re excited to share that our case report, “Ohdo syndrome in a Filipino teen,” has been published in Case Reports in Clinical Radiology. This paper documents one of the first known cases of Ohdo syndrome in the Philippines, adding to the very small number of patients described worldwide.

What is Ohdo syndrome?

Ohdo syndrome is an extremely rare genetic condition. Children with the condition often have distinctive facial features, drooping eyelids, developmental delays, and bone or joint differences. Because it is so rare, the syndrome is not well known, and families often face long journeys before receiving a diagnosis.

Why is this case important?

Our patient shows both the “classic” features of Ohdo syndrome and some unique traits not often reported in medical literature. By carefully documenting these findings, including radiologic images, we expand the understanding of how the condition can appear. Each new case like this strengthens awareness among doctors and supports earlier recognition for future patients.

What this means for families and care teams

Diagnosing rare syndromes can feel overwhelming, but naming the condition opens doors to better care. It allows families to receive more accurate counseling, connect with support networks, and plan long-term medical and developmental support. For doctors, it’s a reminder that careful observation and teamwork between clinicians and radiologists can make a real difference in identifying rare disorders.

Looking ahead

We hope this report encourages other clinicians, especially across Southeast Asia, to publish and share their experiences. By working together, even single case reports can build a clearer picture of conditions that remain under-recognized worldwide.

Ohdo syndrome in a Filipino teen - Case Reports in Clinical RadiologyOhdo syndrome in a Filipino teen

New book published! Get it on Apple Books

‎Biographies in Blood: The Making of Medical Modernity and Asian Medical Innovations‎Biographies & Memoirs · 2025

Biographies in Blood traces twelve scientists and healers who shaped modern medicine across labs and wards. From award-winning immunologists and transfusion pioneers to Filipino healers and frugal innovators, this book links bench science to lived care. It is a history of blood, power, and practical wisdom, and a call to make medicine both scientifically rigorous and culturally grounded.

Sniffles and sneezes

A mid-20th century public health film titled Health and Safety for You explores how the common cold transmits not only through respiratory droplets like sneezes and coughs, but also via physical contact. To visualize the spread of germs, the film uses a symbolic black smear. One student, unknowingly contagious, touches a doorknob at school, setting off a chain reaction as the germs transfer to shared items like books and writing tools, potentially exposing the entire class.

The film advises viewers to remain in bed when ill and to opt for disposable tissues over reusable handkerchiefs, which are cleverly discarded into a small waste pouch attached to the bedside. Beyond hygiene, the production also promotes courteous behavior and general wellness. It encourages regular physical activity, a nutritious diet, and habits such as frequent handwashing, avoiding chewing on pencils, and refraining from sharing drinking straws.

Reading List: Currents of Protection, Phonies, Resistance Rising, Salinlunas, Hiyang

Books by Brian Pollo: books on science, history, and culture

This curated reading list brings together five interdisciplinary works that travel the same intellectual terrain. It covers bodies and bioscience, cultural meaning and performance, and the ways local knowledge and global science meet. Read them together to follow a single thread, from molecular systems that protect life, to the social architectures of authenticity, to evolutionary pressures shaping pathogens, to herbal medicines, and Filipino ways of knowing pharmacology. Each book can be read on its own. Yet together they form a compact seminar on how science, culture, and ethics co-shape health and identity.

Currents of Protection: Coagulation, Complement, and Neutrophils

A clear, rigorous account of the molecular and cellular currents that defend us: coagulation cascades, complement pathways, and neutrophil behavior. Ideal for clinicians, students, and curious readers who want a biologically precise yet readable map of innate defense.

Phonies: Authenticity Performance Fakery

A sharp cultural-philosophical probe into authenticity and performance across social life. Uses examples from media, everyday interaction, and theory to show how “realness” is produced, policed, and performed.

Resistance Rising: Genetics, Evolution, and the Future of Infectious Diseases

A sweeping, timely narrative of microbial evolution and the genetic arms race driving antibiotic resistance and emerging pathogens. Combines evolutionary theory, public-health stakes, and policy-relevant reflection.

Salinlunas: Natural Products & Pharmacognosy

An exploration of medicinal plants, phytochemistry, and the knowledge systems that sustain botanical therapeutics. Balances laboratory science with ethnopharmacology and the ethics of biocultural stewardship.

Hiyang: Pilipinong Pananaw ng Parmakohenetika

Re-centers pharmacogenetics within Filipino epistemologies and clinical realities, proposing a decolonial, culturally attuned approach to drug response and therapeutics.

Read the full set on Books2Read or Draft2Digital to sample chapters, buy editions, or add the whole list to your library. These five titles make a compact, provocative course for anyone interested in where biology meets culture, and how knowledge—scientific and indigenous—shapes what counts as care.

Case Report Accepted: Ohdo Syndrome in a Filipino Teen

I am excited to share that our case report, “Ohdo Syndrome in a Filipino Teen”, co-authored with Dr. Terence Aaron Burgo, has been accepted for publication in Case Reports in Clinical Radiology (the certificate of acceptance is available in OSF).

This report documents a rare genetic condition in a Filipino adolescent and highlights the radiologic findings, clinical features, and multidisciplinary considerations that can aid early recognition and management.

The preprint version is available online for those who wish to read it ahead of publication:

SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5364655

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5364655

We hope this report contributes to the growing understanding of rare syndromes in the Philippine population and supports clinical decision-making in radiology and pediatric care.

August 23, 2025: A sunlight-washed walk through Baguio’s green spaces and history to ground the rest of my day’s reflections

It was August 23, 2025, and I decided to spend the day walking through four corners of Baguio that balance history, nature, and memory. My first stop was the Secret Garden inside Camp John Hay. The path into the garden was uneven and shaded by tall pines, with moss covering the stones and plants that seemed to grow wherever they wanted. There was no strict landscaping here, no sense that the garden was curated for visitors. It felt more like a fragment of forest left to breathe on its own. I sat for a while just to listen. It struck me how learning, whether in the lab or the classroom, often works the same way: what looks like disorder is actually the ground where real ideas take root.

From there, I walked over to the Bell House, still inside Camp John Hay. It was a different atmosphere altogether: white walls, wide porches, and wooden floors that creaked as if the building itself was remembering every step taken before mine. The place carried its colonial past heavily, but what stood out to me were the windows. They opened out into the pine forests, framing the mountains and sky almost like paintings. It was an odd mix of borrowed architecture and local landscape, and I couldn’t help thinking about how we inherit not just physical buildings, but also ways of thinking, teaching, and practicing science. To walk through the Bell House was to be reminded that history is always present, even in our methods of research and education.

By the time I reached Wright Park, the mood shifted again. The park was crowded, with children riding ponies, parents negotiating with handlers, and vendors selling snacks on the sidelines. Yet in the middle of it all was the long reflecting pool, still and symmetrical. I found myself watching both the chaos of the pony rides and the calmness of the water at the same time. It felt like a metaphor for my own work: the constant movement of experiments, revisions, and teaching responsibilities balanced by the need to stay centered. Wright Park was noisy, a little messy, but undeniably alive.

I ended the day at the Botanical Garden. Wandering through the Botanical Garden, I passed themed gardens, Igorot huts, cultural pavilions, and plant beds of dahlias, succulents, and lilies, all mingling in Baguio’s cool air as nature and heritage walking side by side. I thought about how science is similar: it survives not as a finished product on a page, but as practice repeated every day in labs, classrooms, and communities. As I left, I felt that the Botanical Garden tied the whole day together, a reminder that growth, knowledge, and culture all depend on patient work carried forward into the future.

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