As a research officer at theAgency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, my work sits at the intersection of computer science and biology, with a focus on developing novel AI tools for processing and analyzing large (gigapixel-scale), multi-channel microscope images.

I was a recipient of the Br. Andrew Gonzalez FSC Award for Outstanding Research (2025) from De La Salle University, Singapore International Pre-Graduate Award (2024) from A*STAR, and Magsaysay Future Engineers/Technologists Award – Second Prize (2023) from the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines. I have also served as a reviewer for theComputational and Structural Biotechnology Journal.

Prior to joining A*STAR, I was a data science consultant at theAsian Development Bank's Economic Research and Development Impact Department. I obtained my master's degree in computer science from De La Salle University, Manila, under its integrated bachelor's-master's degree honors program.

Here are some of my recentpublications:

• 🧬Bioinformatics
  • Using AI to explore alternatives to conventional antibiotics and combat antimicrobial resistance
    Bioinformatics (Code |Paper) andPLOS ONE (Code |Paper)
• 👁️Computer Vision
  • Lightweight deep learning model for detecting mirrors and reflective surfaces
    2023 International Conference in Central Europe on Computer Graphics, Visualization and Computer Vision (Code |Paper)
• 🗣️Natural Language Processing
  • Tracking the evolution of Filipino word meanings using sentence embeddings and network science
    2023 International Conference on Asian Language Processing (Code |Paper)
• 💻Programming Language Design and Implementation
  • Novice-friendly programming language for 2D drawing and animation
    2024 Philippine Computing Science Congress (Code |Paper) –Awarded Best Student Paper
• 🛢️Database Design and Data Visualization
  • Transforming chatbot dialogues into a data mart schema for data analytics and visualization
    2023 Philippine Computing Science Congress (Paper)

Here are some of my software engineering projects:

• 🌾RicePilaf. Web dashboard and novel bioinformatics pipeline for analyzing rice genomes. Published inGigaScience and developed with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Written in Python and R, uses Dash and Flask as framework, and containerized via Docker
• 🎨Artemis. Art-sharing Android app where the community of users can post, bookmark, and provide feedback on members' works, as well as share these artworks on their Facebook accounts. Written in Kotlin and uses Firebase
• ⛽Powerzone Inventory. Web-based inventory, transaction, and delivery management system for a fuel company in Bicol, Philippines. Built with MongoDB, Express.js, and Node.js and includes a CI/CD pipeline

Beyond my professional interests, I am committed to strengthening tech education. I contribute questions to theInternational Bebras Challenge on Informatics and Computational Thinking, an annual contest joined by over 4 million students from 70 countries. My 2023 problem proposal was awarded Best Task, and my 2022 and 2024 proposals were nominated for this recognition.

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1. bioinfodlsu/phage-host-predictionbioinfodlsu/phage-host-predictionPublic

   Published in PLOS ONE. Phage-host interaction prediction tool that uses protein language models to represent the receptor-binding proteins of phages. It presents improvements over using handcrafted…

   Jupyter Notebook 16 2

2. sliding-puzzlesliding-puzzlePublic

   8-puzzle game that features a walkthrough of the optimal solution and allows users to customize the tiles using photos from their Gallery

   Kotlin 12 7

3. meta-learning-clusteringmeta-learning-clusteringPublic

   Presented at the 2022 IEEE Region 10 Conference (TENCON 2022). Our main contribution is twofold: (1) the construction of a meta-learning model for recommending a distance metric for k-means cluster…

   Jupyter Notebook 3

4. mirror-segmentationmirror-segmentationPublic

   Presented at the 2023 International Conference in Central Europe on Computer Graphics, Visualization and Computer Vision (WSCG 2023). Lightweight mirror segmentation CNN that uses an EfficientNet b…

   Python 4 1

5. medical-expert-ehrlichmedical-expert-ehrlichPublic

   Backward-chaining medical expert system that specializes in selected autoimmune diseases and employs MYCIN-style computations to handle uncertainty

   Prolog 7

6. bioinfodlsu/rice-pilafbioinfodlsu/rice-pilafPublic

   Published in GigaScience. Web app for post-GWAS/QTL analysis that performs a slew of novel bioinformatics analyses to cross-reference GWAS/QTL mapping results with a host of publicly available rice…

   Python 3 3