February 2013 | Staff updates

More employees are joining, moving around, and advancing

Amery Amparado (Philippines), Researcher at Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology (PBGB) on February 1. She assists the scientist in generating breeding lines from crosses and evaluation of advanced progenies under the screen house and field conditions for micronutrient enhancement. Her office is located at NC Brady Building, x2286.

Leo Kris Palao (Philippines), Associate Scientist at Social Sciences Division (SSD) on February 1. He collaborates with scientists based in different countries in Asia to collect baseline information that will characterize the rice growing areas of Myanmar.  He also assists the remote sensing specialist in all aspects of work related to mapping rice areas including the development and delivery of training materials and capacity building workshops in Myanmar.  His office is located at Drilon Hall, 2877.

Romarico Tabanera (Philippines), HRS Advisor at Human Resource Services (HRS) on February 6. He operates at the HRS officer level and is responsible for implementing HQ-based workplace relations activities for both national and international employees, in a cost-effective, efficient, and timely manner, in order to establish and maintain good workplace relationships. His office is located at FF Hill Building, x2363.

Genelou Grande (Philippines), Assistant Scientist at Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology (PBGB) on February 11. She assists in conducting research on identifying disease resistance mechanism against major diseases on rice.  Her office is located at KJ Lampe Building, x2516.

Lord Hendrix Barboza (Philippines), Specialist at Crop and Environmental Sciences Division (CESD) on February 11. He is responsible for the comprehensive rice phenomics database at IRRI. He also collaborates with bio-informatics, bio-statistics and genomics experts of other IRRI and GRiSP teams. His office is located at DL Umali Building, x2617.

Kerwin Chua (Philippines), Technician III at Physical Plant Services (PPS) on February 18. He assists in plumbing and instrumentation for planned work orders and other projects. He also coordinates activities related to civil / architectural matters. His office is located at Service Building, x2503.

Julius Raňada (Philippines), Researcher at C4 Rice Center (C4C) on February 21. He is involved in the design, construction and maintenance of equipment that are used to grow and screen C4 mutants, transgenic rice and wild type rice plants for their photosynthetic efficiency. His office is located at DL Umali Building, x2643.

Michael Noel (Philippines), Assistant Scientist at Crop and Environmental Sciences Division (CESD) on February 21.  He provides detailed epidemiological data, measures environmental factors of epidemiological processes, and quantifies these processes in rice diseases. He also contributes to efforts in modeling pest and disease effects on rice crop health. His office is located at DL Umali Building, x2674.

Rashad Hegazy (Egypt), Postdoctoral Fellow at Crop and Environmental Sciences Division (CESD) on February 22. Reporting directly to Martin Gummert, he conducts research on the development and adaptation of innovative mechanization solutions for rice-based cropping systems in Southeast Asia. Joining him is spouse Walaa Abdel Atti Barakat Gomaa, daughter Nour, and sons Ahmed and Mohammed. His office is located at Post Harvest Center, x2797. Ellen Suñaz assists him at x2216.

Jessica Rey (Philippines), Postdoctoral Fellow at Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology (PBGB) on February 25. She develops elite breeding lines/varieties with high micronutrient contents in the polished rice grains and to utilize molecular marker analysis. Her office is located at NC Brady Building.


Short term appointments with more than 6 months contract

Sander Villanueva joined as Emergency Technician II - Research at PBGB on February 20.
Leonardo Mendoza joined as Emergency Technician II - Research at PBGB on February 20.
Gerry Espiritu joined as Emergency Technician II - Research at PBGB on February 20.
Erwin Banasihan joined as Emergency Technician II - Research at CESD on February 20.


Staff movements and internal transfers

Leo Kris Palao from Researcher, ICRAF, to Associate Scientist, SSD
Jerome Carandang from Researcher, PBGB, to Assistant Scientist, PBGB
Godofredo Perez from Technician II - Research, PBGB, to Technician III - Research, PBGB


Bidding farewell to

Avigail Cosico, Assistant Scientist, SSD, February 1
Maximino Banasihan Jr., Technician III - Research, CESD, February 1
Reynaldo (Abdullah) Garcia, Technician III - Research, PBGB, February 1
Priscilla Comia, Secretary II, TC, February 1
Nehry Fallarme, Assistant Manager I, CNTRL, February 1
Jeshurun Asher Tarun, Assistant Scientist, PBGB, February 15

Mary Rose Joy Sagabay, HRS Administrator, HRS, February 16

Jessica Rey, Assistant Manager II, PBGB, February 24