MANILA, Philippines - Univet Nutrition & Animal Health-care Co. (UNAHCO), the country’s pre-mier institution in the field of animal healthcare and nutrition, has cited Dr. Teodolo Topacio Jr., the first dean of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Veterinary Medi-cine, for being conferred the National Scientist Award by President Arroyo.
The award is in recognition of Topacio’s outstanding achievement in veterinary medicine for more than 50 years.
The rank and title of National Scientist is the highest honor conferred to a man or woman of science by the government. It was created under Presidential Decree 1003-A to recognize the outstanding achievements of Filipino scientists.
Dr. Topacio’s no-table achievements include studies on leptospirosis in the country, particu-larly the transmis-sion of the disease from pigs to humans.
His researches led to the final confirmation of the presence of the disease in the Philippines and the identifi-cation of the recommended antibiotic therapy for it.
Topacio also helped organize the Univet veterinary research and development division of UNILAB Inc., the country’s biggest pharmaceu-tical company.