Mariano Marcos
State University

2025 MMSU Undergraduate Research Excellence Awards highlight 18 student papers

By Stephanie Camille Ilar

To recognize undergraduate studies in the university, the MMSU Research Directorate hosted the 2025 MMSU Undergraduate Research Excellence Awards at the NBERIC Auditorium Hall on July 1, 2025.

A total of 18 entries were presented in three categories, namely Physical Sciences, Engineering and Information Technology; Life and Health Sciences; and Social Sciences, Education, Humanities, Culture and the Arts.

MMSU President Virgilio Julius P. Manzano, Jr. commended the student researchers for advancing knowledge and innovation in their respective fields. “This event is a testament that research and development are one of the university’s top priorities, as it recognizes and celebrates students’ valuable contributions,” he said.

The winner for the Physical Sciences, Engineering, and Information Technology category was titled, “SANGGA: An Innovative Flood Door Barrier for Enhancing Protection of Flood-Prone Residential Areas Along the Bislak River in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte” by John Lloyd Balantac, Natasha Mary Inocente, Cristina Quinto, and Ashen Carl Syquico from the College of Engineering.

In the Life and Health Sciences category, the study, “Comparative  Analysis of the Antihypertensive Activity of MMSU Black Garlic (Allium sativum L.) and Ilocos White Garlic Variety (Allium saävum L.) Ethanolic Extracts on DOCA Salt-Induced Hypertensive Rats” by Nisha Jean Bali, Steve King Agnir, Edmar Berwin Alcarion, and Gill Adrian Tabanda from the College of Health Sciences was recognized as first place.

For the Social Sciences, Education, Humanities, Culture, and the Arts category, the first place is the study “Text and Sentiment Analysis of MMSU Faculty Evaluation Student's Feedback” by John Simon Santiago, Yoshilyn Fujitani, Floren Magulod, and Nicole Agno of the College of Computing and Information Sciences.

Formerly known as the MMSU Undergraduate Theses Competition, the activity was renamed this year to better reflect the excellence, diversity, and rigor of undergraduate research across all disciplines.