Department of Science and Technology Biosafety Committee, Bicutan, Metro Manila, Philippines

Specialization: Biosafety, Biohazards, Biochemistry and toxicology of insecticides

Dr. Flerida Cariño retired in April 2019 as a full professor of biochemistry from the University of the Philippines, Diliman.  She was the former director of two institutes of the university: the Institute of Chemistry and the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology. She holds a PhD in Insecticide Toxicology from Texas A&M University, USA, and has worked extensively with insecticide resistance genetics, biochemistry and molecular biology.

Dr. Carino is currently the physical scientist member of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Biosafety Committee.  She has been involved in drafting policy and regulations for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) since 1994. She has served as faculty in several local and international training programmes on food safety and environmental risk assessment for several international organizations involved in biosafety capacity building and for various Philippine government institutions involved in the regulation of GMOs. She was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) 2011-2017, and has actively represented the Philippine position in the Convention on Biological Diversity and meetings of parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety of Living Modified Organisms. She is presently part of the Department of Health’s COVID Laboratory Expert Panel, and is a consultant of the Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration, providing guidance on urban pesticides and risk assessments of GMOs and their products.