Raffy Jay C. Fornillos, MSc

Instructor 7
Ecology and Taxonomy Academic Group
MS in Biology (Genetics), University of the Philippines Diliman (2018)
Email: rcfornillos@up.edu.ph

TEACHING

Bio11.1 Fundamentals of Biology 1 Laboratory
Bio 116.1 Invertebrate Biology Laboratory (Platyhelminthes and other worm phyla)
Bio 171 General Parasitology Laboratory

RESEARCH

My research focuses on the phylogenetics and transmission dynamics of parasitic infections in the Philippines such as schistosomiasis and food-borne helminthiases. I also study the molecular identification (barcoding) and phylogenetics (phylogeography) of Schistosoma japonicum and Oncomelania hupensis quadrasi Philippine isolates and its implication to public health. Moreover, I am also researching on the potential utility of environmental DNA (eDNA) as a tool for disease surveillance especially in tracking zoonotic parasites and hosts in their natural habitat using environmental samples.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Parasitology, Molecular Helminthology, Medical Malacology

PUBLICATIONS
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  • Tabios IKB, Sato MO, Tantengco OAG, Fornillos RJC, Kirinoki M, Sato M, Rojo RD, Fontanilla IKC, Chigusa y, Medina PMB, Kikuchi M, Leonardo LR. 2022. Circulating microRNAs as biomarkers of hepatic fibrosis in schisotsomiasis japonica patients in the Philippines. Diagnostics 12: 1902.
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  • Tabios IKB, Sato MO, Fornillos RJC, Tantengco OAG, Kirinoshi M, Sato M, Rojo RD, Fontanilla IKC, Chigusa Y, Medina PMB, Kikuchi m, Leonardo LR. 2022. Diagnostic performance of parasitological, immunological, molecular, and ultrasonographic tests in diagnosing intestinal schistosomiasis in fieldworkers from endemic municipalities in the Philippines. Frontiers in Immunology 13:899311.
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  • Fornillos RJC, Que GCL, Mendoza RVD, Fontanilla IKC, Ong PS. 2020. Molecular identification of the Chinese Pond Mussel Sinanodonta woodiana (Lea, 1834) from Mindoro and Leyte Islands, Philippines. Science Diliman 32(2): 77-96.
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  • Leonardo L, Varona G, Fornillos RJ, Manalo D, Tabios IK, Moendeg K, de Cadiz A, Kikuchi M, Chigusa, Y, Mistica M, Hernandez L, Palasi W, Fontanilla IKC. 2020. Oncomelania hupensis quadrasi: Snail intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum in the Philippines. Acta Tropica, 105547.
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  • Leonardo L, Hernandez L, Magturo TC, Palasi W, Rubite JM, de Cadiz A, Moendeg K, Fornillos R, Tabios IK, Mistica M, Fontanilla IKC. 2020. Current status of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in the Philippines. Acta Tropica 203: 105284.
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  • Leonardo, L., Hernandez, L., Magturo, T.C., Palasi, W., Rubite, J.M., de Cadiz, A., Moendeg, K., Fornillos, R., Tabios, I.K., Mistica, M., Fontanilla, I.K.C., 2019. Current Status of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in the Philippines. Acta Tropica, In Press, Journal Pre Proof. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2019.105284
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  • Fornillos, R.J.C., Sato, M.O., Tabios, I.K.B., Sato, M., Leonardo, L.R., Chigusa, Y., Minamoto, T., Kikuchi, M., Legaspi, E.R., Fontanilla, I.K.C., 2019. Detection of Schistosoma japonicum and Oncomelania hupensis quadrasi environmental DNA and its potential utility to schistosomiasis japonica surveillance in the Philippines. PLoS One 14, e0224617. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224617.
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  • Calata, F.I.C., Caranguian, C.Z., Mendoza, J.E.M., Fornillos, R.J.C., Tabios, I.K.B., Fontanilla, I.K.C., Leonardo, L.R., Sunico, L.S., Kawai, S., Chigusa, Y., Kikuchi, M., Sato, M., Minamoto, T., Baoanan, Z.G., Sato, M.O., 2019. Analysis of Environmental DNA and Edaphic Factors for the Detection of the Snail Intermediate Host Oncomelania hupensis quadrasi. Pathogens, 8, 160. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens8040160
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  • Fornillos, R.J.C., Fontanilla, I.K.C., Chigusa, Y., Kikuchi, M., Kirinoki, M., Kato-Hayashi, N., Kawazu, S., Angeles, J.M., Tabios, I.K., Moendeg, K., Goto, Y., Tamayo, P.G., Gampoy, E.F., Pates, I., Chua, J.C., Leonardo, L.R., 2019. Infection rate of Schistosoma japonicum in the snail Oncomelania hupensis quadrasi in endemic villages in the Philippines: Need for snail surveillance technique. Tropical Biomedicine. 36, 402–411.
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  • Sato, M.O., Adsakwattana, P., Fontanilla, I.K.C., Kobayashi, J., Sato, M., Pongvongsa, T., Fornillos, R.J.C., Waikagul, J., 2019. Odds, challenges and new approaches in the control of helminthiasis, an Asian study. Parasite Epidemiology and Control. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.parepi.2018.e00083
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  • Araujo Navas, A.L., Soares Magalhães, R.J., Osei, F., Fornillos, R.J.C., Leonardo, L.R., Stein, A., 2018. Modelling local areas of exposure to Schistosoma japonicum in a limited survey data environment. Parasites and Vectors 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-018-3039-6
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  • Chua, J.C., Tabios, I.K.,Tamayo, P.G., Leonardo, L.R., Fontanilla, I.K.C., Fornillos, R.J.C., De Chavez, E. R., Agatsuma, T., Kikuchi, M., Kato-Hayashi, N., Chigusa, Y. 2017. Genetic Comparison of Oncomelania hupensis quadrasi (Möllendorf, 1895) (Gastropoda: Pomatiopsidae), the Intermediate Host of Schistosoma japonicum in the Philippines, Based on 16S Ribosomal RNA Sequence. Science Diliman 292, 32–50.
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  • Leonardo, L., Chigusa, Y., Kikuchi, M., Kato-Hayashi, N., Kawazu, S.-I., Angeles, J.M., Fontanilla, I.K., Tabios, I.K., Moendeg, K., Goto, Y., Fornillos, R.J., Tamayo, P.G., Chua, J.C., 2016. Schistosomiasis in the Philippines: Challenges and some successes in control. Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health 47.