Home Institution: De La Salle University – Br. Alfred Shields FSC Ocean Research Center and University of the Philippines – Marine Science Institute

Host Institution: University of California San Diego – Scripps Institute of Oceanography

Award Name: Fulbright Foreign Student Program

Discipline: Science Communication and Reef Ecology

Award Year: 2022

Denise is a university researcher in DLSU-Br. Alfred Shields FSC Ocean Research Center and UP-Marine Science Institute. She is currently working on citizen science innovations to assess and monitor reefs in the Philippines, which includes measuring marine protected area effectiveness through easy-to-use and cost-effective methods, under the supervision of reef scientist Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan.

Through the Fulbright scholarship, Denise will pursue MAS in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps Institute of Oceanography. As part of her capstone project, she hopes to evaluate reef-related policies, conservation, and management efforts in the Philippines to be used as basis for the framework of the country’s first ever coral reef monitoring system.