Leslie Pearl Cancio is currently a Science Research Specialist II from the Department of Science and Technology Davao Region. She graduated from the University of the Philippines Mindanao with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Food Technology and a recipient of the DOST Scholarship and the Best Thesis Award. She also finished a master’s degree in Business Administration at the Ateneo de Davao University. Prior to joining the government, she was immersed in the food industry as she spearheaded the establishment, documentation, implementation of quality and food safety procedures in a medium-sized enterprise and optimized the procedure in the indexing of bacterial and fungal diseases through Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) in the research laboratory of a banana plantation. Her current designation also serves as one of the Executive Assistants of the Regional Director, R&D Regional Coordinator for the Regional Health Research and Development Consortium (RHRDC XI) and head of the Scholarship Section.