The University of the Cordilleras concluded the month-long Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Balik Scientist Program (BSP) with a closing ceremony on July 31, 2026. The program featured Dr. Elmer-Rico E. Mojica, a DOST Balik Scientist and Professor and Associate Program Director of the Forensic Science Program at Pace University in New York, USA.

The program strengthened UC’s forensic science education through the enhancement of the BS Forensic Science curriculum, development of the proposed MS Forensic Science program, laboratory improvements, and recommendations for the procurement of a Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) instrument.

Dr. Mojica also led lectures and hands-on workshops on drug screening, artificial intelligence and chemometrics, forensic instrumentation, blood analysis, and GC-MS operation, while mentoring faculty and students in research proposal development, publication, and various forensic research projects.

He is also conducting collaborative research on the characterization of Baguio honey, with a particular focus on wild honey and hot honey. The study, being undertaken with researchers from the University of the Cordilleras and Pace University, is expected to be published in a Scopus-indexed journal.

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