#ProudViscan faculty researcher from Nursing joins PhilOHUN Executive Board as Secretary for the 2025–2026 Term

Details: Written by Victor S. Neri; Published: 30 July 2025

The entire Visayas State University (VSU) community is beaming with pride as one of its prolific and accomplished faculty researchers, Dr. Janet Alexis A. De los Santos, adds another feather to her cap after taking the leadership role as Secretary of the Philippine One Health University Network (PhilOHUN) for the 2025-2026 term.

Dr. De los Santos, an Associate Professor of the Faculty of Nursing (FON), officially took her oath on May 9, 2025, during a face-to-face induction ceremony held at the University of the Philippines Manila, attended by other newly elected officials of PhilOHUN.

PhilOHUN is a collaborative network of higher education institutions and government agencies working to strengthen transdisciplinary approaches in tackling complex public health issues through research, training, and policy development.

With new leadership in place, the new executive board is set to advance further the network’s mission of promoting Global Health Security and the One Health approach across the Philippines.

The board comprises distinguished scientists, researchers, and administrators from other institutions committed to the One Health approach to safeguarding public health.

Here are the newly inducted Executive Board of PhilOHUN (2025-2026):

Chairperson: Dr. Melbourne Talactac – Cavite State University

Vice Chairperson: Dr. Remil Galay – University of the Philippines Los Baños

Secretary: Dr. Janet Alexis A. de los Santos- Visayas State University

Treasurer: Dr. Maria Fe Bulao- Pampanga State Agricultural University

Coordinator: Dr. Neil C. Tanquilut- Pampanga State University

As Secretary, Dr. De los Santos oversees the network’s coordination, documentation, communication, and operational support to achieve PhilOHUN’s goals and vision.

“I want to help the EXECOM in our goal to embed the One Health approach into the curricula of the State Universities and Colleges and Higher Education Institutions in the country, and even embedding it into the curriculum of the Department of Education. There are still many things to be done, and we are taking it one step at a time”, Dr. De los Santos shared.

As the lone nursing professional on a board otherwise composed of veterinarians, the nursing professor brings a representation of human health perspective to the network, emphasizing the role of community health, promotive health, and illness prevention rather than purely curative measures.

With the International Council of Nurses adopting a new nursing definition in June 2025, Dr. De los Santos extends the scope of nursing practice not just in the hospital setting but towards a combination of science-based disciplinary knowledge, technical capability, ethical standards, and therapeutic relationships.

As a VSU faculty, she also hopes to revitalize the involvement of VSU faculty and students in the activities of PhilOHUN, particularly in students’ participation in the One Health Bootcamp and the faculty’s engagement in the One Health Conference.

A Distinguished Career of Leadership and Impact

At VSU, Dr. de los Santos is no stranger to leadership and excellence. She is the Research Coordinator of the Faculty of Nursing and Head of the university’s Research Ethics Board.

As a faculty researcher, Dr. De los Santos’ research interests span infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and COVID-19, as well as the healthcare workforce. One of her published groundbreaking works includes HIV prevention for high-risk populations in the AIDS Care journal, which aims to push forward community-based interventions.

Hailed as one of the Top Health Researchers in Eastern Visayas, Dr. de los Santos earned more than 4,700 citations and an h-index of 20 on Google Scholar, which made her receive numerous awards and grants from respected institutions like the International Association for Human Caring, the Department of Science and Technology, the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, and the Civil Service Commission.

Moreover, Dr. de los Santos is one of the prime movers of the VSU Annals of Tropical Research’s comeback, which enables the university to earn a spot in a global research directory. She currently serves as the managing editor of ATR.

Further, the nursing professor has built a solid reputation through her scholarly works in the health research community, which made her once again featured among the world’s top 2% scientists by Elsevier for her research impact and citation metric.

With Dr. De los Santos helping steer the future of the network, PhilOHUN is poised to elevate its role in strengthening institutional collaboration and capacity-building between institutions in research and education through the One Health framework.

The new executive board will serve from January 2025 to December 2026 and is expected to guide the network’s initiative towards advancing Global Health Security and the One Health Approach in alignment with global priorities.

This article is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).