Guest Author - Deborah Watson-Novacek
Born on August 7, 1913, in Bayambang, Pangasinan, Carmen C. Velasquez was a noted biologist, and one of the first notable women scientists from the Phillipines. Dr. Velaszquez specialized in the study of parasites and hosts among fish species. During her lifetime she discovered thirty-two species and one new genus of digentetic termatodes (fish parasites) covering 13 families of Philippine food fishes. Additionally, she discovered:
- Two new trematode species in birds
- Three new trematode species in mammals
- One new species of parasitic copepod
- One new species of Capillaria found in the intestines of a Phillipine man (the first of its kind ever found)
She also studied and documented the life cycles of nine species of trematodes in the families Echinostromatidae, Heterophyidae, Microphallidae, Notocotylidae, Plagiorchidae, and Philophtalmidae, and Transversotrematidae.
Carmen C. Velasquez - Areas of Study
During her scientific life, Dr. Velasquez was involved in a multitude of research projects, including:
* Discovered of the Capillaria philippinesia, a species which causes intestinal capillariasis, an often fatal disease
*Studied the relationship between the parasite and it's environment - both biotic and abiotic
*Studied the use of aquaculture, also known as "aquafarming," the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants.
*Studied the life cycles of parasites infecting fishes
*Studied the structure, habitate, ecology, and distribution of intermediate and definitive hosts of parasites
*Studied the entry and transmission of parasites for prevention of transfer and control of disease-producing helminthes from animals to humans and vice versa
*Studied fish health management
*Studied productivity in fish culture
Carmen C. Velasquez - University Degrees
- Bachlor of Science (Zoology), University of the Philippines, 1934
- Master of Science (Zoology), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1937
- Ph. D. (Parasitology), University of the Philippines, 1954. (The first Ph.D. graduate in this field of study)
Carmen C. Velasquez - List of Distinctions
- American Men and Women of Science
- International Scholars' Directory
- International Who's Who of Intellectuals
- World Whos' Who of Women
- Conferred as a National Scientist (1983) by Former Phillipine President Ferdinand Marcos.
- World Cultural Council (1988)
- Philippine Society of Parasitology (1990) - Distinguished Parasitology Award
Carmen Velasquez - Publications
Dr. Velaszquez' extraordinary research work resulted in the publication of 47 general and 45 scientific papers of value particularly in public health and conservation.
Velasquez published "Digenetic Trematodes of Philippine Fishes," which became a valuable regional reference to fish parasitology and aquaculture management.Additionally her work was widely published in The Journal of Parasitology.
This remarkable and prolific biologist died on October 16, 1994 at the age of 81.
