Hermilea Marie Castillo or Mia as she prefers to be called, is Assistant Professor at the College of Development Communication, University of the Philippines Los Baños. She has been with UPLB for two decades now and finished both her BS and MS Development Communication degrees at UPLB. She has a minor in agriculture, forestry, and environmental science. She’s currently on study leave for her PhD at the Center for Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University.

Her research, extension, and public service involvements have focused on the field of science communication, particularly health and environment. She has also been part of a number of UNICEF projects on health, nutrition, and early childhood education. Her most notable research and public service involvements to date are the communication component for the 4-year project, Protecting Livelihoods, Ecosystem, and Human Health in Bulacan; DA-BAR’s Technology Commercialization on Wheels; PCAARRD’s impact assessment of selected agriculture publications; and DOH-RITM’s Project Matyag, a science communication campaign on vector control, among others.

She has served as resource person for topics on technical writing, science communication, strategic communication planning, development communication, health communication, scientific and technical publications editing for various government and non-government agencies. Her PhD project focuses on exploring and analyzing mental health communication in higher education institutions.