Among Castillo’s research highlights are drug delivery of natural products and product development. Her work with natural products and pharmacology have been published in journals such as Current Enzyme Inhibition, the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, and Neurotoxicology. Conditions that have been the subject of her studies include Alzheimer’s disease, osteoarthritis, and myeloid leukemia.

A decorated academic, she has been feted with the 2023 The Outstanding Pharmacist Award in Research by the Philippine Pharmacists Association, Inc. and the 2021 Best Mentor in Health Research Award by the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Health Research and Development. Recently, she was also named a recipient of the 2025 Faces of PACOP Award (Research Category) by the Philippine Association of College of Pharmacy.

Llamasares-Castillo teaches at the Faculty of Pharmacy and the Graduate School and is an academic researcher at the Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences. She has recently partnered with Assoc. Prof. Donald G. Manlapaz, PhD, PTRP to establish the GRACE HUB with support from the TOMASInno Technology Business Incubator of the University.

The NRCP Achievement Award was established in 1979 to recognize “members for their significant contributions to their respective fields.” Among UST’s NRCP Achievement Awardees are Prof. Mario A. Tan, PhD (Chemical Sciences, 2023), Prof. Jovencio G. Apostol, PhD (Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2017),  Prof. Allan B. de Guzman, PhD (Governmental, Educational, and International Policies, 2006), and Prof. Maria Natalia R. Dimaano, PhD (Engineering and Technology, 2009).

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Academic researchers Prof. Agnes Llamasares-Castillo, PhD, Prof. Ross D. Vasquez, PhD, Assoc. Prof. Oliver B. Villaflores, PhD, all from the Faculty of Pharmacy and the Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences, joined co-researchers from Singapore’s DELIGHTEX PTE LTD., namely Yutaka Kuroki, Aya Wada, Xinyi Zhu, and UST research assistants Kyle Andrei Cabatit, Jonah Joshua Garcia, and Janelan Martin.

The researchers were able to find thirty-nine plants with sleep-enhancing activities, such as Lactuca sativa, Nelumbo nucifera, and Ziziphus jujuba. The authors found that these plants “demonstrated consistent efficacy in improving sleep quality through interactions with the GABAergic system.” Though thirty-nine plants were identified in the reviewed studies, the researchers caution that “most studies are still preliminary, with the molecular mechanisms behind their sleep-enhancing effects remaining inconclusive.”

The researchers published on February 27, 2025 the review entitled “” in Phytomedicine Plus, indexed in Elsevier. The study is in line with phase 1 of the project funded by Singapore’s DELIGHTEX PTE LTD.

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Funded by the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, the GRACE Hub, whose office was inaugurated on September 16, 2024, is a project led by multi-awarded academic researchers Donald G. Manlapaz, PhD, PTRP (Department of Physical Therapy) and Agnes L. Castillo, PhD, RPh (Department of Pharmacy).

Aiming to contribute to the attainment of UN Sustainable Development Goals on Good Health and Well-being and Quality Education, the project aims to fill the void of a “home” to synergize otherwise disparate ideas and efforts to solve various healthcare issues.

GRACE Hub is an Innovation Hub aiming to “lead the advancement of health research and product innovation by promoting and facilitating ideas and concepts to improve the quality of health care for all Filipinos.” As such, it positions itself as the pre-incubation hub of health research products, specifically those currently being supported by the Philippine government through PCHRD. The hub will provide experiential learning for health innovators, who will be trained on having an entrepreneurial mindset, generating creative ideas, and identifying a problem before these are brought to the TomasInno Center for actual incubation of the planned technology.

Operating under the Office of the Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation, the GRACE Hub will initially help innovators from the UST health sciences programs and the UST Hospital and conduct training sessions to support innovation. Once capacitated, the trained future innovators will be transferred to the TomasInno Center where the ideas can be incubated for commercialization and rollout to the public.

Future innovators may get in touch with the GRACE Hub through their Facebook Page: .

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During its convention, The Philippine Pharmacists Association (PPHA), Inc. and The United Laboratories, Inc. honored the Department of Pharmacy faculty member.

The Outstanding Pharmacist (TOP) Awards recognize exemplary contributions of pharmacists in their respective areas of practice through their leadership and embodiment of PPhA’s core values, commitment, and dedication to the profession and society.

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The Best Mentor Award was given in recognition of the vital role of the research mentor who shares knowledge and skills, instills values and attitudes, and inspires those involved in the research process, thereby creating an enabling environment and contributing to capacity-building in research. 

Apart from mentoring students in PhD in Pharmacy and MS in Pharmacy programs at the Graduate School, Prof. Dr. Castillo has mentored students in the BS-Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs offered by the Faculty of Pharmacy.

She is also serving as the Coordinator for Internationalization, Mobility and Linkages of the Faculty of Pharmacy and has led several research projects funded by CHED, PITAHC and NRCP.

Dr. Castillo is one of the 25 recipients of the Philippine Men and Women of Science awarded by the DOST in 2015. She was also a DOST-SEI SCHOLARSHIP Awardee in 2010-2012 and received the DOST ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD in July 2013. She is a registered pharmacist and a botanist, and is a member of the PPhA, PACOP, NPSP, NRCP and ACCP.  

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The research poster entitled “Monitoring Aminoglycoside Therapy in Neonates: Gaps and Opportunities in a Resource-Limited Setting” used as a backdrop the problem of neonatal infections in low- to middle-income countries like the Philippines as a significant contributor to mortality among newborns. The study focused on the use and monitoring of aminoglycoside among newborns in an urban, public, and resource-limited hospital in Manila and identified gaps in the clinical use of the same. The identified gaps were the bases for identified opportunities for improvement of therapeutic drug monitoring in pediatrics.

The study utilized both a review of records of patients and wards, as well as interviews with practicing pediatricians, which together provided data for the gap analysis. Among the gaps identified are the absence of clinical pharmacists, insufficient diagnostic protocol for sepsis, and the lack of healthcare TDM knowledge and absence of TDM protocols. The authors provided recommendations to address these gaps and ensure better healthcare. “These findings could serve as the bases in formulating strategic directions to improve the practices of aminoglycoside use and monitoring to ensure patient safety and quality of care.”

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Castillo, who to date has mentored two PhD in Pharmacy and fifteen MS in Pharmacy students in completing their terminal research requirements, most of which were published in Scopus-indexed journals, was recognized for her ability to guide budding health researchers toward making significant contributions to their respective fields. She continues mentoring a new batch of scientists, a group of 12 advisees, most of whom are conducting experiments for their respective studies.

In an interview with the Communications Bureau, Castillo disclosed her belief that health researchers “must be mindful of the scientific integrity and ethical soundness of research  protocol through good research practice so as to maintain quality, relevance and reliability of research output,” emphasizing the importance of character in being a good researcher. While she acknowledges that most students begin with degree acquisition as their end-goal, she hopes to impart to them that ‘having the degree is just an icing on the cake.” Among the values she strives to impart to her advisees are “focus, determination, time management, proper documentation, honesty, patience, and a lot of hard work,” as well humility and being teachable.

Once a student herself, Castillo paid homage to her own mentors, the late Dr. Eduardo de Leon, Assoc. Prof. Ma. Tomasa Ochoa, Dr. Marina Osi, former Science Dean John Donnie A. Ramos, PhD, as well as Academician Maribel G. Nonato, PhD. Meanwhile, Prof. Grecebio Jonathan D. Alejandro, Dr. rer. nat., and Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences Director Bernard John V. Tongol, PhD provided the recommendation letters for Castillo’s nomination. She dedicated the award to her family and thanked her students, colleagues, and superiors, namely Pharmacy Dean Aleth Therese L. Dacanay, PhD, in the academe.

Currently, she and her students are working on various projects, such as on the anti-inflammatory activity of Pandanus spp., chondroprotective potential of Alipinia, antihyperuricemic activity of Dillenia. Some of the projects have gone past the experimentation phase and are awaiting the publication of results. Meanwhile, their current project is studying the antiangiogenesis property of syringin and alpinumisoflavone. Funding agencies such as the Commission on Higher Education, National Research Council of the Philippines, and the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care have provided support to several undertakings.

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The study, entitled “Modulation of oxidative stress and biological markers of osteoarthritis by the Philippine endemic plant Alpinia elegans (C. Presl) K. Schum leaf extracts, was co-authored by Mae Lee T. Tumaneng of the UST Graduate School’s Master of Science in Pharmacy program and Assoc. Prof. Agnes L. Castillo, PhD, who also teaches at the Graduate School and at the Faculty of pharmacy.

The study aimed to the address the gap in medications available for osteoarthritis (OA), which only has medications for improving functionality and quality of life. The researchers looked into the potential of Tagbak, traditionally used for musculoskeletal diseases, to be chrondroprotective, in that it will help prevent or delay cartilage degradation. Thus, Tagbak leaf extracts were subjected to various levels of assessment and analysis.

Tumaneng and Castillo found that the chrondroprotective activity of Tagbak leaf extracts “is attributed to its ability to inhibit reactive oxygen species, while [maintaining] the antioxidant enzymes.” This leads to “the suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and matrix degrading enzymes due to the presence of putative compounds, specifically polyphenols and flavonoids.”

Tumaneng and Castillo’s work was supported by the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences.

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Castillo will serve as NRCP – Division IV’s Vice-Chair, while Jazul will fill the role of Secretary. Corpuz, the Chair of UST’s Department of Pharmacy, will lead the Research and Development Committee. The newly minted Thomasian officers will serve the pharmaceutical sciences division from 2021 to 2023.

Apart from their roles in NRCP, in the University, Castillo serves as the Faculty of Pharmacy’s coordinator/supervisor for International Relations and is a researcher at the Research Center for Natural and Applied Sciences (RCNAS), where Corpuz is also a researcher. Meanwhile, Jazul is a researcher at the Research Center for Social Sciences and Education (RCSSEd).

NRCP is the scientific body of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) that promotes and supports research for the national interest.

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