Alfredo Vicente Magsaysay Cheng, son of Zambales Vice Governor Angel Magsaysay-Cheng, will be graduating with a Second Upper Class Honor, comparable to a magna cum laude, in Bachelor of Science in Bioprocessing of New Medicines (Science and Engineering) from the Advanced Centre of Biochemical Engineering at the University College London.
UCL is ranked 10th best university in the world and fourth in the United Kingdom, according to QS World University Rankings.
The young Cheng, a grandson of former President Ramon Magsaysay, will be one of only six students graduating from the course”•and the first Filipino to do so. The degree initially started with 15 students.
Bioprocessing of New Medicines mainly focuses on the manufacture and translation of cutting-edge research in cell therapies, gene therapies, tissue engineering and vaccines. These therapies include immunotherapies and stem cell therapies.
Cheng did his final year research project in the determination of key metabolic and growth kinetic characteristics of bone-marrow and adipose tissue-derived human mesenchymal stem cells across multiple passages.
In January next year, Cheng will be pursuing a medical degree at the University of Buckingham.
He comes from a long line of public servants, as his mother “• daughter of former Governor Vicente Magsaysay “• has inspired him to live a life of service.
However, Alfredo chose to take a different path by pursuing medicine. He dreams to be able to bring back curative and affordable therapies to the Philippines. His father, Dr. Alfredo Senga-Cheng, is a doctor specializing in internal medicine.