Along with the frontliners helping in finding solutions to end the coronavirus pandemic are the researchers and engineers at the Department of Science and Technology - Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI). Since March 2020, the institute has been progressive in supporting, partnering, and spearheading efforts concerning COVID-19. Involved in these initiatives are the National Research and Education Network (PREGINET) and the High-Performance Computing, Science Cloud and Storage Facility (COARE). 

PREGINET and COARE are considered as the institute’s S&T infrastructures which fall under the Information Network for Open and Viable Applications and Technology Exchange (INNOVATE) program of DOST-ASTI. These two S&T infrastructures enable technology development, adoption, and exchange that are beneficial to the local scientific community. Scientific research and carrying out large data transfers—two processes that are important in expanding our knowledge about the virus, are made possible through PREGINET and COARE. 

PREGINET is a high-speed research network that is connected to global Research and Education Networks (RENs). Over these networks, large data transfers and scientific computing activities are carried out across continents, enabling cross-institution and cross-country collaboration on high-impact research activities. 

As the only national REN of the country, PREGINET has been a crucial tool for COVID-19-related activities. For one, it has been working closely with the Telemedicine Network of the Philippines in advancing telemedicine initiatives. Aside from this, PREGINET has helped facilitate and support various online events and educational webinars significant to healthcare practitioners in the local and international scenes. ​ 

Over the network layer, DOST-ASTI has likewise set up the systems and applications layer through the establishment of the COARE facility. COARE has services that were built to address user-driven needs: computational resources, data storage, science cloud, data distribution, and sharing. COARE caters to diverse users such as researchers, scientists, and students to aid in the demand for data storage and computing power of their respective research studies. 

A list of COARE’s contributions to COVID-19 prevention efforts includes allocation of its supercomputing resources and provision of data storage services to various research institutions such as the UP Philippine Genome Center. It also assisted the Department of Health (DOH)'s pandemic intelligence monitoring platform called the Feasibility Analysis of Syndromic Surveillance using Spatio-Temporal Epidemiological Modeler or FASSSTER. ​ 

S-PaSS, a web-based system developed by the DOST Regional Office VI to manage the travels and mobility of individuals in and out of the country similarly made use of COARE’s storage and computing resources. 

COARE also provided virtual servers for the COVID-19 Operations Center Monitoring Dashboard and Data Platform of the DOST-ASTI and SyCip Gorres Velayo & Company (SGV), a system vital in helping Local Government Units (LGUs) in managing, tracking, and monitoring COVID-19 cases. 

Various State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) also utilized COARE’s High-Performance Computing (or Supercomputer) and/or Science Cloud services to process and store their data. This includes  Philippine Red Cross, Adamson University (ADu), UP Diliman's COVID-19 Chatbot Project YANI, Mindanao State University - General Santos City (MSU-GSC), UP Cebu's CovCheck web application, UP Los Baños, UP Mindanao as well as the Advancing Antivirals thru Combined Computational Design and Emerging Omics to Leverage Repurposed and Natural Drugs for SARS-CoV-2 Therapeutics (ACCELER8) project of UP Manila.

Other projects supported include SafeTravelPH, an app by the UP Engineering and Department of Transportation which enables real-time fleet monitoring and evaluation of public transport services, and Folding@Home an initiative that aims to contribute to the global efforts on COVID-19-related research.

With this, technologies such as PREGINET and COARE prove to be significant key players and contributors in helping society go through challenges, with or without the pandemic. As reliance and demands on computing power and connectivity continue to rise exponentially, the DOST-ASTI is ready to bring scientific innovations with far-reaching benefits and long-lasting impacts to the nation and its people. 

To know more, visit the DOST-ASTI website at https://asti.dost.gov.ph/projects/coare/ or through Asia Research News at https://www.asiaresearchnews.com/content/dost-advanced-science-and-technology-institute