Carmen Velasquez

Carmen Camacho Velasquez (August 7, 1913 – October 16, 1994) was a Filipino parasitologist. She specialized in parasites of the tropical fish of the Philippines. She is known for her work on the taxonomy of Digenea and was the first to describe the parasitic nematode Capillaria philippinensis, which causes intestinal capillariasis in humans.

Velasquez discovered 32 new species and a genus of digenetic trematodes. She was named a National Scientist of the Philippines in 1983.

Early life and education Carmen Camacho was born on August 7, 1913, in Bayambang, Pangasinan. She attended the University of the Philippines Diliman, earning a bachelor of science in zoology in 1934. Afterwards, she worked as a student assistant in the Department of Zoology of the University of the Philippines. She returned to the University of the Philippines in 1939, teaching in the Zoology department. She published a paper in 1951 describing a parasitic copepod species. She earned a PhD in parasitology from the University of the Philippines in 1954. Her thesis concerned the spread of Ascaris eggs and their resistance in the Philippines. She was the first person to receive a PhD in parasitology from the University of the Philippines.

One of Velasquez's interests was zoonotically important helminths; over 70 of her publications were dedicated to the life cycles and taxonomy of parasitic worms. She also researched the life cycles of heterophyid trematodes

Awards Distinguished Service Medal and Honorary Diploma of the Republic of the Philippines (1965) National Science Development Board for Outstanding Publications (1972, 1973) UP Alumni Association Professional Award (1973) Outstanding Women in Science in the Philippines, UNESCO Biennial Conference (1975) Fisheries Research Society Award (1979) National Scientist of the Philippines (1983), conferred by Ferdinand Marcos

Selected publications