Dr. Mylene is a full time, tenured Professor of Environmental Science and Meteorology of the College of Science, University of the Philippines in Diliman, promoted to Professor 2 in 2021. She is awarded the UP System Scientist Rank 1 from 2019-2021, expert in Air and Water Pollution research, focusing on the impacts of human activities on the natural environment. She is the current National Finalist to the Underwriter Laboratories-ASEAN-US Science Prize for Women and the Asian Science Diplomat Awardee, both in 2021.

Dr. Mylene is the founding head of the Environmental Pollution Studies Laboratory. She has at least 25 peer reviewed publications as author and co-author in the past 6 years. She is a long-time Adjunct Research Professor of the International Environmental Research Institute (IERI) of Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea (where she obtained her PhD in Environmental Science and Engineering in 2012). Her research goal is to provide evidence-based scientific information leading to solutions on the pressing and emerging environmental pollution issues on water, atmosphere, food and energy in the Philippines through teaching, research, extension and service. Aside from IERI, her research is also funded by the DOST-PCIEERD, Asian Development Bank, World Health Organization, Clean Air Asia, Germany’s BMBF, among others. Dr. Mylene is also a consultant to the DENR-EMB in various projects such as drafting the National Air Quality Status Report, policies for hazardous air pollutants, updating the list of methods for air quality monitoring and source apportionment studies. Through the years, she aimed towards sustainable living, trying to walk her talk, although still in the learning curve. She would like to inspire the next generation of scientists, practitioners and environmentalists by anchoring their advocacies on solid science and community interventions. She is a wife to triathlete Joseph Cayetano and a mother of teenage Francis. Both Joseph and Mylene do half marathons, duathlons, triathlons, biathlon and love to walk and bike around wherever possible.