Dr. Ma. Socorro Endrina-Ignacion is currently the Executive Director of the Nutrition Foundation of the Philippines. She is an Associate Professor of the University of the Philippines (UP)-Manila. She finished her Doctorate degree in Public Health and her Master's degree in Public Health at the University of the Philippines in 2000 and 1985, respectively. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Foods and Nutrition from the University of Santo Tomas in 1977.
She holds various positions in professional organizations. She is the Board Secretary of the Philippine Association of Nutrition (2015-2018) and the Rise Against Hunger Philippines (2014-present). She is the Senior Social Marketing and Communications Advisor to PRISM 2 and to other USAID projects and the Asian Development Bank Project Operations Specialist. She is also the head of the Bureau of Food and Drugs (now Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines) Task Force on Food Fortification which is in charge of implementing the regulatory component of the Food Fortification Program. She facilitated the development of guidelines and training manual on social marketing, promotion and communication for Salt Iodization Program (SIP) and Food Fortification Program (FFP). She collaborated with international agencies such as the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), AED, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Hellen Keller International ( HKI), and local agencies such as the National Nutrition Council (NNC), the Nutrition Center of the Philippines (NCP), the Department of Education (DepEd), and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
She was awarded the "One UP Chair Award" in Public Health Nutrition for Outstanding Teaching and Public Service by UP-Manila in 2018; the Metro Manila Commission Professorial Chair Award in 2015-2016; and International Publication Awards in 2015-2016.
She has written research articles on Assessment of Nutrition and Health Kiddie Class in Alaminos Laguna commissioned by the Nutritionist-Dietitians' Association of the Philippines in 2013; Localization of the Philippine Plan of Action in Selected Municipalities in Ifugao, Bulacan and Siquijor commissioned by the NAPC and UNDP and published in the Southeast Asian J Torp Med Public Health Journal in July 2016. She likewise has a published research paper in the Acta Medica Philippina and the PJHRD, and contributed a chapter on Reducing Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Risks in Urban Areas in the Sustainable Urban Development Textbook in 2016.
Her consultancy works include the documentation of the UNICEF-GAIN Country Strategy in support of the NSIP implementation in the Philippines in 2015. She was also involved in international academic partnerships serving as point person between the University of the Philippines-Manila and the Praboromarajchanok Institute of Public Health, Thailand in 2015, and Yokohama City University in 2013.
