Two FMIPA UI Research Lecturers Receive Research Funding from UK-Indonesia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Sciences (UKICIS)

Two research lecturers from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (FMIPA UI), namely Anom Bowolaksono, Ph.D. from the Department of Biology, and Dr. Dipo Aldila from the Department of Mathematics, were selected as recipients of research funding through the Productive Innovative Research (RISPRO) program with the theme "UK-Indonesia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Sciences (UKICIS)". This was announced on September 16, 2022 via the grant recipients' personal emails.

This scientific collaborative program is intended for Indonesian and UK researchers in five priority themes, namely green economy, blue economy, digital technology, health, and tourism, the goal is to realize the impact of national research and products by 2025. Funding support for this program comes from LPDP RI with a maximum funding period of four years of research implementation.

Previously, the interdisciplinary research collaboration funding program was launched by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), and the Indonesian Education Fund Management Institute (LPDP), in collaboration with the UK-Indonesia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Sciences (UKICIS), with support from the Indonesian Embassy in London, on March 16, 2022.

The research project proposal proposed by Anom Bowolaksono, Ph.D. is entitled "Incretin Based Therapy GLP-1 Receptor Agonist for Gestational Diabetes Treatment in polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)". The research aims to characterize the pathways and molecular mechanisms targeted by Glucagon like peptide–1 Receptor Agonist (GLP-1 RA).

"The results of this study will later be used to evaluate the competence of the protein as a candidate for gestational anti-diabetes mellitus therapy in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome. The findings of this research project are expected to improve the quality of life of mothers and children affected by diabetes mellitus by adding new therapy options," said Anom to the FMIPA UI Public Relations team.

This research project will be carried out collaboratively and continuously for 3 years between the Department of Biology, FMIPA UI, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FKH) IPB, and Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, UK.

In this case, FKH IPB will be led by Prof. drh. Arief Boediono, Ph.D., PAVet(K), and the University of Warwick will be led by Professor Dimitri Grammatopoulos.

Meanwhile, Dr. Dipo Aldila in his proposal submitted a research entitled "Outbreak Risk of Vector Borne Disease and Managerial Distraction Analysis In Post Pandemic of COVID-19". This research aims to provide an alternative perspective on the pattern of spread of a disease, both temporally and spatially.

“During the past 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, many lessons can be learned. Methods forecasting cases in the field as anticipation of policy changes are continuously updated. Through this research, it is hoped that in the future the results of this research can provide an early warning system for the threat of a spike in disease cases in the field, be it COVID-19, dengue fever (DBD), or other diseases that are commonly found in the community," said Dr. Dipo.

cases in the field as anticipation of policy changes are continuously updated. Through this research, it is hoped that in the future the results of this research can provide an early warning system for the threat of a spike in disease cases in the field, be it COVID-19, dengue fever (DBD), or other diseases that are commonly found in the community," said Dr. Dipo.

Dean of FMIPA UI Dede Djuhana, Ph.D. expressed his appreciation and support to the two research lecturers. The involvement of FMIPA UI through this research collaboration project, said the Dean, also initiated UKICIS.

Furthermore, the Dean emphasized that in a challenging situation like today, it is important for FMIPA UI, which is part of a leading university in Indonesia, to prioritize national and international collaboration in the fields of education and research as the key to success in building the capacity and quality of institutions in producing superior human resources and innovations that have an impact on the world community.

"We see that collaboration in both education and research plays an important role for each party in building institutional capacity, so we need to prioritize collaboration, not just competition. If institutional capacity increases, we are sure that individual capacity will also increase," said Dean Dede to the FMIPA UI Public Relations team.

For this reason, he hopes that cooperation between the two countries will have a strong impact to contribute to a friendlier world.

"We hope that this collaboration will continue and spark the development of innovations needed by the world community," he added.

News source : https://sci.ui.ac.id/