The visit of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia to Prepare for the Placement of the Whole Genome Sequencing Machine (WGS) at the Integrated Biomedical Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University

• Posted by: Admin
• Jumat, 25 Maret 2022
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Friday, March 25, 2022

The Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University received a visit from the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia in preparation for the Placement of the Whole Genome Sequencing Machine (WGS) at the Integrated Biomedical Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University, to support the implementation of SARS-CoV-2 genome surveillance. This visit was attended by the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, Ir. Budi Gunadi Sadikin, CHFC, CLU who was accompanied by the Director General of Pharmacy and Medical Devices of the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Dr. apt. Rizka Andalusia, M.Pharm., MARS, Chancellor of Udayana University Prof. Dr. Ir. I Nyoman Gde Antara, M.Eng., IPU, President Director of Sanglah Hospital, dr. I Wayan Sudana, M.Kes and his staff, Dean of FK Unud Dr. dr. Komang Januartha Putra Pinatih, M.Kes accompanied by the Deputy Deans, Coordinator of the Integrated Biomedical Lab Unit of FK Unud and the Research Team.

The event began with remarks from the Chancellor of Udayana University, where he expressed his gratitude for the visit of the Minister of Health and the donation of the Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) machine to Sanglah Hospital, which was placed in the Integrated Biomedical Lab, FK Unud. “We hope that this tool will be very useful for research and services, which will have a positive impact on society in general and academically will increase the publication of research results. Many of our researchers previously had to process research samples that had been sent abroad so that this tool would encourage researchers to increase academic activities and publications. We have also prepared human resources who are qualified in their fields, and even though this tool is in FK Unud, we still provide full access to Sanglah Hospital," added Prof Antara.

The Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia said that he had purchased 18 Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) devices which have been distributed to the regions of Sumatra, Maluku, Kalimantan, Papua, Nusa Tenggara and Bali in the hope that all experts in universities can easily access these tools. This tool is very important for a researcher and is a new tool where the main priority is to project cancer, stroke and infectious diseases. The research that will be pushed is more towards service products, so 40 to 60 percent of research is directed to health products, especially anti aging and aesthetics. The Ministry of Health will not only provide the tools but will also finance the reagents. The future hope for researchers is to build a start-up ecosystem, create a biotechnology-based company and will slightly overhaul the financing mechanism. This, of course, requires the support and permission of the Unud leadership to build a better research ecosystem so that it does not fully use the state budget and will bring a different level in the future.

The Dean of FK Unud expressed his gratitude and greatly appreciated the grant of the Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) tool which will be used jointly between Sanglah Hospital and FK Unud. This tool will support developments in the fields of aesthetics and anti-aging and will be used to support basic research as well as translational research. FK Unud and Sanglah Hospital will increase research collaboration which will be very beneficial for educational institutions and the general public.

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