The UGM Graduate School Biotechnology Study Program held the first Biotech-Webinar Series with the theme “Promoting One Health with Biotechnology”. This event was held in collaboration with the Center for Biotechnology Studies and the One Health/EcoHealth Resource Center, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. The event was opened by Prof. Dr. drh. Wayan T. Artama as the coordinator of One Health/EcoHealth Resource Center-UGM and then followed by Dr. Dini Wahyu Kartika Sari, S.Pi., M.Sc. as Head of Postgraduate Biotechnology Study Program at UGM. On that occasion, Dr. Dini said that the Biotech-Webinar Series event is a permanent agenda of the Biotechnology Study Program, open to the public, and is planned to be held regularly every two months as an effort to spread the role of biotechnology in answering various problems in society today. For this reason, the topics chosen will always prioritize the latest techniques and approaches in biotechnology so that they can add insight to researchers in the field of biotechnology and society in general.
The material presentation and question and answer session was guided by Dr. Tri Rini Nuringtyas, M.Sc as Head of the Biotechnology Doctoral Study Program, Postgraduate UGM. As the first speaker was Prof. Teruna Siahaan, Ph.D from the University of Kansas, USA. Prof. Teruna brought up the topic of Trends in Modern Health Biotechnology. Prof. Teruna explained in a very interesting way about the development of research in the discovery of new drugs at this time. In his presentation, he stated that the trend of materials/biomolecules for new drugs has begun to shift from small molecules to peptides and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) as the latest developments. High specificity which causes the possibility of off-target occurrence as small as may be found in small molecules will not be found in the use of ADC. Furthermore, Prof. Terawan conveyed that the linker, which is part of the ADC, was able to regulate the exact release time of the bioactive molecules. In the second session, the presentation material with the theme the Role of Biotechnology for Global Food Security was delivered by Prof. Dr. Siti Subandiyah, from the UGM Center for Biotechnology Studies. In a comprehensive manner, the mother who is familiarly called Prof Diyah conveyed how biotechnology in general with the various approaches currently available is able to support solving problems in the agricultural sector. The development of transgenic plants, the development of superior cultivars that are resistant to abiotic and biotic stress and the development of miRNA-based pesticides are approaches that are expected to be able to support food security in Indonesia and in the world in general.
This event was attended by more than 85 participants from various universities, government and private institutions as well as from various regions in Indonesia. A very interesting discussion took place in the question and answer session and in the end the event closed at 10.30 WIB.
