Yogyakarta, 23 February 2024 – Faculty of Biology UGM held a guest lecture featuring two professors from the Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Australia, they are Professor Wilhelmina Huston and Distinguished Professor Alaina Ammit. The lecture took place in the Auditorium of Tropical Biology, Faculty of Biology UGM and was attended by more than 200 students and lecturers from the Faculty of Biology UGM.
The public lecture was opened by Tyas Ikhsan Hikmawan, M.S., Ph.D. and continued with an opening speech by Prof. Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono, M.Agr.Sc. as Dean of the Faculty of Biology UGM. He stated that the implementation of the guest lecture was part of the collaboration between the Faculty of Biology UGM and the Faculty of Science UTS. He also added that the double degree program collaboration with UTS will be realized in the near future so that students who are interested in pursuing study opportunities in Australia can prepare themselves.
Dr. Eko Agus Suyono, M.App.Sc as Vice Dean for Research, Community Service, Collaboration and Alumni Affairs, who acted as guest lecture moderator, invited Prof. Wilia and Prof. Alaina to present their research.
Prof. Alaina gave a lecture entitled “Combating inflammation in chronic lung disease”. She introduced the Woolcock Emphysema Center where she works together with other researchers in overcoming Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) through early diagnosis, and better treatment.
Prof. Wilia then explained her research with the title “The reproductive tract microbiome and chlamydial disease”. She began her lecture with an explanation of Chlamydia trachomatis and its transmission. She also explained the role of each microbiome in the female organs in protecting the organs from infections including Chlamydia bacteria, as well as his research studying each microbiome using next generation sequencing.
The lecture closed with a question and answer session guided by Dr, Eko. Prof. Alaina and Prof. Willa showed the important role of a biologist in the medical field so that they can expand the potential output of biological research in improving the quality of health.
This public lecture was part of a collaboration between the Faculty of Biology UGM and the Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney. This collaboration also shows the Faculty of Biology’s commitment to expanding connections and collaboration with various partners to improve the quality of education, in line with its support for the Sustainable Development Goals for improving education and expanding cooperation (SDG 4 and 17), and of course improving community health and welfare better through renewable research (SDG 3).