The Faculty of Biology UGM is actively enhancing its capabilities to become a center for Tropical Biodiversity and Biomedical education and research. This entails a need for bolstering human resource capacities and infrastructure to support this vision. In this batch, Indra Lesmana, M.Sc., a lecturer from the Faculty of Biology UGM, had the opportunity, sponsored by the Satriabudi Dharma Setia Foundation (YSDS), to attend a training program on biomedical and omics at the China National GeneBank (CNGB) located in Shenzhen, China. The training took place from July 31 to August 9, 2023.
Participants in this training program comprised teaching staff, doctors, professionals, researchers, practitioners, and technicians from universities, vertically-aligned Ministry of Health hospitals, and clinical laboratories. Among the participants were representatives from institutions such as Universitas Gadjah Mada, Bogor Agricultural University, University of Indonesia, RSCM, RSPON, Harapan Kita Heart Hospital, Harapan Kita General Hospital, Dharmais Cancer Hospital, Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital, Persahabatan General Hospital, Dr. Sardjito General Hospital, Dr. Ngoerah General Hospital, and the GSI Laboratory.
The training program encompassed lectures, laboratory practices, and field visits, including an introduction to CNGB, the history and development of the Beijing Genome Institute, clinical testing services for thalassemia, cancer risk, NIPT, WES, and WGS. Additionally, the training covered the NGS platform material from BGI, specifically MGI. Laboratory practices focused on DNA extraction using magnetic beads and DNBSeq library preparation. As part of the field visit, the participants toured BGI Bioverse to observe the research outcomes of perennial rice, a crop capable of sustained growth and multiple harvests across seasons without replanting.
As a result of this training, fresh insights into sequencing technology developments were gained, which can enhance the curriculum content. Moreover, laboratory technical skills were augmented, adding new research and testing methods. This is expected to fortify the excellence of education, research, and community engagement at the Faculty of Biology, UGM.
