The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (Fakultas Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam/FMipa) of Universitas Hasanuddin (Unhas) held a public lecture entitled “Webinar Diaspora Series on Statistical Analysis of Covid-19 Host Genomes”.
The activity that brought Dr. Beben Benjamin (Senior Lecturer, Australian of South Australia) as a speaker took place virtually through the zoom meeting application on Monday (06/09).
Starting the activity, the Dean of FMipa Unhas, Dr. Eng Amiruddin, M.Sc., expressed his gratitude for the availability of the speaker, Dr. Beben Benjamin. He said that activities like this are a means of developing knowledge and information and as a strategy to increase cooperation and open complete network access.
The Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation, and Partnership of Unhas (Prof. dr. Nasrum Massi, Sp.MK, Ph.D.) officially opened the activity. He said the topic presented was fascinating to discuss. As a university, Unhas continues to optimize its active contribution in handling Covid-19.
Furthermore, Prof. Nasrum added that the Webinar Diaspora Series is a program initiated by the research and innovation office to strengthen Unhas by reaching out to many partners abroad. In addition, he also said that the webinars by presenting various sources could be used to open the partnerships opportunities, such as research collaborations and international student exchanges.
“We hope that the participants can optimize this kind of activity. All faculties in Unhas will present similar activities according to their respective disciplines. The guest lecture is held as a part of the Unhas Dies Natalis program, and it also aims to generate possible collaborations for the future,” explained Prof. Nasrum.
On that occasion, Dr. Beben gave an overview of the Covid-19 based on several aspects of the study, such as the transmission process to environmental influences, which are also factors causing transmission. Moreover, he explained the method of mapping genes related to a trait or disease by utilizing genetic markers in the entire genome.
After the presentation, the event moved to the discussion and question and answer session. The activity was guided by Sri Astuti Thamrin, M.Stat., Ph.D. (Lecturer of Statistics FMipa Unhas) as the moderator and attended by approximately 400 participants.
Kumara Tungga Dewa, S.S.
Editor : Ishaq Rahman, AMIPR
