Ni Ketut Susilarini, Master’s degree in Microbiology at the University of Nevada, USA

Posted December 10th, 2008 by admin

The Indonesian National Health Research Development Center is a key institution in the Indonesian Ministry of Health to monitor the emergence of infectious disease health threats and to conduct research on emerging pathogens of public health importance.

Over the past decade it has expanded its laboratory capacity considerably including the construction of a Biosafety Level 3 laboratory which will be opened in 2008. Currently, there are limited numbers of persons with the skills to conduct critical biomedical research at the National Health Research Cevelopment Center and its laboratory network.

USAID’s Basic Human Services team, working together with the Ministry of Health, selected four National Health Research Develoment staff as part of its efforts to develop a cadre of well-trained scientists who can synthesize new knowledge and develop a work plan to keep the country safe and at the forefront of biomedical progress. The USAID Human and Institutional Capacity Development Program (HICD) is supporting their master’s degree studies at universities in the US.

Ni Ketut Susilarini, originally from Bali, started her medical career in West Timor, where she treated patients for infectious diseases such as Japanese Encephalitis and meningitis. When she joined the National Health Research Center, she identified diseases caused by viruses such as Avian Influenza, Dengue, Chikungunya, and Japanese Encephalitis. She is currently studying for her Master’s degree in microbiology at the University of Nevada. She says that studying in the US will provide the opportunity to collaborate with international scientists in her research on virus-borne diseases in Indonesia.