Professor Zuhal Abdul Kadir, left, and Jamaludin Jompa participate in a U.S.-Indonesia digital video conference August 26.

Projects target ocean science, climate policy, infectious disease research

By Cheryl Pellerin
Science Writer, Department of State

Washington ? A digital videoconference flickered to life early in the morning of August 26 in Washington and just after sunset in Jakarta, where Indonesian scientists and government officials gathered to break their fast in a religious observance called buka puasa during the Islamic month of Ramadan.

On this evening, the traditional celebration, in an island nation with the largest Muslim population in the world, also embraced the country’s intense interest in science and technology.

In Jakarta, from the residence of U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affairs Ted Osius, and in Washington, from a conference room at the State Department, participants discussed collaborations in ocean exploration, climate change and clinical research on infectious diseases.

“Indonesia, with its achievements in science and technology, is the home of more than 200 million Muslims with diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds,” said professor Zuhal Abdul Kadir, chairman of Indonesia’s National Innovation Committee and rector of University Al-Azhar in Jakarta. “We can be a powerful example that Islam, democracy and modernity can go hand in hand.”

“Barack Obama has a commitment to science diplomacy and international science and technology collaboration that is placing these themes at the forefront of U.S. diplomacy,” said Lawrence Gumbiner, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Science, Space and Health.

The U.S.-Indonesian relationship, he said, “is a partnership that will be continuing and deepening. We look forward to both Muslim and non-Muslim researchers and collaborators working together to solve these great problems that we all share on the global stage.”

SCIENCE IN ACTION

“You can see that we’re starting to fulfill the vision laid out by President Obama [during his 2009 Cairo University speech] of science and engagement in action,” Osius said.

One such collaboration under way is the Indonesia-USA Deep-Sea Exploration of the Sangihe Talaud region, called INDEX 2010. The three-year partnership between the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, and the Indonesian Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology will map the seafloor and study the rich marine biodiversity of an area of Southeast Asia where the Indian and Pacific oceans meet.

Another initiative is the Frontiers of Science Program, a young-scientist exchange effort of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Marzuki [molecular biologist Sangkot Marzuki, president of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences] and I have been working hard on the Frontiers of Science Program,” said Bruce Alberts from Washington.

Alberts is a prominent U.S. biochemist who is editor in chief of the international weekly journal Science and a U.S. science envoy. Alberts traveled to Indonesia in May as part of the science envoy program to help build the capacity of local institutions in science and technology and connect the next generation of U.S. and Indonesian science leaders.

“You sent a delegation of people to a workshop on science education for children here. I met with them briefly in Washington and we’re looking forward to following up on that,” he said, adding that he looks forward to his next visit to Indonesia.

There is also an ongoing effort between the countries to study and combat climate change. The Indonesian Climate Change Center, which received an initial $7 million in U.S. funding under the U.S.-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership, was announced in June. The investment is part of a $136 million package the United States committed to Indonesia over three years for climate change and other environmental programs.

CLINICAL RESEARCH NETWORK

The latest project in development includes Indonesia’s National Institute of Health Research and Development (NIHRD), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

“We’re very excited about the potential for a major collaboration on infectious disease clinical research,” F. Gray Handley, associate director for international research affairs and acting director of the Office of Global Research at NIAID, said from Washington.

The collaboration builds on a continuing partnership begun in 2005 among the United States, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam called the Southeast Asia Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network, which at first focused on influenza.

Now, a similarly designed network in Indonesia will focus on technology transfer, training and collaborative research on diseases like malaria, dengue, influenza and other communicable diseases.

“The idea is to work with the NIHRD, the Eijkman Institute and seven or eight of the leading medical schools that are affiliated with top hospitals or clinical care providers to form a network within Indonesia that U.S. scientists can collaborate with,” Handley said. “The focus will be on Indonesian scientific and public health priorities, and the expansion of infectious disease clinical research capacity for the benefit of Indonesia.”

Handley said consultations are under way to organize the network and develop initial research protocols, which are detailed plans for conducting specific research and collecting data.

“The shared vision is for Indonesian investigators and institutions to be equal partners with American institutions and scientists through a focus on common research interests,” he added. “Indonesia has outstanding, well-trained physicians and nurses, outstanding institutions in the public and private sector and very well-developed medical schools.”

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Other related articles:

Indonesia Climate Center Seeks to Bridge Science-Policy Gap (August 23, 2010)

United States, Indonesia Intensify Science Cooperation (June 10, 2010)

Initiatives to Bolster Science, Technology in Muslim Communities (November 3, 2009)

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