Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) continues to produce innovative researchers. One of the researchers is Dr Arif Nur Muhammad Ansori . The researcher and assistant lecturer at the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) UNAIR discussed his innovation, Construction of Peptide-Based Vaccines with Indonesian Rabies Virus Glycoprotein: In Silico Approach with Indonesian and United States scientists.
Arif got this opportunity while attending The 9th Indonesian-American Kavli Frontiers of Science Symposium from August 7 to August 11, 2023, in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. The event resulted from a collaboration between the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI) and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), United States of America.
The alumnus of UNAIR Faculty of Veterinary Medicine doctoral program was the only UNAIR researcher present at The 9th Indonesian-American Kavli Frontiers of Science Symposium. This event is a prestigious forum for young scientists from Indonesia and the United States to work and build international collaborations. The participants received funding and career development guidance.
“Participants were less than 45 years old. This event provides guidance for conducting research, funding on an international scale, and career development guidance,” explained Arif.
His innovation resulted from his concern looking at recent conditions in Indonesia. “Currently, there are many cases in various regions in eastern Indonesia related to rabies that attacks animals and humans,” he said.
New breakthrough rabies vaccine
From these problems, Arif took the initiative to design a rabies vaccine with a new breakthrough. “This problem forces us to design a new, up-to-date, more significant breakthrough vaccine design. As we learned from the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
Furthermore, the new breakthrough using genetic adjuvants can create a more optimal immune response in humans. “This vaccine design is made with glycoprotein and uses isolates originating from Indonesia,” he explained.
Arif revealed that he would conduct further research on the innovations he initiated. So that later this innovation will become a superior product. “Research is currently underway, starting with computational modeling. The advanced stages will make it an important product, “he concluded. (*)