A total of 28 delegates comprising teaching staff, academic staff, and students from FK-KMK UGM attended the 22nd Joint International Tropical Medicine Meeting (JITMM) 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand. The international conference was held in Amari Watergate Hotel Bangkok from 12 to 14 December 2018. This year’s JITMM was successfully organized by the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University (FTM MU) Thailand, with collaborations with SEAMEO TROPMED Network, TROPMED Alumni Association, The Parasitology and Tropical Medicine Association of Thailand, Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), and the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health Thailand.
The JITMM is by far the biggest Tropical Medicine conference in South East Asia that has been held annually since 1990s to facilitate researchers, scientists, medical professionals, policy makers, as well as students in presenting their research works in international platform in order to improve community health, particularly in tropical regions. As the theme explains, ‘Innovation, Translation, and Impact in Tropical Medicine’, this year’s JITMM emphasized in the recent innovations and research translations in the field of Tropical Medicine, such as malaria, dengue, helminthiasis, and other diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Over 700 participants from 31 countries joined the JITMM 2018 with over 100 oral presentations and 120 poster presentations delivered by academicians, researchers, and students from various international institutions. Seventeen students from both Postgraduate Program in Tropical Medicine and Special Program in Implementation Research (WHO-TDR) FK-KMK UGM presented their research in either oral or poster presentations in this international event. One of the participating students from FK-KMK UGM, Sagun Paudel, granted the Travel Award for his research and academic excellence.
Following up the previously signed MoA in August 2018, FK-KMK UGM was given the opportunity by FTM MU to take part in the JITMM 2018 as the initial step in scientific collaborations between the two institutions. The sponsored symposium by FK-KMK UGM entitled ‘Dengue: Clinical presentation, vector situation, and the role of implementation research in control program’ drew attention from participants, as the session covered aspects of manifestations of dengue organ dysfunctions, insecticide resistance in dengue vector control, and implementation research in dengue. Chaired by dr. Elsa Herdiana Murhandarwati, M.Kes.,Ph.D, the symposium was comprehensively facilitated by four speakers: Dr. dr. Ida Safitri Laksanawati, Sp.A(K), dr. Tri Baskoro Tunggul Satoto, M.Sc., Ph.D., dr. Riris Andono Ahmad, MPH, Ph.D., and dr. Ari Natalia Probandari, MPH, Ph.D.
The participation of FK-KMK UGM in JITMM 2018 was also aimed to introduce, as well as to promote the Postgraduate Program in Tropical Medicine, Center for Tropical Medicine, and Special Program in Implementation Research (WHO-TDR) in FK-KMK UGM into the global scale through research activities conducted by staff and students. The partaking of FK-KMK UGM in JITMM 2018 has initiated and will further strengthen the academic collaborations between FK-KMK UGM and FTM MU in the near future.