Adi Utarini, 55, is on the list of 10 people who helped shape science in 2020, according to Nature, the world-famous science journal from Britain.
By
Ester Lince Napitupulu
·6 minutes read
DOKUMENTASI WMP YOGYAKARTA
Adi Utarini
Adi Utarini, 55, is on the list of 10 people who helped shape science in 2020, according to Nature, the world-famous science journal from Britain. The research conducted by Adi Utarini and her team is described as pointing the way toward defeating dengue fever, which afflicts more than 400 million people in the world per year.
Adi Utarini, commonly called Uut, claims to have been stunned as she heard about her name being on the list of 10 people who helped shape science. “How could this be?” said the project leader for the World Mosquito Program (WMP) Indonesia when contacted by Kompas from Jakarta on Friday (18/12/2020).
Feeling unsure of the news, she called the WMP Director in Vietnam, Scott O’Neill, who turned out to have been contacted by Nature. Uut suspected that the inclusion of her name was based on a proposal. “It wasn’t. Nature has its own way of selection,” added Uut, who had previously been specially interviewed and photographed by a Nature journalist about two weeks before the Nature report on the 10 science-setters published on 15 December 2020.
Also on the list are several figures playing important roles in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, including World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Pfizer vaccine scientist Khatrin Jansen, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, US science defender Anthony Fauci and the architect of Wuhan’s total quarantine, Li Lanjuan.
Nature refers to Uut as the “mosquito commander” for leading the research to overcome dengue that involved around 100 scientists. The team studied Aedes aegypti mosquitos infected with the Wolbachia bacterium. These mosquitos were spread to infect other Aedes aegypti mosquitos carrying the dengue virus.
The research took place in Yogyakarta city with its high transmission of DBD. Its study result was released at the end of August with the conclusion that the method of Wolbachia-infected Aedes is capable of achieving a 77 percent reduction in the incidence of dengue in the area with this intervention.
ARSIP WMP YOGYAKARTA
Adi Utarini
This result has given the world hope of ending the battle against the dengue-virus carrying mosquitos that has been waged for decades, especially in Asia, Africa and South America. “Adi and her group have executed this really high-quality trial that gives us the best proof of this technology,” said Scott O’Neill as quoted by Nature.
So far, attempts at eradicating dengue, like fogging, mosquito nest extermination and 4M plus (draining, filling, covering and monitoring potential mosquito areas) haven’t yet succeeded in decreasing the number of dengue cases significantly. Dengue eradication experimentation with the intervention of Wolbachia-infected mosquitos is one of the natural solutions.
Beyond the success of this research, there’s something that bothers Uut. She notices that the application of this technology hasn’t yet been seriously executed in Indonesia. “It’s saddening if a technology that is already proven with Indonesia’s pioneering role is successfully applied only by other countries,” said Uut.
According to Uut, there’s the assumption that, given good research results, new methods can automatically be applied. In fact, however, the application of research outcomes demands large funds.
Besides, it requires interagency cooperation, especially in determining the location of a research implementation target. Supporting facilities, especially producers of mosquito eggs, also need to be increased. “The facilities now available have a capacity of 1 million to 2 million eggs per week. The total is only enough for Yogyakarta,” she said.
My dream is now no longer [to do] research, but for this technology (resulting from the research) to be enjoyed by people in other regions, not only in Yogyakarta.
Without proper consideration of the research implementation model, added Uut, Indonesia could not enjoy the benefits of this research. Actually, as the country with the world’s second-highest number of dengue fever cases after Brazil, Indonesia needs a breakthrough to end the exhausting battle against the disease.
“For over 50 years the state (Indonesia) has been fighting dengue. It has claimed many lives, made people sick and consumed budget funds. This Wolbachia technology really gives new hope, serving as a new method to complement and strengthen the dengue control program already in place,” she pointed out.
As a researcher, Uut said she had undertaken the research to the maximum with her team. “My dream is now no longer [to do] research, but for this technology (resulting from the research) to be enjoyed by people in other regions, not only in Yogyakarta,” said the professor of the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing (FK-KMK), Gadjah Mada University (UGM).
KOMPAS/SHARON PATRICIA
Adi Utarini (right), after receiving the 2019 Habibie Award in Jakarta, Tuesday (12/11/2019).
The good and the bad
Uut is a researcher with a long career in this field. She has also researched the control of tuberculosis and malaria. Since 2013, she has led a dengue research project funded by Tahija Foundation in cooperation with the Tropical Medicine Center of FK-KMK UGM.
Uut admitted that she wasn’t a mosquito expert but rather a public health policy specialist. With this background, she negotiates with ministries, regional administrations and other agencies, so that research results can be applied to policies. She is communicating research directly to the public and media. In some cases, she had to convince people who at first rejected the release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitos in their areas.
She feels grateful that her research has been enthusiastically welcomed. “Even before the research final results were released, we already received inquiries from the public. ‘When are you going to do it (spreading Wolbachia-infected mosquitos) in our area?’,” said Uut.
Thanks to her research leadership, Uut and her team have been acknowledged by several prestigious institutions over the past year. In November 2019, she won the Habibie Award, and the following year, her name made it onto Nature magazine’s list of 10 people who helped shape science.
For Uut, Nature’s recognition constitutes a beautiful yearend bonus in a year of ordeal caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. She lost her husband, Prof. Iwan Dwiprahasto, who died from Covid-19 in March. “So, a very good thing and something (that made me) sad happened in the same year. This is a lesson in life that has to be faced,” said Uut, who plays the piano for some respite in difficult times.
Apart from all that, she is proud to have led an important research project funded by an Indonesian philanthropical institution from start to finish. This is a major contribution of Indonesia to the health of the world.
Adi Utarini
Born: Yogyakarta, 4 June 1965
Education: Doctor of philosophy, Umea University, Sweden (2002)
Awards:
- Habibie Award for Medicine and Biotechnology 2019
- Nature’s 10: Ten People Who Helped Shape Science in 2020
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