Fwd: USAID Indonesia S&T Focus - February 2014 edition
Yane Moy
| Subject: | USAID Indonesia S&T Focus - February 2014 edition |
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| Date: | Thu, 30 Jan 2014 07:53:18 +0700 |
| From: | Science Indonesia <science....@usaid.gov> |
| To: | undisclosed-recipients:; |
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Dear Readers - This month Science & Technology Focus kicks off 2014 with big announcements in Maternal and Neonatal Health including PEER-Health, Saving Lives at Birth, and the AIPI-NAS Joint Report. S&T Focus is also asking our readers to tell us more about their interests through a 3-minute survey that will help us provide better information on programs, news and events in future editions. We’ll also introduce Indonesian health researcher Farida Handayani and talk to student researchers about why the Balinese Subak are important to them. And don’t forget to catch the latest S&T news stories in the S&T News in Brief. We want to hear from you! Please e-mail us at science....@usaid.gov with your questions or suggestions as well as science news and events you would like to see in future issues of Science & Technology Focus. See you next month! -The S&T Focus Team
Announcement
of new PEER-Health solicitation
for research grants in Maternal
& Neonatal Health PEER Health is a competitive grants program sponsored by USAID and implemented by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS). PEER-Health provides funding to Indonesian health researchers to work with researchers in the United States funded by the National Institutes of Health. The current NAS call is seeking research proposals which address implementation challenges around maternal and neonatal health in Indonesia including:
Additionally, the U.S. National Cancer Institute will support research proposals under this solicitation which address challenges in maternal and neonatal health and tobacco. Specific concept papers are requested that address prenatal exposure to household tobacco and preterm/low birth weight outcomes. Concept Notes are due March 14, 2014. Applicants invited to submit a full proposal will be notified by late March. Please visit the PEER Health website for more information and to apply.
S&T Focus Newsletter Survey S&T Focus wants to provide better information to our readers on S&T news, events, people, and opportunities. We are also looking for people who are interested in helping to shape the future of S&T work in Indonesia through participation in events, focus groups, and more. Please help us by completing this quick 3-minute survey that tell us about your interests in S&T and future engagements. Please complete your survey by February 14, 2014. Saving Lives at Birth: Round 4 RFA USAID in partnership with the Government of Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada and the U.K.’s Department for International Development (DFID) invite global problem solvers to answer their fourth call for groundbreaking prevention and treatment approaches for pregnant women and newborns in poor, hard-to-reach communities around the time of childbirth.
Specifically, the challenge seeks to identify and develop transformative approaches that integrate new technologies, better service delivery models and improved “demand side” innovations that empower pregnant women and their families to practice healthy behaviors and be aware of and access health care during pregnancy, childbirth and the early postnatal period, especially the first 2 days after birth. The partners anticipate awarding 25 seed grants and 5 transition-to-scale grants as a result of the final RFA. The actual number of awards in each category may vary.
Saving Lives at Birth will be accepting applications from January 30 – March 27, 2014, 2:00 pm EST. Download an application, visit the website for more information, or apply here. Please send any questions on the RFA to grandchal...@usaid.gov by February 7, 2014, 5:00 pm EST.
AIPI-NAS Report on Reducing Maternal and Neonatal Mortality
5 Things about me….getting to know Researcher Farida Handayani This month S&T Focus speaks with scientist Farida Handayani, MS. She is the Chief of Research Facilities and Services Division at the Institute for Vector and Reservoir Control Research and Development (IVRCRD), a unit under National Institute of Health Research and Development (NIHRD)-Ministry of Health in Salatiga city, Central Java. Farida received a PEER Health grant from USAID which she will use for her PhD project.
Farida Handayani (second from right) in training on Japanese encephalitis (JE) diagnosis at Professor Kouichi Morita’s laboratory in Nagasaki University, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Japan. Farida, can you share a story from your past that lead to your choosing of your current field of work? Previously, I worked as a health educator with an NGO that works together with the World Food Programme (WFP) to alleviate public health problems (specifically for mothers and children) in Indonesia. Gaining a new understanding of the problems in public health, I decided to be a researcher in NIHRD, Ministry of Health, on controlling emerging and re-emerging diseases with a focus on rapid detection of infections. What is one thing you wish other people knew about your field or profession? Our research has a lot of practical uses, such as the prevention and control of vector borne diseases and zoonoses. This preventative effort for surveillance and early detection can be most effective when undertaken at the community or family level. Tell us about a hobby or passion outside of work. I enjoy music and singing. If there’s free time, I love to spend it with friends or family doing karaoke. I feel that it would be better if every activity I do is done with a touch of art.
In training for JE diagnosis, Farida uses a microscope to view results from a Plaque Reduction Neutralization Test (PRNT), the gold standard for JE diagnostics. She is now adopting this method in her laboratory at Salatiga. Share a news story/video/blog etc. that really excites you and tell us why. This video of scientist Sindy Chaves speaking at a TEDx event inspires me to become a better scientist. Chaves, from Costa Rica, is a close friend whom I met in the United States when I was studying for my Master’s degree and she was working on her Ph.D. During her research she developed a very low cost novel technology to diagnose diseases caused by pathogenic fungi. This method is currently part of a pilot program in South Africa for the indirect detection of HIV. For this study, she was awarded the 2012 Jorge Manuel Dengo Prize for the field of technology and became the first woman to win the award in this category. What is one of the most important future challenges that Indonesian scientists can help address? I believe that with consistency, cooperation, and collaboration, challenges to uncover the unknown diseases and treatments for underdiagnosed ones in Indonesia will immediately be revealed and rapid detection can be done. This way, deaths due to the infections can be dramatically reduced. -Interview by Keerthi Shetty
PEER Cycle 1: Bali’s Subak heritage PEER-grant recipient Sang Putu Kaler Surata of Mahasaraswati University in Bali, partnered with John Stephen Lansing at the University of Arizona Tucson, has been working to train future Indonesian teachers in education for sustainable development. The young Indonesian researchers are tapping into Bali’s centuries-old cooperative management system known as Subak. Rice terraces, a network of water-regulating temples, and complex spiritual rituals form the foundation for the agro-ecological system which consistently produces high rice yields on the densely-populated island. Two of Professor Kaler’s 7th semester Biology Education students, Bangkit Kurniawan and Thalia Prasetya, offered their insights into the Subak Culture (YouTube video) and why this research is important to them personally. Following their studies, Bangkit now works for a fish importer-exporter and Thalia works as a teacher.
SAInS
Resource Center Launch As part of the USAID Indonesia supported SAInS program, the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MIPA) at Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) have launched a new Science Resource Center and Fabrication Laboratory (Fablab) at IPB earlier this month. On January 7 the Rector of IPB, Prof. Dr. Herrera, launched the Suhardiyanto Science Resource Center and Fablab Workshop. The new tools at the Fablab, including a 3D printer, will be used to create a variety of products. Teachers from different regions attended a workshop the same weekend to learn how to use the new equipment and will be taking the methods back to their respective institutions.
The SAInS program is a University Partnership between IPB and Columbia University that seeks to improve STEM education in secondary schools in Indonesia through support from USAID Indonesia. The team works jointly to design innovative curriculum and train teachers in evidence-based best practices to transform partner high schools into centers of STEM excellence.
For
more information visit the
program’s website
or e-mail sa...@ipb.ac.id.
USAID
Scholarship PRESTASI II The USAID Scholarship Program to Extend Scholarships and Training to Achieve Sustainable Impacts, Phase II (PRESTASI II) provides opportunities for Indonesians to earn Master’s degrees from a U.S. university in selected fields. The goal of the program is to improve the leadership skills and performance of Indonesian professionals in the fields of Health, Environment, Education, Economic Growth, and Democratic Governance. The deadline for applications is March 14, 2014. Application forms and guidelines can be found at the website. For more information visit the website, e-mail pres...@iief.or.id or Facebook: PRESTASI Graduate Scholarship.
WWF Grants and Fellowships
Reforestation Grants In 2013 EFN’s Reforestation Grant supported the planting of over 70,000 trees in 10 different countries. Grants are currently available to support reforestation and restoration projects (max $10,000 USD per organization). Local organizations from the WWF-US priority ecoregions of Borneo and Sumatra (Indonesia) are eligible to apply. More information about Reforestation Grants can be found here. The deadline for Reforestation Grant applications is March 15, 2014. Train Fellowships, Special Fellowship for Current and Aspiring University Faculty The fellowship supports doctoral degrees for up to three years and up to $30,000 USD per year. The program is for individuals who will return to their home country to strengthen graduate-level conservation programs and ultimately increase local capacity for conservation education. Interested current and aspiring Indonesian university faculty can find more information for the Train Fellowships for Current and Aspiring University Faculty here. The deadline for Train Fellowship applications is February 28, 2014.
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Yane Moy