Enhancing Collaboration Research with University of The Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan By Benchmarking Visitation

The benchmarking visit was held out for 13 days, (17-30 September 2023) by Dr. Nesti F. Sianipar, S.P., M.Si was initiated to collaborate with Associate Prof. Yonathan Asikin, Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus. The activity began with a visit to laboratories at the University of the Ryukyus, especially at the Faculty of Agriculture, and discussions regarding research collaboration with Prof. Kazunori Yamahira and Associate Prof. Hironori Iwasaki at the Center of Molecular Biosciences (COMB).

On the following day, the visit was carried out by discussion with Prof. Konishi Teruko (Vice Dean of International Collaboration Professor of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus) to discuss opportunities for research collaboration that can be conducted between Food Biotechnology Research Center (FBRC) and the Faculty of Agriculture related to polysaccharides, starch resistance, and marine seaweed. A potential future cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is discussed. A visit was also carried out with Associate Prof. Masashi Inafuku who went to the banana fields and greenhouse in Okinawa (belonging to the University of the Ryukyus) to see the differences between the bananas being developed by the research team at the University of the Ryukyus and TORPEDO bananas belonging to FBRC, as well as talking with Associate Prof. Ichiro Nakamura and Nana Mikami, Ph.D., about opportunities for banana development.

The next visit was to the Subtropical Field Science Center to discuss research with Dr. Mika Aragaki. The visit continued with a discussion on continuing research on the purification of active compounds in rodent tuber mutant plants with Prof. Kensaku Takara, one of the staff and researchers with a scientific background in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR spectra) and purification of active compounds. Through visits to several laboratories and research facilities owned by University of the Ryukyus, it is hoped that there will be opportunities for cooperation or collaboration between FBRC Binus and Ryukyus in the form of Ph.D. programs, postdoc training, resources for exchange, student exchange, internship, and joint research programs.

Source: s.id/FBRCNews

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