In ancient Greece, it is believed that once lived a deity

called Prometheus. Prometheus stole fire of life from the god and gave it to
the humans. Zeus, which is the king of gods was displeased with
Prometheus action and chained Prometheus to the mountains. Each day,
crows will come and eat the organs of Prometheus. However, all of the
organs will regenerate in the next day. That story, even though a fiction,
illustrate the potential of one of the newest branch of medicine:
regenerative medicine.
Regenerative medicine is the solution to Indonesia future health problem.
In the 21st century Indonesia is facing a difficult period called that is
common in developing countries Double burden of disease . We can
define double burden of disease as the increasing of the prevalence of
chronic degenerative diseases in the developing country in addition to the
persistent public health problem caused by infectious diseases . If
infectious disease can be cured easily by giving antibiotics , that is not the
case with chronic diseases in which the present aim of the treatment is
usually prevention of futher deterioration of condition. However, this
paradigm will be challenged in the future with the advent of the advances
of research in regenerative medicine and stem cell theraphy. In the future,
chronic degenerative diseases can be cured utilizing stem cell technology.
Regenerative medicine is defined as a medicinal branch which studies the
replacement of human tissue and the possibility to restore its function.
(1)This branch of medicine is considered revolutionary. In which this
branch of medicine restore the morphological and physiological function
of a particular organ. However, as other science of medicine have
experienced, the advancement of this new technology especially in
Indonesia is still comparatively slow compared to public expectation. This
is caused by lack of manpower and public funding in this unorthodox way
of tackling chronic diseases. Only several institutions have the will and
resources to undertake this great challenges: Kalbe Farma, RSUD dr.
Soetomo in Surabaya and Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Indonesia. (2)
The application of regenerative medicine to the advancement of humanity
is virtually unlimited, from the post-surgery treatment of hernia inguinalis
to regeneration of lumbar to cure low back pain.(3) However, in Fakultas
Kedokteran Universitas Indonesia, the application of this research is
limited to disease of neuronal and muscular origin. One of the reason why
regenerative medicine is not developing in Indonesia is because of the lack
of human resource that have expertise in the field of stem cell and
regenerative medicine. Many scientist are not eager in facing a disease
that is so delibitating and frustating like the chornic diseases. I believe that
this is a missed opportunity to solve one of the greatest mysteries of
medicine: the key to solving chronic diseases problem.
In the future, Indonesia is poised to become one of the powerhouses of

stem cell research in Asia. Because in Indonesia, there are no regulation

that barred stem cell research from getting federal funding. Unlike other
countries such as The United States under Bush administration in which
stem cell research is barred from getting federal funding from the
goverment. (4) This same rules applies also in some of the more
conservative countries in Europe.
One of the degenerative medicine that I would like to solve with stem cell
technology is diabetes. Diabetes is one of the most common chronic
degenerative disease in Indonesia. In a survey done in Depok in 2005, it
was found that 14.7% of the patient is having Type II diabetes melitus. (5)
Finding a sollution to the diabetes epidemic is of an utmost importance
because of the multiorgan effect of DM type II. Untill now, there are no
cure for diabetes melitus, only medication to control blood sugar level. This
may not proove sufficient as research shows that person with Diabetes
Melitus who have a stable blood sugar level still have higher risk of having
complication for DM compared with people not having DM. 21st century
physician believe that Stem Cell may hold the key to cure DM.(6)
I believe that Newcastle University is the best place to learn about diabetes
and its possibility to cure it with stem cell theraphy. As Newcastle
University is one of only three stem cell research center in the UK. It boast
North East England Stem Cell Center Institute, one of the most
technologically advanced and publication-productive center in the United
Kingdom. Intelectually, Newcastle University is also the home of many of
the greatest minds in the field of pancreatic stem cell research. Names
such as Professor James Shaw is a leading minds in the creation of beta
cell of pancreas from stem cell. The combination of the facility, instructor
and mind-stimulating environment of Newcastle University will ensure the
academic success of the students there.
Moreover, Newcastle University had established Diabetes Reseach Group
(DRG) in 2003. DRG is the leading research group in bench-to-bedside
research that linked biomedical science to population based need of
diabetes problem. This research group combined many basic science area
such as biochemistry, histology with more clinical subjects such as internal
medicine and regenerative medicine. This combination of basic and
clinical faculty members will create the environment that the basic research
done there is according to the need of the clinician. One of the landmark
achievement of this group that really interest me is last year publication
that Newcastle researcher can reverse patient with type II diabetes with
tight calorie control. This publication gives evidence that research that is
done in DRG-NU can be applied in the population setting. I hope that the
work I am doing there in the future will be applied to patients around the
world.(7)
I am fully aware that this course is a research intensive course with an

emphasis in our research project compared to the taught component of the

program. I hope that my previous experience in hand-on research in my
previous project Epidemiology of Dengue Fever Infection in Jakarta,
Indonesia which enables me to do PCR to dengue victim will aid me in the
project I will have in Newcastle. I also have several experiences in
presenting my work as a researcher and won award in the field of medical
research. As I have been invited into Leiden International Medical Student
Conference, March 2011, in The Leiden, The Netherlands. And at that
event I was awarded Best Presentation in The Field of Pediatrics by
Universiteit Medich Sentrum, Leiden. I was also invited to European
Student Conference in Berlin, Germany to present my research in
PODIKSUS HIV-RSCM FKUI. This research was also published in the
journal of European Journal of Medical Research. I was also previledged
to represent Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Indonesia in MalalysiaIndonesia-Brunei research conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This
previous experiences will illustrate my interest and aptitute toward
research in FKUI.
And thus, for the reasons I have stated above, I am applying for a position
in Master of Research of postgraduate study in the field of stem cells and
regenerative medicine of Newcastle University This is not an application
for merely advancing my own knowledge but rather an acceptance of the
call to arms to be in the frontline of 21st century war against chronic and
irreversible illness that plagued us all.