In order to equip the academic community with insight and knowledge from pharmaceutical science experts from domestic and foreign universities, the Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Indonesia (FFUI) held the 13th Webinar Series entitled “Applications of Metabolomics in Preclinical and Clinical Studies: Our Experiences” This webinar features Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute for Integrative Pharmacogenomics, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia, Prof. Dr. Teh Lay Kek.
In his presentation, Prof. Teh Lay Kek discusses the research he did with the title “Experimental and Clinical Pharmacogenomics and Clinical and Experimental Metabolomics” She explains the long history of metabolomics and the metabolic concepts used to aid in disease diagnosis.
“The separation technique with more advanced chromatography was only developed in the late 1960s. Since then, more quantitative approaches have been developed to analyse metabolites. Furthermore, in 1978, research on quantitative metabolic profiles based on chromatography was first published,” she said.
Metabolomics has been used in various health, plant, food, and biotechnology studies because it is easy to use for disease screening, understanding gene function, and identifying therapeutic targets. Basically, metabolomics is a type of metabolite analysis that can measure hundreds or even thousands of cellular metabolites simultaneously.
Metabolomics consists of two types, namely non-targeted metabolomics (global) and targeted metabolomics. “Because non-targeted metabolomics and targeted metabolomics have their advantages and disadvantages, people want to combine the two types of metabolomics to get the best out of both methods and ensure that the metabolite calculations are correct, so a pseudotargetedmethod was created,” Prof. .Teh Lay Kek explained.
Metabolomics are obtained from biological samples which can be humans and animals (fluids and tissues), yeasts, and bacteria (cell cultures and culture media). The sample then goes through a process of standardisation, sampling, transportation, and preparation. The process is continued by separating and detecting the sample. Finally, calculations, profile analysis, and statistical analysis and data on biological samples were carried out to produce a scientific discovery.
The presentation session ended with an explanation about theIntegrative Pharmacogenomics Institute(iPROMISE). “We do a lot of work based on precision health life,” said Prof. Teh Lay Kek. Health precision in question is genome integration and other metabolic interventions. At iPROMISE, metabolomics can be used for both preclinical and clinical analysis. Research carried out there includes metabolomics analysis, genome assembly and annotation, docking, and mutation analysis.
The Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy UI (FFUI), Prof. Dr. apt. Arry Yanuar, M.Sc., in his opening remarks thanked Prof. Teh Lay Kek for attending and sharing her knowledge about metabolomics in this webinar. “Metabolomics is a field that is growing very rapidly in a wide variety of applications. Metabolomics is also a promising new technology for the precise analysis of hundreds to thousands of metabolites. For that, indeed this topic is the right topic to discuss, “said Prof. Arry (21/03). The webinar which was attended by more than 200 participants was guided by apt. Meidi Utami P., S.Farm., M.Sc., Ph.D. (Pharmacist and FFUI lecturer) as moderator.
Prof. Arry hopes that the webinar participants can gain knowledge about the research conducted by Prof. Teh Lay Kek that it can be useful in clinical pharmacy research at Faculty of Pharmacy UI. In addition, Prof. Arry also hopes that in the future, Faculty of Pharmacy UI can invites speakers from abroad more often so that more knowledge can be obtained not only on a national scale, but also on an international scale. That way, there will be a wider variety of knowledge that can be obtained by the webinar participants and there will be a wider range of knowledge that can be applied at Faculty of Pharmacy UI.
The Faculty of Pharmacy UI Webinar Series is one of the Continuing Pharmacy Education programs for continuous learning from academics and students. Not only that, the webinar serieswhich has been held since September 2020 is expected to be a bridge for the Faculty of Pharmacy UI in advancing education and sharing knowledge.
