A husband and wife from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FKH UGM), Professor Agustina Dwi Wijayanto and her husband, Professor Agung Budiyanto, were appointed as professors together at UGM’s Senate Hall, Central Office, on Thursday (Feb. 27).
Professor Wijayanto has been appointed as a veterinary pharmacokinetics and therapy professor at FKH UGM. Her husband, Professor Agung Budiyanto, has also been appointed a professor at FKH UGM, specializing in ruminant veterinary reproductive biotechnology.
In her inaugural speech, Professor Wijayanto discussed “The Role of Veterinary Pharmacokinetics and Therapy in Global Health (One Health).”
She explained that various global health issues have emerged over the past two decades, opening the eyes of many sectors to the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in resolving disease cases.
Global Health, or One Health, is a concept that arose following the rise of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).
According to the professor, antimicrobial resistance is caused by improper use of antimicrobials (especially antibiotics), the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in production animals and livestock, and the massive use of antibiotics for disease prevention and treatment of secondary infections.
“Veterinary medicine has heavily relied on antimicrobials to treat infections, but under the One Health concept, a comprehensive approach is required that integrates human, animal, and environmental health to address global health challenges,” she stated.
Professor Wijayanto emphasized that interdisciplinary collaboration makes the One Health approach the most relevant method for addressing shared health issues.
This approach is particularly beneficial for managing zoonotic diseases, such as avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and COVID-19, as well as other strategic diseases like rabies and anthrax.
She further explained that veterinary pharmacokinetics contributes to determining optimal drug dosages for animals, ensuring effective dosing and duration to eradicate microbes.
The combination of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in veterinary medicine helps prevent AMR by eliminating microbes and preventing the formation of resistant strains.
“From a food safety perspective, veterinary pharmacokinetics provides data on drug elimination rates, half-life, withdrawal periods, and establishes maximum residue limits to ensure the safety of animal-derived products for human consumption,” she added.
In the food safety sector, the use of legal veterinary drugs is critical to ensuring the effectiveness and safety of animal products consumed by humans, such as meat, eggs, milk, and their derivatives, such as cheese, yogurt, margarine, and others.
Even the safe use of animal waste as fertilizer requires attention to antimicrobial residues, which can spread rapidly in the environment and contaminate forage, agricultural products, fruits, and vegetables humans will eventually consume.
“A multi-sector and multi-disciplinary approach is needed because, as humans with high food consumption needs, it is impossible to avoid quality animal protein and a healthy environment for living,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Professor Budiyanto delivered a speech titled “The Application of Veterinary Reproductive Biotechnology and Genetic Mapping in Improving the Quality and Population of Cattle in Indonesia.”
In his speech, Professor Budiyanto highlighted the fundamental issues hindering cattle population growth in Indonesia, including poor reproductive performance, suboptimal estrus quality, low pregnancy and birth rates, high reproductive disorders, and the limited application of reproductive technology.
Additionally, he mentioned that the uneven quality and quantity of human resources in the fields of livestock and animal health, inefficient and ineffective use of infrastructure, and macroeconomic factors contribute to the instability of livestock and animal health businesses and the suboptimal application of reproductive technology.
Based on statistical data from BPS, in 2023, beef and buffalo meat production showed a deficit of 286.2 thousand tons.
In 2024, with an estimated beef production of 416.7 thousand tons plus around 16.2 thousand tons of buffalo meat, the total availability is expected to be 432.9 thousand tons, while national consumption is estimated to reach 724.2 thousand tons.
“This deficit is anticipated to be addressed through the importation of feeder cattle and frozen meat and offal, as well as programs to increase the population of beef cattle and buffalo,” he said.
In developing and applying reproductive technology, methods such as artificial insemination (AI), estrus synchronization, embryo transfer, and genetic mapping are expected to contribute intensively to population growth and genetic improvement of livestock traits.
“Reproductive performance supported by clear genetic quality and the identification of genetic markers for fertility traits in certain genes is crucial,” he explained.
He added that genetic research on cattle in Indonesia should be expanded to include various cattle breeds and species and combined comprehensively with other reproductive technologies to accelerate the availability of beef and milk nationally.
“Genetic mapping aims to address the long-term effects of selection, which has so far focused primarily on milk and meat production and conformation without considering genetic factors,” he elaborated.
In her remarks, UGM Rector, Professor Ova Emilia, mentioned that Professor Agustina Dwi Wijayanto and her husband, Professor Agung Budiyanto, are among the 526 active professors at UGM. They are among the 21 active professors out of the 32 professors FKH UGM has had throughout its history.
Author: Jelita Agustine
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afifudin Baliya
Photographer: Donnie