Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Online Fikes News – Amanda Farras Wijdhan and Hening Nada Syaffana, students of the Faculty of Health Sciences from UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, are currently undergoing a student mobility program at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Malaya for 2 weeks. In this program, Amanda and Hening participated in a research project related to the dengue virus, one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in tropical and subtropical regions, especially in Asia. This project focuses on in silico discovery to determine potential inhibitors against the NS2B/NS3 serine protease and NS5 polymerase of DENV-2 using virtual screening, Friday (27/9).

The research conducted by Amanda highlights the importance of the NS2B/NS3 serine protease enzyme, while Hening's research focuses on NS5 which is known to play a central role in dengue virus replication. In this project, students conducted virtual screening to determine potential inhibitors against the NS3 DENV-2 serine protease, which is expected to inhibit virus replication and prevent further spread of infection.

The selection of this topic is based on the background that the University of Malaya has had many studies focused on controlling the dengue virus, considering that the Asian region is one of the largest endemic areas for the disease. In addition, the emergence of the Monkeypox virus endemic has increased the urgency of antiviral research in order to prevent the potential for a new pandemic in tropical regions.

The research began with a briefing with Dr. Heh Choon Han, an expert at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Malaya, to discuss the research proposal and continued with a meeting with two main supervisors, namely Dr. Alicia Ng and Dr. Asfarina Binti Amir Hassan, who provided guidance on the research method.

Dengue virus is one of the major health problems in Asia, and research related to the discovery of effective drugs or therapies is urgently needed. This project is expected to contribute significantly to the development of more effective treatments to suppress dengue virus replication, which has been the cause of high morbidity and mortality rates, especially among children.

In addition, with the increase in Monkeypox cases, research on endemic diseases, such as dengue, is increasingly crucial. Preventing potential future pandemics should be a priority for scientists and global health practitioners, and this research is expected to be the first step in addressing this challenge.

According to the person in charge of student mobility activities, Dr. Ns. Uswatun Khasanah, MNS This student mobility program not only provides students with the opportunity to learn about cutting-edge research techniques, but also to build strong international networks. And of course the experience of working with researchers from the University of Malaya provides new insights that will be very useful when returning to Indonesia. (zr)