FK-KMK UGM. Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing (FK-KMK) UGM received a visit from Prof. Benjamin Gregg, researcher of the University of Texas Austin on Tuesday (23/5). Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, dr. Ahmad Hamim Sadewa, Ph.D welcomed Prof. Gregg at the Tahir Graduate Building. In the meeting, each shared experiences related to research related to the topic of genetics.

dr. Hamim explained that Indonesia consists of various tribes with differences in skin color, hair shape, and muscle mass. This is one of the interesting things for the object of research in the field of genetics. Prof. Gregg admitted that this diversity made him interested and wanted to dive deeper into Indonesia.

Apart from discussions with dr. Hamim, Prof. Gregg also conducts other agendas such as guest lecture. The guest lecture was held on Tuesday (23/5) with the topic “The Political Challenge of Genetic Engineering” in the 8th floor Auditorium of the Tahir Postgraduate Building.

In this guest lecture, Prof. Gregg gave a presentation on epigenetic research. “Epigenetics is the study of how a person’s behavior and environment can change the genes in the body. Some epigenetic features raise the issue of moral, political and legal responsibility for negative epigenetic effects,” he added.

The mechanisms and some of the epigenetic variants are dictated by conditions and lifestyle, which again raises the issue of responsibility. Prof. Gregg concluded that if epigenetic research can identify causal mechanisms of unintended epigenetic effects, then epigenetics could one day become a tool for social justice by identifying how structural inequalities exist in society. (Reporter: Nirwana. Photographer: Sitam)