UNS — Adhie Massardi and Annisa Fitri Kurniawati succeeded in winning the Marine Science Competition (Marsco) 2021. The students of Biology Program 2019 Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science (FMIPA) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta won 3rd place in the national Scientific Writing (KTI) Competition for the study on red algae as an antiviral drug candidate.
Their work on “The Exploration of Bio-active Compound as Inhibitor Spike Glycoprotein SARS-CoV-2 In Silico for Antiviral Drug Candidate” was inspired by the increasing number of Covid-19 cases and the lack of specific drugs for treating the illness in the community. Although vaccines are available for the mass, people infected by the new strain of Corona Virus could not get vaccinated and demand a discovery on specific drugs to treat the symptoms.
To uns.ac.id, Adhie explained that the rich bioactive compounds in Red Algae, the availability of Red Algae in the environment, and the simple cultivation method of Rhodophyta are the factors that capture their interest in studying the organism. Their study was performed in silico method as the most appropriate method for the current condition.
“One of the methods we performed was in silico; the research was conducted outside the laboratory. This method is appropriate for research in the pandemic when the access to labs is limited,” Adie explained on Saturday (18/12/2021).
Their success in the competition was welcomed with delight. Adhie and Annisa admitted that they were surprised to win the competition considering this is their first KTI competition at the national level. They went through each stage of the competition with their maximum efforts and full discussion and consultation with their supervisor. In the grand final round, they competed with nine team from various universities such as Universitas Diponegoro (Undip), Universitas Pertamina, Universitas Airlangga, to Institut Teknologi Bandung.
“Hopefully, our study could contribute to finding and developing candidates for sars-cov-2 antiviral drugs based on local wisdom,” Adhie hoped.
This achievement encourages them to obtain another achievement in the next opportunity. They want to continue making UNS proud and motivate other students to continue to be productive amid the pandemic. Adhie also reminded his fellow students to never be tired of trying because efforts will not betray the results.
Marsco 2021 is a scientific writing competition held by Student Association in Marine Studies Undip. The theme for this national competition was “Optimizing and Innovating Marine Resources based on Science and Technology in Achieving Nation’s Welfare.” The competition facilitates students to develop and hone their creativity, critical thinking, and innovation. Humas UNS
Reporter: Rangga
Editor: Dwi Hastuti