Page 37 – International Relations Office, MD, KKU

The 3rd International Conference on Cardiovascular Disease (IC-CVD), 23-24 October 2021

The Faculty of Medicine Universitas Islam Indonesia is hosting the Third International Conference on Cardiovascular Disease on 23-24 October 2021 as a forum for clinicians, researchers, lecturers, students, and policy makers to gather, share, and discuss the current information about managing CVD in developing countries. The overall theme of this event is “Multidisciplinary approaches to address the burden of cardiovascular disease in developing countries”.

The objectives of the conference are as follows.

to update knowledge about the relevant program priorities for addressing CVD burden in developing countries
to explore options for the comprehensive management of primary cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high blood glucose level, smoking, and sedentary lifestyle
to discuss the latest guidance and evidence on the early detection and management of CVD and its implementation in the context of developing countries, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of CVD
to strengthen interprofessional collaboration in addressing challenges using multidisciplinary approaches for the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of patients with CVD
to update knowledge about health technology science and innovation related to the management and rehabilitation of patients with CVD.

The registration form is available at https://conference.fkuii.id/register/sd60951
To get information about the conference, please, visit the conference website: https://ic-cvd.uii.ac.id/

TropMed Webinar: Asian Schistosomiasis: Prospects for Elimination

We are excited to invite you to join the Tropical Medicine Webinar Series via ZOOM on the topic “Asian Schistosomiasis: Prospects for Elimination” by Professor Lydia R. Leonardo, DrPH, Director, Office of Research Coordination, University of the East, Philippines.

Date: August 20, 2021. Time 10-11 am Bangkok

Online by ZOOM

Join Zoom Meeting

https://kku-th.zoom.us/j/98023241194?pwd=bmVmMEZCS0s3NEpxVjlxQlBwK09mdz09

Meeting ID: 980 2324 1194

Passcode: 411238

Srinagarind Hospital is Thailand’s Best Hospital 2021

Newsweek has ranked Srinagarind Hospital as Thailand’s best hospital in 2021 (Best Hospitals 2021 – Thailand).

Srinagarind Hospital, a government hospital was the second regional medical school to opened outside Bangkok. It is named after HRH Princess Srinagarindra, the mother of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and the paternal grandmother of King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X).

On 23 June 1975, Khon Kaen University opened a small temporary hospital building for teaching and treatment of patients, that became known as ‘Hut Hospital’. King Bhumibol Adulyadej laid the foundation stone for the new hospital on 19 February 1976 and named it ‘Srinagarind Hospital’. The new hospital opened on 15 December 1983.

Srinagarind Hospital is a regional “super-tertiary care” hospital with teaching and research functions for the affiliated KKU Faculty of Medicine. It operates under the responsibility of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation.

Srinagarind Hospital is the largest public hospital in Northeast region of Thailand, with more than 1,500 beds capacity and serves more than a million patients per year. The medical faculty accepts about 250 incoming medical students each year, and more than 65 postgraduate residency and fellowship training programs.

This honor given to Srinagarind Hospital by Newsweek is further testament to its commitment to becoming a world class university that brings value to Thai society and all mankind.

MDKKU student representatives to the International Online Summer School on “Advanced Medical Technology”

Mr. Naratiphong Saengrit, Miss Nutlada Muangsongchun and Miss Chatinya Somcharoen, 3rd year Radiological Technology students from the Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, were recently selected to participate in the International Online Summer School entitled “Advanced Medical Technology”.

International Online Summer School, a radiological technology student training program, managed by Faculty of Radiological Technology, Fujita Health University, Japan between August 23-27, 2021, teaches international Advanced Medical Technologies, including; Medical Imaging, AI, Radiation Therapy, Radiation Dosing, Diagnostic Imaging, Applied Radiation Technology and do group working. Due to the current COVID-19 situation, the International Summer School is online this year.

The Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University congratulates these students for receiving such a learning opportunity.

The 3rd Anniversary Symposium for Double Degree Program

On July 1, 2021, Associate Professor Charnchai Panthongviriyakul, MD, President, Khon Kaen University, officially opened the webinar titled “The 3rd Anniversary Symposium for Double Degree Program”. This was the first time it was organized online and hosted by the Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, and the Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program and Precision Medical Microbiology Program, Departments of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University.

The purpose of the symposium was to encourage exchange cutting-edge research and technologies and to promote discussion between professors, lecturers, researchers, medical staff and students from Kumamoto University, Japan and members of the Double Degree Program (DDP) Network in Thailand.

The DDP Symposium was first held in 2018 at Kumamoto University, Japan organized by the Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University. The second symposium was organized by the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand in 2019 and the 3rd symposium was hosted by the Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Thailand. Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the 3rd symposium was postponed from 2020 to 2021. This year, it had 27 international and national speakers from prestigious universities and institutions.

The DDP agreement between Kumamoto University and Khon Kaen University was initiated in 2017, and now also includes Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University from central Thailand, Faculties of Medicine and Associated Medical Sciences, Chiang Mai University from the north, and the Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University in the south.

The Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University and Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University have long-standing academic and research collaborations and student and faculty exchanges. Currently, there are over 20 joint research publications from these two schools. There are 5 postgraduate students from the Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University enrolled in the Double Degree Program and one will graduate this year. In addition, over 20 staff and students from the Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University have visited Kumamoto University to learn and conduct research.

This year’s symposium also had a 3–minute Research Competition: 3MR, for DPP network students.

The Winner of the non-communicable diseases session was Miss Khin TheNu Aye, who presented on ‘Effect of Gallic acid on Kinetic Pirarubicin Uptake in K562/Dox Cancer Cells: Spectroscopic Study’ and the winner for Communicable diseases session was Miss Nattaya Tonglao, who presented on ‘The synergistics of chitosan and ceftazidime combination on B. pseudomaliei biofilm’.

TropMed Webinar: Glycan microarrays – much-needed tools to unravel microbe-host interactions

We are excited to invite you to join the Tropical Medicine Webinar Series via ZOOM on the topic “Glycan microarrays – much-needed tools to unravel microbe-host interactions” by Dr. Yan Liu, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London.

Date: July 23, 2021

Time: 3.00 – 4.30 PM (Bangkok Time)

Online by ZOOM

Join Zoom Meeting

https://kku-th.zoom.us/j/95326402554?pwd=S2NnYWE0Y2NJZy82M2g0aGFQV1N3dz09

Meeting ID: 953 2640 2554

Passcode: 290821

Or qr code

Helminth vaccines: from pre-clinical concepts to human efficacy trials

On June 22, 2021, the Tropical Medicine Graduate Program, Khon Kaen University held their 3^rd Tropical Medicine Webinar on the topic “Helminth vaccines: from pre-clinical concepts to human efficacy trials” expert presenter Professor Alex Loukas, Distinguished Professor Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine, Centre for Molecular Therapeutics James Cook University, Cairns, Australia.

The welcome speech was given by Assistant Professor Sutas Suttiprapa, Director of the Tropical Medicine Graduate Program, KKU-MD, who welcomed the opportunity to learn and share insights about “Helminth vaccines: from pre-clinical concepts to human efficacy trials.”

The presentation explained the Life cycle of Necator americanus, or hookworm. Living in the small intestine, they attach to the lining of the intestinal wall and suck blood and vitreous from the intestines. The female worm can lay 6000-20000 eggs per day, which are expelled with feces. With appropriate temperature and humidity, the larvae emerge from the egg in 1-2 days, and as first stage larvae, rhabditiform larvae, grow in soil or feces. They then molt into second stage embryo, in 5-10 days, and develop into the third filariform embryo in 5-10 days. These can penetrate human skin and migrate into the veins, the heart, the lungs, from the lungs, into the esophagus, then the stomach and into small intestines. Most older hookworms are evicted in one to two years but some can live for many years.

As a possible solution to hookworm infection a vaccine is in testing to increase the number of white blood cells Eosinophilia, which are responsible for preventing helminth infections, allergies, and tissue inflammation. Approximately 450 Eosinophil cells are normally found in the blood. Following vaccination, significant reductions in hamster fluke load has been found.

In conclusions TSPs appear to be good vaccine antigens and gene silencing (RNAi) and preliminary gene knock-out (CRISPR-Cas9) studies suggest that TSPs are essential-lethal phenotypes.

Future helminth vaccine directions

-Assess impact of vaccination on CCA in hamster model

-Explore other oral delivery methods that can be translated for human use (liposomes, chitosan nanoparticles)

-Probe proteome array with sera from protected mammalian hosts (eg. irradiated metacercariae)

-Test multivalent constructs or chimeric antigens

Written by Miss Taksaporn Vongsa-Nga

Mister Adisorn Tadsakorn

Edit by Professor John F Smith

Professor Sripa serves as the WHO Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group

Professor Dr. Banchob Sripa, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, invited panel member of WHO’s Disease Reference Group on Helminths and the first Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group.

Professor Sripa is a KKU Senior Research Fellow, and a Director of Tropical Disease Research Center and Head of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Control of Opisthorchiasis (Southeast Asian Liver Fluke Disease), KKU.

Professor Banchob previously served as a panel member on the WHO’s Disease Reference Group on Helminths (DRG), Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG), and is a WHO adviser.

He is the former President of the Regional Network of Asian Schistosomiasis and Other Helminth Zoonoses (RNAS+).

Over 30 years, his major research focus has been on biology, immunology, host-parasite interaction, pathogenesis of opisthorchiasis and bile duct cancer, and strong emphasis on control and elimination of human liver flukes across Asia. His integrated liver fluke control program named “Lawa model” is one of two WHO showcase models with success in helminth control (WHO/NZD4).

Professor Sripa has published more than 250 research articles, viewpoints, editorials and reviews in peer reviewed international journals and book chapters (h-index=50). He is Deputy Editor of PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Associate Editor of Tropical Medicine & International Health, and is an editorial board member for several tropical disease journals. Over 36-year as academician, he has received several scientific research awards, the most prestigious the Thailand Outstanding Scientist Award (the King’s Award) and the Thailand Research Fund (TRF) Senior Research Scholar

Professor Sripa has received local and international research funding and is a pioneer in the in-depth study of the pathogenesis of liver fluke and bile duct cancer, leading to a better understanding of this disease and methods for its prevention and control. He also has published on Liver Fluke and Cholangiocarcinoma in leading journals in the Scopus Database and has received several major research awards, including a Thailand Outstanding Scientist Award, (pathology category 2013) and the TRF Senior Research Master of the year 2013 and one of the highest honors of Khon Kaen University, the Sarasin Researcher Honor Award in 2012.

Professor Sripa is internationally recognized as a specialist in liver fluke and bile duct cancer and has been invited as an international guest speaker more than 20 times and received the highest honor as a speaker at the International Congress of Parasitology (ICOPA 2010) as “International Cancer Organization (IARC) specialist”.

His international work, especially with the World Health Organization has made it possible to successfully promote liver fluke disease onto the World Health Organization’s List of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)

Written by Yada Lertkhajornsak

Edited by John Smith

Invention and innovation during COVID-19 pandemic: Khon Kaen University

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Faculty of Medicine Khon Kaen University has collaborated with many parties on 6 innovative devices for increasing safety and medical care.

Long Range Stethoscope

The stethoscope is a commonly used medical instrument for checking hearth beat and lung function. Stethoscope use requires the doctor to be close to the patient which could endanger both patient and the doctor during this crisis. Associate Professor Sarawuth ChaiMool, fom the Department of Electrical Engineering, the Faculty of Engineering and Dr. Auttipat Arunsawat, from the Faculty of Medicine and Mr. Chinchoti Vetsawanitchakul, second year engineering student invented a long-range stethoscope using wireless technology. This reduces the need for close contact between the patient and the doctor thus reducing the chance of disease transmission.

PAPR Suit (Powered Air Purifying Respirator)

The Powered Air Purifying Respirator (Suit PAPR) draws fresh air through a Virus Filter and is 99.99% effective in filtering bacteria and viruses. It also has a noise cancellation system to prevent noise while in use.

Battery (PAPR)

The Lithium-Ion Battery Institute, Khon Kaen University has now produced more than one thousand batteries (PAPR medical devices). For delivery to The Ministry of Public Health and hospitals all over the country. Scheduled for November to December 2021. It will also reduce the cost of purchasing commercial equipment.

Ozone Generator, Brand Prozone, Model Modified PZ7-2HO

The Ozone Generator, Brand Prozone, Model Modified PZ7 – 2 HO is a bacteria and viruses.

The Ozone Generator converts oxygen to ozone that can penetrate deep surfaces and disinfect well-enclosed space. It has been used to disinfect masks, materials, and PPE suits for medical personnel. It is now being further developed for use in hotel, office, and household setting. The Innovation and Enterprise (KKU-innoprise) Group, the Faculty of Architecture and Northeast Science Park are working with students on this design and development project.

TOT-KKU SWAP Test Box (Positive Pressure)

TOT-KKU SWAP Test Box (Positive Pressure) is a device for increased safety for health workers and patients during COVID-19 testing. Converted from an old public phone booth donated by the National Telecom Public Company Limited, a UVC lamp and fan have been installed for air sterilization and ventilation system. Wheels for easy movement. The door has been modified with a magnetic open-close system and there is a tray to hold medical equipment.

Service Robot (TEMI)

The KKU Library has also contributed to stopping COVID-19 transmission by donating Librarian robots to Srinagarind Hospital for servicing patients. The robots can be controlled via mobile phone or tablet with a real-time streaming option to allow doctors to examine high risk patients from a safe distant. A basket can be attached to the robot to allow medicines to be delivered to patients. This invention is another excellent solution for minimizing contact between patient and doctor to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

“Time Line Map” showing COVID-19 patients linkages to assist medical management

KKU Smart City Project works with the government and private sector, via using KKU Science Park to build technologies and innovations that will contribute to community.

The Time Line Map will support the government to manage to COVID-19 patients in the area and those returning to Khon Kaen.