UI Lecturer Wins Prestigious Award Thanks To Breakthrough In Cancer Therapy

Lecturer at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (FMIPA UI) Dr. Deni Hardiansyah won Gold Prize at the 2025 Asian and Oceanian Young Investigator Award (AOYIA). (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - A lecturer from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (FMIPA UI), Dr. Deni Hardiansyah, became the first researcher from Indonesia to achieve the Gold Prize Asian and Oceanian Young Investigator Award (AOYIA) 2025 thanks to his work in the field of cancer therapy.

The award was given for the research he conducted with two collaborators, namely Prof. Dabk Glatting from Medical Radiation Physics, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ulm University, Germany, and Prof. Michael Mix from Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical Center, Freiburg University, Germany.

The Dean of FMIPA UI, Dede Djulana, said that this achievement is proof of the contribution of young UI researchers in international research, as well as showing the efforts of the faculty in developing science that is relevant to the needs of the community.

He assessed that the success of this study reflects the process of education and research at FMIPA UI which not only focuses on theoretical understanding, but also on real applications.

In his research, Deni developed a population-based pharmacokinetic method used for cancer therapy planning. This approach offers a higher level of accuracy than conventional methods that use only data per patient separately. The study has been published in a leading journal of nuclear medicine in the United States.

Dr. Deni explained that the use of population models allows the utilization of data from many patients simultaneously, so that the parameters analyzed become more diverse and the results of the model are more representative. Thus, therapy planning can be carried out more precisely.

This new approach also has the potential to reduce the number of patient visits to health facilities and reduce the cost and exposure of radiation. If previously patients needed to undergo three to five imaging sessions, the method developed would allow enough imaging.

The AOYIA award was given by the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine (JSNM) to young researchers who excel in the field of nuclear medicine. The award ceremony took place at the Kyoto International Exhibition Hall Miyako Messe on Thursday, November 13.

So far, many award recipients come from Korea and India, so Deni's achievements make him the first researcher from Southeast Asia to reach this highest level.

In the future, Deni conveyed plans to expand the application of the method in clinics and strengthen international cooperation to support further development.