June 11, 2020

HSP Partner Helps Develop Mobile BSL-2 Lab For COVID-19 Testing In Indonesia

In Indonesia, HSP Partner Dr. Diah Iskandriati, IPB University, worked with a consortium of partners led by the Ministry of Research and Technology/National Research Agency (Kemristek/BRIN) to develop a mobile Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) lab to respond to health emergencies, such as COVID-19 around the country.

After President Joko Widodo launched a huge research and technology development initiative in response to the COVID-19 crisis, Dr. Diah worked with the team to design and establish the containerized BSL-2 laboratory that could conduct PCR testing for COVID-19 in the regions of Indonesia that did not have the lab infrastructure for testing. This lab can be shipped anywhere by land, air or sea, and allows Indonesia to reach underserved populations, while ensuring that proper biosafety and biosecurity standards are met.