The Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Sumatera Utara (FK USU), extends its congratulations and best wishes to Prof. dr. Putri Chairani Eyanoer, Ms.Epi., Ph.D., FISPH., FISCM., Sp.KKLP., Head of the Department of Community Medicine at FK USU, following her inauguration as a Full Professor at Universitas Sumatera Utara. The inauguration ceremony was held at the USU Student Center on Tuesday, August 4, 2026.
In her inaugural address, Prof. Putri presented a speech titled “Mainstreaming Tropical Medical Epidemiology in the Transformation of National Health Policy: From Pandemic Lessons to Indonesia’s Health Resilience.” The topic highlighted the importance of positioning tropical medical epidemiology as a strategic component of national health policymaking, particularly by drawing on lessons learned from the experience of responding to the pandemic.
Epidemiology plays a vital role not only in understanding patterns of disease transmission but also in providing an essential foundation for developing evidence-based health policies. Strengthening capacity in tropical medical epidemiology is increasingly relevant for Indonesia, which faces a range of infectious diseases, outbreak threats, and health challenges influenced by environmental factors and population mobility.
This perspective aligns with SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being, particularly efforts to build more resilient health systems and strengthen the capacity to prevent and respond to health threats. The use of epidemiological data and lessons learned from the pandemic can support more informed decision-making to protect public health.
Meanwhile, transforming health policy requires the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders, including higher education institutions, government agencies, healthcare professionals, researchers, and communities. This is closely linked to SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals, as national health resilience cannot be achieved by a single institution alone but requires cross-sector collaboration and knowledge exchange.
The inauguration of Prof. Putri Chairani Eyanoer marks an important milestone for FK USU in continuing to strengthen the development of community medicine and epidemiology while encouraging academic contributions that can be translated into impactful health policies and practices for society.
Through this achievement, FK USU hopes that Prof. Putri Chairani Eyanoer will continue to contribute to education, research, and community service while inspiring the academic community to advance knowledge and strengthen Indonesia’s health resilience.