Erlina Burhan, Prof. DR., dr., MSc, Sp.P(K)

Prof. DR. dr. Erlina Burhan, Sp. P(K), MSc is one of the NSC members of the INA-RESPOND network.

She was born in Padang on May 15, 1966. She completed her general medical education (dr.) at Andalas University, Padang, in 1989, then continued her education at Sheidelberg University, Germany, and earned a master of science degree (M.Sc. ) in 1995. She obtained a pulmonary specialist (Sp.P) degree from Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, in 2004. Since she graduated as a pulmonary specialist, she has been a lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia (2005 until now). Her dedication as an educator led her to a consultant degree (Sp. P(K)) in the field of lung infections in 2010. Two years later, in 2012, she managed to get a Doctorate (DR) degree from Universitas Indonesia.

As a lecturer, Dr. Erlina is very famous and friendly. She is thrilled to share her knowledge and loves encouraging her students to be better doctors. She is also not reluctant to involve her students in scientific activities and introduces her students to famous people and experts in various sciences. She still serves as the head of Infection Division Department of Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia (DPRM-FMUI). Apart from being a lecturer, she is also actively involved in various research and has produced many scientific writings, both nationally and internationally.

She is also active in scientific activities and professional organizations. She has joined various organizations such as the Coalition of Professional Organizations (KOPI)-TB as head of professionals, has served as chairman of the TB Assembly on Asia-Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR) since 2017 until now, member of the Board Director of the International Union of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUTLD), and a member of the guideline development group of the World Health Organization (WHO), which is a council of international experts for the preparation of the WHO guidebook and together with ATS (American Thoracic Society) to make international standard guidelines for TB care (ISTC).

The COVID-19 pandemic is closely related to her expertise in pulmonary infection disease. She is very active in providing education and information to the public regarding the development of COVID-19 through various social media such as television, radio, etc. As an expert on COVID-19, she is one of the most frequently asked for opinions. She provides education to the public and is actively involved in providing views on government policies. She also conducts research on COVID-19, both clinical trials and non-trials. As an appreciation for her contribution in handling COVID-19, she received various awards. One of them, she got Tokoh Perubahan Republika 2020, which was given directly by the Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin.

As one of the network’s Steering Committee members and PIs, Dr. Erlina realizes that every doctor should be active in medical services, actively contribute to research, and produce valuable manuscripts for science. This message is consistently conveyed to all research assistants as she involves pre and post-internship doctors in conducting good clinical practice. She formed SATURATE forum (Respiratory & Tuberculosis Research & Training Centre), joined by more than 20 research assistants in RSUP Persahabatan to promote and facilitate research. Dr. Erlina hopes that INA-RESPOND will continue to support research in Indonesia and encourage doctors to involve and produce quality research that is beneficial for all.