The Eijkman Institute

The Eijkman Institute is the most prestigious and internationally acclaimed research institution ever established in Indonesia. From its foundation in 1888 as a Research Laboratory for Pathology and Bacteriology, the Institute has had a long and proud scientific tradition. Here, Christiaan Eijkman as its first Director, carried out most of his earl... y work which resulted in the great discovery of the relationship between vitamin B1 deficiency and beri-beri; in recognition of his fundamental work, upon which the modern concept of vitamin is based, Eijkman won a Nobel Prize in 1929. The research laboratory was subsequently designated the Central Medical Laboratory and later, at its 50 years commemoration, the Eijkman Institute. At its peak early last century, the Eijkman Institute became a famous world centre for tropical medicine, but was closed in the 1960s amid the economic hardship following the Indonesian struggle for independence.Read More