DENPASAR ~ Udayana University became the first seat of higher learning in the world this week to offer a Masters Degree in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine, a cutting-edge field of medicine that largely focuses on preventative care, officials said.

At a ceremony here on Wednesday, Bali’s top university appointed two leading physicians to oversee the two-year, government-approved program at its School of Medicine.

Dr. Robert Goldman, chairman of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, was appointed visiting professor, while Dr. Michael Klentze, general secretary of European Society for Preventive, Regenerative, and Anti-Aging Medicine, was selected as visiting associate professor of anti-aging medicine.

“This is the first such program ever launched in the world,” said a statement from the university.

Officials said the degree program – the result of three years’ work – signified a “giant step forward” in rapidly advancing anti-aging, which in recent years has seen a number of clinics open in Bali.

Dr. Ronald Klatz, president of the American Academy of Anti-Aging and together with Dr. Goldman, who is also chairman of the World Anti-Aging Academy of Medicine, is credited with bringing anti-aging to the fore, applauded the university’s Dean Professor Dewa Putu Wijana, Rector Professor I Made Bakta and program chair Professor Dr Wimpie Pangkahila for establishing the masters degree, saying it “heralded a new era” for the discipline.

Anti-aging adopts a whole-body approach to medical care and not only seeks to address potential problems before they arise but also works – using a combination of healthy living practices and therapies – to roll back the years and make patients more youthful and boost the quality of their lives.