From September 15 to September 24, 2023, TMA hosted an international expert, Professor Mladen Krajacic. During the two-day training, the microbiology expert presented the following topics to the students and academic staff of the Academy: Viruses – much more than disease agents and Bacteria – much more than disease agents.

During the meeting, the speaker talked about viruses and bacteria such as natural cohabitants of the human body, of which some are not just harmless bystanders, but contribute significantly to our well-being and normal biological functioning.  Also, the speaker reviewed how we can use viruses, bacteria, and their structural elements and enzymes as cellular/molecular tools in biotechnology and molecular medicine. 

Mladen Krajacic is a Tenured Full Professor at the University of Zagreb (Department of Biology). As a Head of the Laboratory and principal investigator in several research projects, he has been leading molecular biology investigations on viruses, subviral agents (viroids and satellite RNAs), and non-cultivable bacteria. The results of his investigations have been published in prominent scientific journals, of which some belong to the top 10% in the field. 

In 2010 he founded the Division of Microbiology in the scope of the Department of Biology. He was a member of the University Council for Natural Sciences, as well as the Biology Board at the National Scientific Council.

He has long-lasting experience in the evaluation of academic/research institutions, study programs, and research grants, serving as an evaluator on both national and international levels.

 

How different are the images of the environment our brains create? TMA students from the Science Club and the Dandy Club showcased presentations and poster presentations on unusual mental conditions and phenomena, providing some insights into how the brain creates the image and perception of the world.

After the presentations, the audience has the opportunity to participates in games, quizzes, demonstrations of visual illusions, facial recognition challenge and other activities. Challenge winners received books written by authors with Savant syndrome and synesthesia.

The students of the Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy participated in the International Student Congress Of (bio)Medical Sciences – ISCOMS 2023. They presented data of the realized research projects in the form of: - Poster “The peculiarities of humoral and cellular immune response after SARS-CoV-2 infection” – Elene Lipartia and Suliko Gogichashvili - Poster “Nanoparticles as a viable method for increasing the sensitivity of ELISA in the detection of IgG class antibodies” – David Marjanidze - Oral presentation “The role of SARS-CoV-2 and the development of Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases (ARDs)” – Tanuja Subhash Bakshi, Elene Lipartia, Elene Liluashvili, Pragya Sharma. The ISCOMS is one of the world’s leading student congresses in (bio)medical sciences. It is not just any regular congress, this is a non-profit organization made up of students that aims to promote student research and the international exchange of it.

The 15th European Digestive Surgery International Conference (European Digestive Surgery 2023), with academic partnership of the Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medicial Academy and organized by Ilia State University (ISU), was held on April 20-22. The conference program included traditional challenges and modern achievements in digestive medicine as well as in other related fields – oncology, gastroenterology, radiology, transplantology and etc., which were presented by more than 30 high-profile speakers from Europe and other parts of the world. The conference has been accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME) with up to 13 European CME credits.

Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy (TMA) held an International Students Symposium "Medicine and Science 2022" on December 7 within the framework of the 30th anniversary week. The event aimed to promote student research and scientific cooperation. It was attended by the students of universities of Georgia (Ilia State University, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University - TSU, Tbilisi State Medical University - TSMU, TMA), Hungary (University of Pecs), Poland (Medical University of Lodz) and Ukraine (Tirnopil National Medical University, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev, Paladin Institute of Biochemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine). The members of the scientific committee of the event were professors: Andreas Kaufmann (Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany), Mladen Krajcic (University of Zagreb, Croatia), Osvaldas Ruksenas (University of Vilnius, Lithuania).

The scientific committee nominated the following teams in the category of best presentations:

• Mariam Kevkhishvili and Konstantine Gachechiladze (TMA) - from exclusion to avoidance;

• Gyorgy Bokerya (TSU) - Aortic valve neocuspidization with glutaraldehyde-treated autologous pericardium (Ozaki procedure) in Georgia.

The members of organizing committee of the International Students Symposium "Medicine and Science 2022" were TSA students, they also nominated their favorites:

• Tamar Dandurishvili - Amygdala and hippocampal subregions mediate outcomes following trauma during typical development

• Diana Mamuladze - Pros and cons of alternative medicine.

Contract cheating isn’t just about education, it’s about society and the credibility and trust in academic qualifications. On October 20th, within the frames of the event “Time for action: the challenge of contract cheating”, Ekaterina Kldiashvili shared an experience of the Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy with upholding academic integrity in conversation with Jason Gibson (Senior Professional and Educational Services Consultant, Turnitin).


#Time for action: the challenge of contract cheating
#Turnitin
#Jason Gibson
#Ilia State University

At October 19^th the training “Academic integrity as a component of social responsibility” was held at Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy. The event has been performed by Jason Gibson (Senior Professional and Educational Services Consultant, Turnitin). He presented the software Turnitin and reviewed the following themes:

• What is academic integrity and why it is so important
• What can we do to improve levels of integrity and how does Turnitin help.

Specific focus was given for review and understanding of document metadata and authorship report interpretation.

The training “Academic honesty as a component of social responsibility” was held within the framework of the World Bioethics Day 2022, which is dedicated to the theme “Social responsibility for health”. 

On June 21-22 Debate and Science Clubs held a joint project - students’ poster conference “Oral contraceptives and Cancer”. Participant students presented thematic, actual research studies in the form of posters. The attendees of the event had an opportunity not only to familiarize themselves with the provided information, but also ask the questions to the posters authors.

With participation and support of Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy (TMA) the 3rd International Transcaucasus Congress on Dermatology and Aesthetic Medicine – ITC2022, was held on June 16-18, 2022. In the frames of the event, on June 16 TMA hosted a dermatosurgery course. Furthermore, the Petre Shotadze grant has been awarded to congress participant young researcher that has been nominated as the author of the best research.

The 3rd International Transcaucasus Congress on Dermatology and Aesthetic Medicine – ITC2022 was supported by Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia (grant number MG-ISE-22-125). The event was accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME®).

For additional information about the 3rd International Transcaucasus Congress on Dermatology and Aesthetic Medicine – ITC2022 please refer the official web-site - https://itc2022.photoderm.org/

The online lecture "Community-Base Participatory Research: An Approach for Public Health" has been held on May 23, 2022 in the frames of joint activities of the Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy (Georgia) and Medical University Sofia (Bulgaria).

The lecture was given by Professor Rebecca Singer from University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing (USA). Professor Singer is  Fulbright Fellow and visiting professor in Medical University Sofia. 

Synopsis of the lecture:

Public health problems are complex, and we are continually seeking out creative, evidence-based, and acceptable solutions that include bio-medical, social and political dimensions. Practitioners and researchers recognize the importance of participatory research approaches that include the communities experiencing challenges as a way to build our knowledge and skills so that together we will have a clearer understanding of the problems that we face. We will then leverage these relationships to help us address these challenges collectively. The talk were focused on community-based participatory research as an effective approach to addressing public health challenges faced by our communities. The history of the approach, core principles and challenges were explored with highlighting public health research in Bulgaria, Georgia and the United States to demonstrate its potential.

On September 24 the scientific conference “Medicine and Art 2022” was held within the framework of the project “Medicine – the story presented by art”. The event participants presented examples of medicine and art integration, formulated the slogan and the concept of the project continuation during the make-a-thon.
Project “Medicine – the story presented by art” has been funded by the LEPL Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia within the targeted calls for proposals of science popularization.

On May 6^th, 2022 by organization of Science Club of Tbilisi Medical Academy there were performed hybrid symposium “Personalized Medicine”. In the frames of the event the students of Tbilisi Medical Academy and Ataturk University presented the following themes:

• The advantages of personalized practices (Bhumika Choudhary, TMA)
• Avatar mouse models and personalized medicine (Tamar Dandurishvili, TMA)
• OMICS sciences providing data for personalized medicine (Sohaib Kmail, TMA)
• Potential biomarkers associated with suicide and major depressive disorder (Yigit Arslan, Ataturk University)
• Nutrigenomics (Tony Varghese & Shahina Habeebulla, TMA)
• Towards population-specific pharmacogenomics in the era of next-generation sequencing (Sumeyye Ilgi, Ataturk University)
• Role of cytochrome p450 in personalized drug therapy (Saba Bagdavadze, TMA).

On April 27, 2022 Dea Goderdzishvili, Medical Education and Research Specialist of Tbilisi Medical Academy made an oral presentation “Body Interact as a Tool for Clinical Reasoning Development” at Body Interact Global Network online event. The presentation aimed sharing of data of Body Interact simulation platform pilot application at Tbilisi Medical Academy. Dea especially focused on evaluation of simulation platform possibilities from student and medical educator perspectives.

In the frames of Tbilisi Medical Academy project “Medicine – the story presented by art” on April 19-20 there were organized seasonal school “Medicine and Art 2022”. Within this event the interactive meetings were performed to the participants for the aim to present the microbiology, histology, anatomy, cell biology correlations with art. Participants were able to perform simple experiments in the laboratory and practice the possibilities of simulation learning.
The participants of the seasonal school together with academic staff of Tbilisi Medical Academy the participants of the seasonal school were hosted by students: Tamar Dandurishvili, Lizi Mokvanidze, Mariam Jorbenadze, Ia Barabadze, Mariam Berdzenishvili, and Saba Chiqobava.
Project “Medicine – the story presented by art” is funded by Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia.

On April 10, 2022, the staff member of Scientific-Research and PhD Department of Tbilisi Medical Academy - Saba Iordanishvili. gave oral presentation ´´Rs2232365 polymorphism of FOXP3 gene as a risk factor of cervical cancer development´´ at the international multidisciplinary congress EUROGIN in the frames of twining project ´´The Role of HPV Cancer in Georgia´´. The twining project is funded by German Ministry of Education and Research and is realised in collaboration with Charité Universitätsmedizin.

Within the frames of the campaign #ICAREABOUTYOU the Tbilisi Medical Academy in collaboration with the National Screening Center conducted a webinar “The Personalized Aspects of Breast Cancer”. The event aimed to provide the general practitioners the scientific evidence on genetical aspects of breast cancer and their importance in the process of this disease management.

Within the frames of World Bioethics Day, TMA students (Aleksandre Saghliani, Ana Turnava, Ankith Kavintarikath, Ajinkya Naresh Gaikwad, Tamar Dandurishvili, Nino Gagua, Rishu G. Shah, Salome Mumladze, Ginu Joseph) organized a hybrid meeting, to discuss ethical issues related to compulsory vaccination, along with the bioethical analysis of the movie “Contagion”. The audience had the opportunity to engage in discussion and express their opinion via live online polls. #WorldBioethicsDay2021 #SRNSFG

Within the frames of the campaign #ICAREABOUTYOU, the Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy conducted a webinar "Actual Tasks of COVID-19". The event aimed to provide healthcare professionals with the latest scientific evidence concerning the mentioned disease, with special emphasis on issues related to effective implementation of COVID-19 vaccination, and communication with patients.

On September 25, 2021 at online conference “Science popularization – successful events” there was presented the Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy’s (TMA) project “Medicine and Art”. The online conference has been organized as associated event of 2021 European Researcher’s Night, which is the part of the Marie Curie Sklodowska Actions of the EU Research and Innovation Framework Programme “Horizon 2020”.

The mentioned project was designed for high school pupils (IX, X, XII) and aimed to provide them the information about medicine and art in a funny, illustrative and integrative manner. In the frames of the project the lectures and seminars were organized for the target group. Furthermore, the participants had the opportunity to independently perform simple experiments in TMA’s laboratory. On November 28th, 2020 in the frames of the project the conference has been held. During this event the project participants made presentations illustrating the integration of medicine and art.

The project “Medicine and Art” of the Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy has been funded by the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia in the frames of the science popularization target call for proposals 2019. The mentioned project has been realized under the scientific guidance and leadership of the TMA affiliated associated professor, Dr. Gela Beselia.

The webinar "COVID-19 vaccination - myths and facts" has been organized by the Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy (TMA) on September 3, 2021 in the frames of the campaign "#მევზრუნავშენზე". The even aimed to provide the information to the society about the importance and safety of COVID-19 vaccination.

The speakers of the event were TMA graduates (Vika Gotiashvili, Nino Gogichaishvili, Davit Gogilashvili) and students (Tatia Tsnobiladze, Aisel Mirzoeva, Gvantsa Zamtaradze, Demetre Labadze and Alexander Sagliani).

On August 27-30, 2021, Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy (TMA) participated in a virtual conference organized by the International Association for Medical Education (AMEE). TMA presentation was made by Tsisana Lomashvili, Head of MD Programs. She presented on the topic of “Impact of Preclinical Flipped Classroom on Critical Thinking, Group working and Independent Learning Abilities from Students’ Perspective”. Co-authors: Tsisana Lomashvili, MD, Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy (TMA), Ia Khakhutaishvili, MD, PhD, (TMA); Tinatin Chikovani, MD, PhD, Tbilisi State Medical University (TSMU), Leila Akhvlediani, MD, PhD, BAU International University Batumi (BAU), Levan Metreveli, MD, PhD, (BAU). The research shared by Tsisana Lomashvili was conducted within the scope of the RESME course training at the AMEE International Networking Center (Tbilisi), led by Professor David Tailor. Three Georgian institutions collaborated in the study: Tbilisi Medical Academy (TMA), Tbilisi State Medical University (TSMU) and International University Batumi (BAU). TMA joined the AMEE International Conference in 2016 with the status of an attendee, whereas in 2017 it already presented a poster-presentation on the introduction of an Objective Structured Practical Exam (OSPE) in the curriculum. The Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) is a worldwide organization with members in 90 countries on five continents. The AMEE conference is the leading annual event for all stakeholders in medical and healthcare education. The 2021 AMEE Conference was attended by experts in the field of medical education and healthcare, who shared their experiences through plenary sessions, symposia, seminars and workshops.

Tbilisi Medical Academy hosted an international online conference about Planetary Health. Conference was hosted with the initiation of TMA students and the support of Tbilisi Medical Academy. By studying Planetary Health topics, students improve their communication, collaboration, leadership skills. They become acquainted with interdisciplinary approaches and learn how to integrate medicine and environmental health, in order to provide high-quality care to their patients, as well as become Planetary Health activists and advocates at both local and global levels.
The conference was attended by guest speakers from different countries such as:

• Dr. Nicole de Paula - the founder of the Women Leaders for Planetary Health and co-founder of an interdisciplinary research group on Planetary Health at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil;
• Ms. Melvine Anyango Otieno - 2019 Planetary health Campus Ambassador turned to PHA next-generation fellow, currently pursuing MSc in Environmental Health at University of Eldoret, Kenya;
• Ms. Andisheh Jahangir - currently working with Relief International, an International Humanitarian NGO, as a health officer in Iran.
• Ms. Mila Plaisant – VI semester student of Hochschule Furtwangen University -Physiotherapy, who has been working with Environmental Physiotherapy Association, Health for Future (Germany);
• Mr. Felix Bittner – Coordinator of the “Health for Future” movement in Germany.

Besides the representatives of Tbilisi Medical Academy, the conference was attended by International and Georgian students. Participants discussed the clinical correlation between environment and human health, specifically how environmental pollution harms human health.

On July 7th, 2020 Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy Professor, Ekaterina Kldiashvili, participated in online webinar “Practical and Clinical Considerations for Telepathology” by the presentation “Telepathology in Georgia – Background, Realities and Perspectives”. This was a review of eHealth and Telepathology focused projects those were performed under the scientific leadership and supervision of Ekaterina.

Planetary health, an interdisciplinary field encompassing medicine, public health, social sciences, environmental science, etc., is focused on examining the consequences of man-made disruptions to our ecosystem which consequently affect human health. During her talk, alongside discussing a variety of themes illustrating challenges in this emerging field, Mariam (Maka) Maglakelidze, the Dean of the School of Medicine of TMA, highlighted COVID-19 Pandemic as a quintessential planetary health problem, reflecting the rupture of the human relationship with the natural world and will accentuate solutions needed to overcome environmental threats and to protect human health and planet we are living on.

On behalf of the UNESCO Bioethics Committee of the Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy Dean of School of Medicine and the member of the mentioned Committee, Dr. Mariam (Maka) Maglakelidze, on November 18th, 2020, organized the webinar "Public health relevance of air pollution and COVID-19 pandemic". Public health relevance of air pollution is not a questionable issue any more; it is the leading environmental cause of death in the EU, and a critical risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs): Up to 1/3 of deaths from the leading NCDs (stroke, lung cancer, heart attacks and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) are due to air pollution. COVID-19 pandemic provided a new context for examining the public health implications of air pollution, which had been challenging for researchers and policy-makers to understand. Health risks of air pollution are small on an individual scale, but involuntarily affect everyone, and are increased with the prolonged exposure, thus becoming more significant on a public health scale. It makes this health risk factor important to be examined from a bioethical point of view.

In May, 2020 Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy Associated Professor, Gela Beselia, participated in international online conference "Dementia, Alzheimers and Neurological Disorders" by an oral presentation "Modulation of spatial memory and neurotransmitter markers in the prefrontal cortex by cholinergic and GABAergic neurons of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis". This was a presentation of the portion of results of the scientific-research project which has been performed under the scientific leadership of Dr. Beselia and by participation of TMA students. The project has been conducted in the frames of Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy Funding Program for Development and Support of Scientific Research Projects and in collaboration with the Ivane Beritashvili Center of Experimental Biomedicine. More about International online conference
https://dementia.psychiatryconferences.com/

European Researchers’ Night is the festival of science and innovation, which is held with the participation of EU Member States and “Horizon 2020” associated countries since 2005.

In 2020 Georgia first time participated in the international celebration ceremony of the European Researchers’ Night with the project “Captain: Science is the Captain”. This project has been funded under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions of the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation “Horizon 2020”. The goal of the project was to popularize science and to attract the young generation to scientific research activities.

The Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy (TMA) actively participated in this project. TMA scientific-research activities were presented at the virtual science fair (http://www.captain2020.ge/market), organized by the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia within the framework of the project “Captain: Science is the Captain” and on November 28th, the online conference was held in the frames of the TMA’s project “Medicine and Art”.

Tbilisi Medical Academy hosted an international student conference “Improving the clinical thinking to improve patient safety”, where almost all Georgian medical universities were represented. Georgian and foreign students presented diverse and interesting topics. During the conference students had opportunity to attend keynote lectures of leading experts in the field and participated in workshops, which had an exceptional interest and feedback from the students. At the end of the conference best oral and poster presentation were identified. Winners were awarded with certificate and will have an opportunity to undergo practical fellowship at TMA laboratory or in affiliated hospitals. We would like to thank the organizational committee for organizing the conference of high level, each member of the judge team for their objective assessment and all the participants for interesting presentation and their participation.

Day One
Day Two

Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy strives to facilitate development and enhancement of scientific potential among TMA students. Hence, during 2017, in the frames of TMA Scientific-Research Grant programme, was funded a project, which was designed and implemented by Youth Scientific Union of Georgia (YSU) and involved active participation of TMA students. The project aimed to assess among laboratory mice circulating corticosterone and growth dynamics of Erlich carcinoma under stress conditions.
With active support from TMA, were organized trainings for project-involved young scientists, regarding planning and maintenance of experimental studies. Should be also noted, that an important part of the project was carried out on the TMA-based laboratory, under active supervision and contribution of TMA Department of Objectively Structured Examinations and Clinical Skills.
It is noteworthy, that on different levels of implementation, project involved participants from Ivane Beritashvili Experimental Biomedicine Centre, National Centre for Disease Control. (NCDC) Tbilisi State Medical University (TSMU), Lugar Center Tbilisi, Immunology Laboratory of Agrarian University of Georgia, Non-Governmental Organization – “Association of Laboratory Animal Science” and Students’ Scientific-Research Club “Vitalis”.
Intermediate results of the study were introduced to scientific audience at Ivane Beritashvili Experimental Medicine Centre, in October 2017 on “Young Scientists’ and Students’ Scientific Conference”. The conference was organized in frames of annual Science and Innovations Fair of Georgia.
Currently, final results of the study are being processed and summarized. Final results of the study are expected to be delivered in terms of a scientific article.
TMA encourages students’ involvement in scientific-research activities, expresses gratitude towards project-involved students for their active and valuable contribution and intends to support further scientific-research projects and events.   

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On December 17, 2016 “Medi Club Georgia” hosted Student’s Scientific Conference, dedicated to the problems and current issues of Antibiotic Resistance.
The Conference was organized and conducted by the Department of Scientific Research and Development of TMA.
During the project, students had opportunities to work side by side with  professors of TMA in various affiliated clinics on interesting projects and involve themselves fully in process of scientific research.
Alongside TMA students, scientific reports were delivered by representatives David Tvildiani Medical University (DTMU), Tbilisi State Medical University (TSMU), Caucasus International University (CIU), Iakob Gogebashvili Telavi State University (IGTSU) and Shota Rustaveli Batumi State University.

The participants of conference were awarded with certificates.

Administration of TMA wishes to thank Administration of “Medi Club Georgia” as well as students and participating institutions for taking part in scientific activities.

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On June 4, 2016 Tbilisi Medical Academy hosted XVIII Annual Student Scientific Conference, in frames of which were delivered 21 presentations. This year, together with Georgian and International Students of Tbilisi Medical Academy, participants of the conference were presented from Tbilisi State Medical University and David Tvildiani Medical University – “AIETI.”

The Conference was conducted in a friendly and fair environment. Authors of best presentations were awarded with encouraging Prizes and Memorabilia.

From November 2015 to April 2016, Fridon Todua Research Institute of Clinical Medicine hosted IV year students of TMA International Faculty, Dumpati Tirupathi and Alsaeiaf Mohammad Ridha Imadi Mashhad, who conducted retrospective student researches on “Advantages of Palliative Radiotherapy” and “Acute Skin Toxicity in Radiotherapy”. The projects were supervised by Head of Radioactive Oncology Department, Dr. Irakli Zumbadze.   The results, obtained during study, were presented by students on IV International Congress of Radiologists, at Hotel “Radisson Blue Iveria”, organized by Association of Georgian Radiologists and Research Institute of Clinical Medicine on May 7-8, 2016. The presentations evoke interest of attending scientific society and deserved wide interest. TMA administration would express gratitude towards scientists and managements of Association of Georgian Radiologists and Research Institute of Clinical Medicine and congratulate students with this success.

From January 2016 until present, in the frames of Tuberculosis Management State Program, National Centre of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases is conducting an epidemiologic research, dedicated to „Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Treatment in Georgia“ and Risk Factors of Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. TMA students, Nino Dzagania (Geo) and Mahmood Mohammed Saberuddin Mahmood (Irq). The project is led by Head of Scientific-Medical Department, Prof. Nestan Tukvadze and Associated Professor of TMA, Maka Zarnadze. The program aims to stop and eliminate problem of drug resistant tuberculosis in Georgia. Administration of TMA is encouraging student’s involvement in fight against global health problem and expresses gratitude to the Management and Scientists of National Centre of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases.     For additional information, please follow the link