8 – 10 July 2016 in Strasbourg (France) 5th European MD / PharmaD – PhD Conference 2016 took place organized by European MD/PhD Association (EMPA) and l“Association Médecine/Pharmacie Sciences (AMPS). Together with EMPA country representatives and board members, conference was attended by David Tvildiani Medical University graduate and PhD candidate – Aleksandra Nadiradze who was elected as member of EMPA executive board. MD/PhD students from different countries were participating in this event enhancing professional discussions and interest to MD/PhD programs. The following topics were discussed during conference: Perspective for early MD, PhD careers in Europe; Which medicine in future? Beyond fiction. Also different workshops were conducted:
• EMPA – Entertainment, Mutualism, Participation for All
• Tools and Methods for Good Bibliography – AMPS
• Building a Research Projects and writing grants, Prof. Jean-Marc Egly
• Big Data in Medicine – Yann Fleureau
• Biostatistics Tools for bench working – AMPS
• Writing of Science Article – Melissa MacCartney, PhD Project Director at AAAS,
• Biomedical Applications Development – Prof. Pierre-Antoine Gourraud.
During conference there was official presentation of EMPA, accordingly first EMPA General Assembly was held. During General Assembly Aleksandra Nadiradze presented preliminary results of: Analyzing PhDs’ Opinions about MD-PhD Programs in Georgia.
During conference short-term and long-term action plan of association was defined. Further steps of EMPA and MD/PhD programs development in Georgia were set:
• Foundation of Georgian MD/PhD organization gathering MD and PhD students and graduates.
• Georgian MD/PhD organization being official member and representative of EMPA in Georgia
• Election/nominating EMPA country representative for Georgia. Nowadays Tamar Ediberidze M.D – Neurologist (pediatric), PhD candidate is considered on this position.
• Plan and future collaboration and evens, including conducting EMPA2018 in Georgia (hosting organization DTMU)
• Plan joint studies and publications