Poster Discovery Conference 2023

On December 5th the Poster Discovery Conference 2023 was held by the American MD Program at Tbilisi State Medical University. Poster Discovery Conference is an annual public communication of the original research conceived and carried out by the 6th-year American MD Program students in the framework of Discovery Phase course (coordinator - Associate Professor Nona Janikashvili, PhD). The research findings are presented as posters and short talks. Importantly, younger students also benefit from the interaction and experience sharing from senior peers, faculty and clinicians involved in the research processes.

With medical and educational society, the conference was attended by the Assistant Dean of Emory University School of Medicine, Professor Gordon Churchward and the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, Mr. Nodar Papukashvili. Mr. Papukashvili addressed the audience and marked that the program is the best example of quality medical education: “Tbilisi State Medical University, with its hundred-year history, does the work that the Ministry of Education and Science supports in terms of internationalization development, not only for Georgia but for the entire region. The American MD Program is the best and most successful example of how to provide quality medical education for students. Today we got acquainted with very important researches that were carried out within the framework of this program. Such projects will always have huge support from the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia”.

The students of the American MD Program presented fifteen posters and short talks:

• Association of Sleep Problems with Dialysis Shift in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis in Tbilisi, Georgia (HDSleep) – N Hariharan, A Mateshvili, N Mathew, AM Sebastian;

• Knowledge and attitude towards maternal milk banking (MMB) in reproductive aged women living in Georgia (MamiBank) – N Vashakidze, G Jachvadze, KR Salian, A Uilah;

• Assessing the Extent and Predictors of Fibrosis Reversal Following HCV Treatment in the Georgian Population (Fibroverse) – E Pestvenidze, G Pkhakadze, K Menabde, R Pooja;

• MTHFD1 & MTRR Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms and their Association with Migraine & Subclinical Hypothyroidism in the Georgian Population (GeneMorph) – L Chadalawada, N Hussain, S Koola;

• Public awareness of Colorectal Cancer and its screening program among adults attending primary care in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia: A Cross-Sectional study (ColoQuest) – M Rochikashvili, KS Nair, D Perera;

• Awareness of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) use among Georgian population: a cross-sectional study (GeoNSAID) – L Chkhikvadze, A Omrakash, SM Aamil;

• Comparative Analysis of Pain Characteristics in Women With and Without Endometriosis (EMpower) – L Oren, TL Varghese, G Mkheidze;

• The influence of pets on the mental health of university students (MedPets) – Y Sharma, M Silva, DK Kamath, Z Arif;

• Unveiling Hidden Metastases: Evaluating FDG PET/CT’s Superiority in Detecting Overlooked Lesions in Primary Cancer Patients in Georgia (PET-SEARCH) – N Kurtanidze, S Kaldani, F Zahara, T Ioseliani;

• A Comparative Analysis of the Accuracy of Cardiac Surgery Risk Scores in Tricuspid Valve Procedures (OPTIMATS) – YS Kumar, N Zaheer, D Gelashvili;

• Comparing clinical diagnosis made by chatGPT4 to that of physicians (DrGPT) – N Gvajaia, L Kuchava, L Alavidze, S Pratibha

• Echocardiographic manifestations associated with interdialytic weight gain in the hemodialysis patients of Georgia (EchoDial) – R Parab, B Schmidt, J Rose, S Jayade

• Is low vitamin D level associated with negative depressive symptoms? A prospective cohort study (SunSAD) - N Kvinikadze, M Tkeshelashvili, MC John, NN Geetha;

• Association of Anemia with Parathyroid Hormone Levels in Patients with Kidney Failure Undergoing Hemodialysis treatment in Georgia (Para-lysis) – E Shavgulidze, G Jachvadze, A Baig, K Mennambath;

• Knowledge and Attitude towards blood donation in Georgia (BloodGE) - E Chikobava, E Mikeladze, A Begum.

The students’ projects were evaluated by the doctors and professors. To the end of the conference the best Poster and Short Talk authors were named and awarded:

Poster - Echocardiographic manifestations associated with interdialytic weight gain in the hemodialysis patients of Georgia (EchoDial) – R Parab, B Schmidt, J Rose, S Jayade

Short Talk – Association of Anemia with Parathyroid Hormone Levels in Patients with Kidney Failure Undergoing Hemodialysis treatment in Georgia (Para-lysis) – E Shavgulidze, G Jachvadze, A Baig, K Mennambath

As the Director of the American MD Program, Associate Professor Eka Ekaladze said, Poster Discovery Conference of the American MD Program is not only a part of the curriculum and discovery phase module but it also presents the vision of the American MD Program with incorporating medical research skills into the curriculum for providing a well-rounded education, producing healthcare professionals who are not only adept at clinical practice but are also equipped to contribute to the advancement of medical science and patient care.