A symposium devoted to cooperation in research and education between scientists took place in the Russian Cultural Centre in Washington.
A round-table discussion on "Translational medicine" at the Russian cultural centre in Washington was hosted by Russian-speaking Academic Science Association, RASA, and its division in the U.S. – the Association of Russian-speaking scientists in America. It was the most appropriate place to discuss concrete ways of cooperation. The Association members are professionals who have achieved success in science in the West, while preserving the Russian language and culture. They are ready to assist Russia and not only from afar.
In his speech Andrey Kiyasov, the Director of the Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology of KFU, proved the importance of joint laboratory establishment. "Representatives of four Russian universities from “the 5-100 project”, as well as representatives of RASA biomedical department participated in the round table. Programs of translational medicine development in each individual University were presented; then experts gave their opinions about them. The most important event ended with defining the two points of translational medicine development – Kazan and Tomsk," the scientist said.
Right away a number of scientists demonstrated their eagerness to start cooperation with KFU, become experts and develop translational medicine in Kazan together with us. Those were Igor Efimov (bioengineering), Lyubov Vartikovskaya (oncology) and Sergey Kozlov (genetics and stem cells). Rustem Litvinov was appointed the fourth expert.
KFU is actively working now to promote the four priority areas – advanced materials, petrochemistry, IT and medicine. Together they create a dense synergetic flow. In particular, there is a research work conducted in cooperation with such scientists as Richard Pestell and Yoshihide Hayashizaki.
The round table participants estimated its results as positive. They managed to reach a consensus on many issues and, what's the most important, to make sure that Kazan Federal University was moving in the right direction. Our compatriots that work abroad now are ready to establish and maintain sustainable scientific ties.
The participant Rustem Litvinov spoke about the meeting with the members of RASA: "These are professional high-level scientists who attained success in the USA; they are smart and highly educated. It became evident at once, from their presentations. After returning back I checked service records and looked through publications – there were no accidental people there. What I believed at once and liked about them was that they were driven by pure and selfless idea to help the Russian science. They want it to be a strong and equitable part of the world's scientific and educational space. It is consonant with my own ideas, and I was happy to see that there were a lot of such people in the USA. I want to join this organization in the nearest future. It is an honor to be a member of such a brilliant company of associates".