The Cardiac Transplantation in the Heart of the
Mediterranean Sea initiative took place on 19 May 2021 at 18:00. The event was
held within the framework of TranStem project and Biomedical Forum 31
(2020 – 2021), organised by Medical University – Varna and
the Bulgarian Society for Cell Biology.
Guest lecturer was Dr. Sergio Sciacca,
Coordinator of the Heart Transplant and Ventricular Assist Devices Programs at
the Mediterranean Institute for Transplants and Advanced Therapies in Palermo,
Italy. He outlined the outcomes obtained for 15 years of development and
activities within the Heart Transplant Program at the Mediterranean Institute
for Transplants and Advanced Therapies.
"From the dawn of cardiac transplants
in the 60s of the last century, medical care for heart transplant patients has
been guided by the expertise of individual clinicians. Despite the great number
of achievements related to surgical techniques, diagnostic approaches and
immunosuppressive strategies, the survival rates after heart transplantation
have been limited due to cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) and the adverse
effects of immunosuppressive agents," explained Dr. Sergio Sciacca.
All undergaduate students, doctoral students and
lecturers at MU – Varna whose interests lay in the field of Cardiac
Surgery, Cardiac Transplants and Cardiology were invited to participate at the
event.
The event was held fully on-line
You can see the invitation for the event here
TranStem project is funded by the
European Commission within Horizon 2020 Program. The project aims to raise the
level of research studies in the field of stem cells at the University and in
the region to a world level. The project implements research developments
focused on both fundamental studies on stem cells and their clinical
application for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The Research Institute at
MU – Varna has established a research group of prominent scientists
in the field of translational stem cell biology, headed by Dr. Manlio
Vinciguerra, D.Sc.
Biomedical Forum is a series
of lectures in the field of continuing medical education, which are held within
the relevant academic semester. It is initiated by Prof. Georgi Chaldakov,
former lecturer at MU – Varna and the present Chairman of the
Bulgarian Society for Cell Biology. For almost 25 years now the guest
lecturers of Biomedical Forum have enriched the knowledge and skills of medical
students at MU - Varna.
