Dr. Zisis Kozlakidis, Head of Laboratory Support, Biobanking, and Services at the IARC – International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, hosted a workshop in Lyon, France, as part of the Twinning for the Armenian Research Infrastructure on Cancer Research (ARICE) project.
Zisis Kozlakidis is the Head of Laboratory Services and Biobanking at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization (IARC/WHO). He is responsible for one of the largest and most varied international collections of clinical samples in the world, focusing on gene–environment interactions and disease-based collections. This WHO infrastructure supports multinational efforts in making treatments possible and delivering those to resource-restricted settings.
The workshop was held on 15–17 May, with participants from Yerevan State Medical University (Armenia), represented by Tamara Sargsyan, Head of the Department of Medical Genetics of YSMU, Head of the Center for Medical Genetics and Primary Health Care, Doctor of Biological Sciences, leading expert of the EU ARICE program; Davit Babikyan, First Deputy Director of the Center for Medical Genetics and Primary Healthcare, Associate Professor of YSMU Department of Medical Genetics, Aline Ayvazian, Assistant Professor of YSMU Department of Medical Genetics, Head of the Laboratory of Medical Genetics, as well as Charles University (Czechia), and Medical University of Graz (Austria).
Presentation of the Nutrition and Metabolism branch, visit to pathology laboratory, presentation on the WHO classification of tumors series, visit to the Centre Leon Berard cancer hospital, as well as presentations about biobanking were included on the agenda of the workshop.
The goal of the ARICE project is to significantly increase the scientific and technological capacity of Yerevan State Medical University, with a focus on developing infrastructure for clinical genetic research and in particular on targeting the collection, governance, and use of biological material, and the data integration for downstream analyses.
Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi won the “Armenian Research Infrastructure on Cancer Research” – ARICE program in 2020.
Thanks to the effective implementation of the ARICE program, YSMU will become the leader in the field of cancer genetic research in Armenia.