EFLM LabX report
By Tamar Ramishvili, Georgia

I was honored to take part in the EFLM LabX program and for 2 weeks, from 16th to 30th October, I had the opportunity to visit the Institute of Medical Biochemistry And Laboratory Diagnostics – General University Hospital and the 1st Medical faculty of Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic). Prof. Tomáš Zima, the dean of the medical faculty and head of the laboratory, accepted me and offered a visit to the university laboratories to exchange knowledge in the following fields: Cytogenetics, Molecular Genetics, Prenatal and neonatal screening and inborn error diagnostics. My visit in laboratories was generously supervised by Dr. Ivan Šebesta.
As for me, I am a young doctor of laboratory medicine. For almost 11 years, I have been working in a local private medical laboratory named Mrcheveli as an assistant medical doctor of Genetics. The objectives of my Exchange programme were to observe all the phases of analysis, including pre- and postanalytics, to learn the different methods of diagnostics and bioinformatic analyses and according to the experience gained here, gradually help to establish the technology and knowledge development for the mentioned Laboratory disciplines in my home Laboratory. At present, samples for many tests from the above-mentioned disciplines are sent abroad, mainly to Germany, because there are no laboratories capable of doing such tests in Georgia and the Caucasus region.
The techniques I became familiar with the genetic and metabolic studies are the following: sample preparation, conventional Karyotyping, G and Q banding, QF-PCR, DNA and RNA isolation, PCR primer set up; Bioanalyzer for DNA quantification, Real time PCR for deletion / duplication analyses, Sanger sequencing, NGS technologies, Gel electrophoresis, Tandem mass spectrometry, 2D-LS/MS/MS technique, Bioinformatic tools, reporting and interpretation. I also had the opportunity to look at the daily work and practice, and colleagues from the host laboratories showed me around each segment of the lab, what I was interested in and asking for. I have to thank Prof. Tomáš Zima and to Dr. Ivan Šebesta for accepting me in their laboratories and for introducing me to the team who shared all their experience and knowledge with me.
I’d like to specially thank all my colleagues I met here during my visit: Dr. Romana Mihalová, Dr. Kotlas, Milena Hovhannisyan, Marta Černá, Prof. Springer, Marcela Kotasová, KarolínaPešková, Dr. Lenka Dvořáková, Šafaříková Markéta and all of their team were very kind and welcoming and built a very friendly and inclusive atmosphere at work and were always available for teaching.
Also, special thanks to the board of Georgian Laboratory Medicine Association (GLMA) and to president Prof. Tina Bukia (already honored president of GLMA), without their support, it would not have been possible to grasp this exchange.
Finally, I would like to thank Prof. Tomris Obzen (EFLM President), the EFLM Professional committee, to Prof. Evgenija Homsak, Snezana Jovicic, Apl. Prof. Dr. Klaus Peter Kohse and to the EFLM office, to Silvia Silvia Terragni and Silvia Cattaneo to select and give me the opportunity to receive one of the EFLM bursaries and for this memory of a lifetime! Hope, one day it will be available to host other lab professionals already in our home genetic laboratory in Georgia!

 

I was honored to take part in the EFLM LabX program and for 2 weeks, from 16th to 30th October, I had the opportunity to visit the Institute of Medical Biochemistry And Laboratory Diagnostics – General University Hospital and the 1st Medical faculty of Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic). Prof. Tomáš Zima, the dean of the medical faculty and head of the laboratory, accepted me and offered a visit to the university laboratories to exchange knowledge in the following fields: Cytogenetics, Molecular Genetics, Prenatal and neonatal screening and inborn error diagnostics. My visit in laboratories was generously supervised by Dr. Ivan Šebesta.

As for me, I am a young doctor of laboratory medicine. For almost 11 years, I have been working in a local private medical laboratory named Mrcheveli as an assistant medical doctor of Genetics. The objectives of my Exchange programme were to observe all the phases of analysis, including pre- and postanalytics, to learn the different methods of diagnostics and bioinformatic analyses and according to the experience gained here, gradually help to establish the technology and knowledge development for the mentioned Laboratory disciplines in my home Laboratory. At present, samples for many tests from the above-mentioned disciplines are sent abroad, mainly to Germany, because there are no laboratories capable of doing such tests in Georgia and the Caucasus region...