Photo: Tbilisi State University

Public lecture by Prof. David Prangishvili to mark the Science and Innovation Day in Georgia 

The Science and Innovations Day was marked by FAO Country Office in Georgia in collaboration with the World Health Organization Country Office on 3 October 2023.

The event was featured by a public lecture by Professor David Prangishvili about importance of bacteriophages to ensure One Health. The lecture was followed by a panel discussion with participation of renowned Georgian scientists and experts in the area of microbiology, public and animal health.

With this event Georgia joined the Science and Innovation Week organized by FAO Regional Office in Europe and Central Asia. The event was hosted by Tbilisi State University and supported by Environmental Information and Education Centre (EIEC) under the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, and the Georgian Association for General and Applied Microbiology.  

The Chairperson of the Agrarian Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Georgia and the Ambassador of France to Georgia were among the honorary guests of the event. The lecture attracted high interest among scientists and students of various departments, who took active part in the discussions.

Honorary professor of the Paris Pasteur Institute, guest professor of the Ivane Javakhisvhili Tbilisi State University, president of the Georgian Association for General and Applied Microbiology, professor David Prangishvili shed light on the latest breakthroughs, challenges, and transformative potential of bacteriophages that may play innovative role in achieving the One Health objectives. The lecture was followed by a panel discussion with participation of renowned Georgian scientists and experts in the area of microbiology, public and animal health. The panellists reflected on the practical dimensions of using bacteriophages and its role for ensuring the sustainability of food systems and achieving One Health.

Practical use of innovations in science play important role for achieving the One Health objectives, bringing the human, animal and plant health into one dimension. With the support of the EU, FAO in Georgia supports the production of veterinarian bacteriophages in Georgia that tackle the problem of antimicrobial resistance in animals. As bacteriophages become more popular in the world, Georgia’s unique scientific experience in this field gains further attention. The research of the bacteriophages in Georgia counts 100 years when the George Eliava Institute of Bacteriophages, Microbiology and Virology was founded.  

“In 2022, FAO adopted the strategy to advance science and innovations in our work to accelerate meeting the sustainable development goals”, said Mamuka Meskhi, Assistant FAO Representative in Georgia. He added: “I hope that this event will help us in raising public awareness about importance of promoting scientific innovations and sharing information about new technologies to the wider audience. Shedding light on the bacteriophages from new perspective aims at igniting interest among students and future scientists to accelerate the progress.“

„Today’s lecture touched upon the topic that is gaining more and more attention; for example, it was named among the top 10 most promising future technologies at the World Economic Forum this year: we talked about importance of the artificially modified bacteriophages to protect the health of humans, plants and animals. Georgian microbiologists in the Giorgi Eliava Institute of Bacteriophages have significant experience in this area and they closely collaborate with the colleagues globally to enhance ways of practical use of applying bacteriophages sustainable ecosystems and health,“ said Professor David Prangishvili.