Janikashvili Nona

I received a PhD degree in Immunology in 2006 in Tbilisi State University, Georgia. My graduate studies aimed the development of immunocontraceptive and anti-tumor vaccine based on human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). In parallel, I have been involved in a European Union INTAS scientific project “Immunotherapy of B cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (B-CLL)”. After I graduated, I joined Steele Children’s Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Hematology/Oncology Section at the University of Arizona. A few years earlier an original method for the preparation of anti-tumor vaccine called chaperone-rich cell lysate (CRCL) was developed in this department and the research was a perfect complement to my interests. There, I focused on cellular therapies and therapeutic modulation of regulatory and effector immune cells that further became my main expertise in research. Besides basic research, collaborative opportunities with the biomedical company “Immunovative Therapies, Ltd” offered me an intensive participation in the pre-clinical studies of a novel individualized anti-cancer vaccine - AlloVaxTM combining the ex vivo engineered T lymphocytes and chaperone-rich tumor lysates. After over three years of my post-doctoral fellowship in the USA, I moved to gain a new experience in Europe joining, as a leading investigator, the team of “Immunoregulation and Immunopathology” in INSERM U1098 at the University of Burgundy-Franche-Comte, France. Hence, I have invented and patented a novel cellular therapy based on human monocyte derived suppressor cells (HuMoSC) for the treatment of GvHD. Currently, the French blood bank (EFS), in collaboration with Sayens-Satt, evaluates the clinical applicability of HuMoSC in the settings of GvHD. Based on the aforementioned experience and long-term collaborative activities (students exchange programs and research projects), in 2015 I got a position as an Associate Professor at the Department of Immunology, Tbilisi State Medical University (TSMU), Tbilisi, Georgia, where, besides giving classes in Immunology, I established a new module - Discovery Phase of medical research allowing students to propose and carry out short-term research projects and to produce research articles. Meantime, I have supervised three PhD students and guided young scholars. Alongside with my academic research and teaching, I am actively involved in the administrative work at TSMU as I hold a position of a Chief Specialist at the Department of Research Coordination, Master and PhD Programs. I manage numbers of national and international research projects including current ERASMUS+ funded Capacity Building in Higher Education project HERD in which I am engaged as a local manager from TSMU. The project aims to upgrade the research capacity of Georgian universities through developing the R&D units within the target universities. Of note, I have authored over 50 publications in high ranked journals. I am an editor of several peer-reviewed scientific journals (Frontiers in Immunology, BioMed Research International, Mediators of Inflammation). In addition, I am a member of local and international professional associations, CEO and President of the Georgian Association of Biomathematics, and have an experience as a patent expert at Georgian Center of Intellectual Property Rights – Sakpatenti.