Alexandru Mustea: "Whenever Alma Mater needs us, we must provide input immediately!"

The DiaMed@usmf.md network currently has over 400 members of the medical diaspora - professionals originating from the Republic of Moldova who work in various medical institutions abroad and are eager to cooperate professionally with Alma Mater. Collaboration opportunities with the medical diaspora are created through the Involvement of highly qualified medical personnel from the diaspora in the development of the country of origin DiaMed@USMF Nicolae Testemitanu project with the aim of intensifying the cooperation between the medical community of the Republic of Moldova and medical personnel from outside the country. This initiative became possible thanks to Policy Advisory Fund project, financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and implemented by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ Moldova). Within the framework of this project, our university invites specialists from the diaspora, through a program of short-term visits, to mediate collaborations between the University and the host institutions, to carry out educational and professional training activities for members of the university community, as well as to jointly develop research/doctorate projects.

In this context, on January 19, 2024, a round table was organized on the topic Establishing and promoting strategic opportunities for innovation in the health system with the participation of members of the medical diaspora. The event was organized by the representatives of Nicolae Testemitanu University jointly with GIZ Moldova and the State Chancellery of the Republic of Moldova.

In the opening of the event, University Rector Emil Ceban emphasized the readiness of our institution to constantly interact with specialists working outside the country.

"It is essential to get to know the medical personnel who have gone to study or work abroad and to maintain a continuous dialogue between the specialists residing in the country and those from the diaspora. Only by systematically organizing common research-related activities such as publications, projects and exchange of views will we be able to achieve excellence in research and practice. The medical diaspora represents the ambassadors of Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy and of the medical education system abroad. We will explore all the ways for them to initiate or participate in increasing excellence in research at Alma Mater as well as in the progress of biomedical research in the Republic of Moldova", Professor Ceban stated.

"The presence of our graduates in prestigious foreign institutions represents a proof of our continuous effort to become a renowned university. Namely, they will contribute to the transfer of know-how through new methods of diagnosis, treatment, and research, and will participate, including through telehealth, in the training of students, resident doctors, doctoral students and in the continuous medical education of medical personnel in our country. DiaMed members will be consulted in the planning and development of policies in health and education and will be involved as partners, experts, and evaluators in ongoing international projects", stressed Vice-rector for Research Stanislav Groppa.

In this context, academician Groppa came up with the proposal to take over the model for the curricula of all bachelor's, integrated, master's and residential study cycles, as well as the consultation of experts in scientific works: "We want to raise the level of students' training pursuant to requirements accepted on the European market and to integrate research in the international area, so that the training of doctors in the Republic of Moldova becomes an excellent one, close to the quality of healthcare offered to the population in Europe".

A message of support for this initiative was conveyed by Sergiu Porcescu, adviser for the diaspora mobilization, Policy Advisory Fund, GIZ Moldova, who specified that: "Nicolae Testemitanu" University is a trailblazer. When the relationship between research and education was only at the discussion stage, Nicolae Testemitanu University was the first to create the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (NIHMR), developing a research strategy and becoming the most internationalized university in the Republic of Moldova both through the number of foreign students and this virtual space created for former graduates and, respectively, through professionals from fields relating to biomedical research in health".

The GIZ representative mentioned that the Federal Government of Germany highly appreciated our compatriots working there and emphasized that research and education had no borders, and the pandemic demonstrated that only together we could solve the problems faced by humanity in the field of health. At the same time, Sergiu Porcescu conveyed to the University leadership the message of appreciation from the State Chancellery as regards the DiaMed project: "The project is part of the Governmental Diaspora Collaboration Program, approved in December 2022. Over one million Moldovan citizens settled abroad and, considering the European course of the country, we are obliged to capitalize on this initiative. On the research side this is mutually beneficial. Currently, the government is initiating a series of programs to mobilize the diaspora, so that these short-term visits can become even more frequent, and DiaMed will only benefit from them".

A special guest at the round table was Alexandru Mustea, director of the University Clinic of Gynecology and Gynecological Oncology in the city of Bonn, graduate, and Doctor Honoris Causa of Nicolae Testemitanu University, who expressed his enthusiasm and appreciation for being invited to participate in this project, as well as his conviction that over 400 colleagues from the diaspora would also join this initiative.

 “Whenever Alma Mater needs us, we must provide input immediately. It is my duty to support the projects that will be launched, especially since we already have a long history of collaboration. A few years ago, the University mediated the cooperation with medical institutions in the country, together with which we carried out important projects, reflected in joint publications, the Tumor Bank with European status was created and, I hope, we will continue our activity in other fields in the future", stated the professor.

 At the same time, Professor Mustea presented to the audience the activity model of the German medical clinic he leads, which annually serves over 50 thousand patients with medical emergencies and ranks second nationally in Germany, according to the quality and diversity of the services provided. 

Present at the event, Lilian Saptefrați, director of the Doctoral School in Health Sciences, spoke about the changes introduced in recent years in the doctoral study program, noting that DSHS had 270 doctoral supervisors and about 400 doctoral students who would need the expertise of their colleagues from the diaspora. "The fields of obstetrics and gynecology and oncology are very vast, PhD supervisors submit projects, and colleagues who coordinate the DiaMed project consult us in identifying supervisors through co-supervision from the diaspora. In this context, we express our desire to contact you to collaborate in research projects", the Doctoral School director emphasized.

Ruslan Baltaga, the director of the Oncological Institute (OI), noted that the event took place in a very important period for the country and for medicine, with the opening of EU accession negotiations. It is important to avail ourselves of this opportunity and do what we have not been able to do so far, and even more. At the same time, the OI manager spoke about the realities and challenges of the oncology field in the Republic of Moldova.

"In oncology, activities take place under a national cancer control program and three screening programs, which show the maturity of society and the medical system. Diagnostic and treatment methods are modernized, the wards have been endowed with equipment, including in the territory. Now, the training of specialists in this field is essential, that's why we have a nice collaboration with the University, with the support of which we manage to develop new study programs. Cancer research is a priority subject for the European community, and we are eligible for joint projects with countries in Europe. We are involved in various initiatives, but we also need the experience of our European colleagues, who have already passed these stages. It is certain that we manage to win projects, but we don't have the human resources to implement them", noted director Baltaga.

First Vice-rector Olga Cerneеchi, Vice-rector for didactic activity, recalled some moments from the history of collaboration with professor Mustea in the field of obstetrics and gynecology: "He held an important course on gynecologic laparoscopy, and several colleagues from the department benefited from visits to the German clinic. He is recognized as the best specialist in oncology treatment in German medicine. It is an honor for us all to have such a graduate who cares a lot about his colleagues and the mentors who guided him".

With reference to future projects, the First Vice-rector specified that possibilities would be created to cooperate in operative gynecology to develop this area in the didactic and scientific process. “We must carry out joint scientific research because the patients are the same in the Republic of Moldova and in Germany", concluded Professor Cernețchi.

University professor Mircea Sofroni, head of the Oncology Department, one of Dr. Mustea's former mentors, recalled that Alexandru Mustea was one of the best resident doctors he knew: "He was a gifted person, he used to study and carry out research activity in parallel. At that time, he knew several foreign languages: French, English, Russian and German, which gave him an advantage in his professional advancement. Professor Mustea managed to attract to the Republic of Moldova several professors from Germany, through whom our medical institutions established various collaborations in the clinical and scientific areas. Some of them continue to this day."

The event was also attended by Eliferii Pitel, President of V.M. Gutu Society of Endoscopy, Minimally Invasive Surgery and Ultrasonography from the Republic of Moldova, who, in turn, expressed his appreciation both to the University management for the implementation of the medical diaspora project and to Professor Alexandru Mustea.