Results of the third stage of the Erasmus+ grant project in the field of healthy eating
As part of the international grant project “Teaching the basics of healthy eating in the training of health professionals” 2024-1-IE02-KA220-HED-000244217, Prof. Nadiia Boiko (project manager), Assoc. Prof. Olena Dulo, and Assoc. Olha Kryvanich reported on the results of the third work package of the project, namely a multidisciplinary brainstorming session (Think Tank). Within the framework of the project, the working group of UzhNU is responsible for the implementation of this work package, providing scientific and analytical support for the implementation of tasks. Under the coordination of Associate Professor Oleksandra Pallah, a report was prepared by the UzhNU working group, reflecting the results of the implementation of the relevant stage of the project. Members of the working group spoke at the medical forum “Metabolic Diseases in Ukraine: A Multidisciplinary Approach,” held in Yaremche, Ivano-Frankivsk region, on October 23-24, 2025, moderating the scientific section “The Microbiome of Ukrainians: Algorithms for the Prevention and Treatment of Metabolic Disorders.” In her speech, speaker Assoc. Elena Dulo focused on the key conclusions of the Expert Analytical Session (Think Tank), during which, as part of a collective discussion among participants, it was confirmed that: “Education on nutrition issues should become a mandatory, clinically oriented, and scientifically based component of training specialists in the field of health care.” All this has one main goal: to train a new generation of healthcare professionals who will have high nutritional competence and will be able to provide patients with quality care, which is key to improving patient outcomes and the development of modern education."
It should be noted that the international grant project was supported by the Erasmus+ program on the basis of a memorandum of partnership and cooperation, which was signed in early June 2023 between the Research and Training Center for Molecular Microbiology and Immunology of Mucous Membranes of UzhNU, represented by the director of the center and advisor to the rector on innovation, Prof. Nadiia Boiko, the vice-rector for scientific work at Shevchenko National University, Prof. Liudmila Tolstanova, the Ukrainian Gastroenterological Association, represented by the head of the intestinal diseases research group, Prof. Andriy Dorofeev, and the All-Ukrainian Public Association “Association of Dietitians of Ukraine,” represented by the association's chairman, Prof. Oleg Shvets.
Continuing her speech, Associate Professor Olena Dulo shared with the participants of the medical forum the next steps for integrating nutrition issues into the education of students in the field of “health care” in Ukraine, namely: "For the purpose of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of specific diseases of an individual or patient, using a personalized approach, and in order to optimize the nutritional status of patients in various clinical conditions, we consider it appropriate to develop a module on “Clinical Nutrition,” with the subsequent implementation of this module among healthcare professionals. In order to raise general awareness among different segments of the population about healthy eating and the formation of healthy eating habits, which will lead to an improvement in the nutritional status of the population and the prevention of nutrition-related diseases, we consider it expedient to develop a module on “Public Nutrition,” creating brochures, booklets, educational online courses, and conducting health education work among the population. For the proper preparation and content of these modules, an online survey was conducted among practitioners and scientists in the field of healthcare as part of the medical forum, as it is extremely important to take into account the opinions of gastroenterologists, participants in the event, so that future training materials are customer-oriented and correspond to the service model of education https://surl.li/gdxcbl
Speaker Prof. Nadiia Boiko told the audience about scientific research on the characteristics of the Ukrainian population's microbiome using examples of the application of a multi-omic approach (microbiome, metabolome, neuroimmune axis). During her presentation, Prof. Nadiia Boiko also demonstrated an algorithm for selecting individual nutrition to gastroenterologists.
Considering that during the medical forum, a significant part of the presentations was devoted to the role of the intestinal microbiome in the development of metabolic disorders, as well as the correction of the microbiome for the successful treatment of multi-organ syndrome, a decision was made on the need to create a scientific journal that will be indexed in the Scopus scientometric database, where scientists will be able to publish their research on the human microbiome and microgenome. In order to highlight scientific research and exchange ideas in a professional expert environment, a discussion of issues related to the study of the human microbiome is planned at a scientific and practical conference in June 2026 in the Zakarpattia region.
