The USERN Congress 2017 

USERN Prize Awarding Festival 

November 8^th-10^th, 2017
Hosted by Kharkiv National Medical University

Brief Introduction of the 2^nd USERN Congress: To Remove the Geographical Boarders

Held in the cold city of Kharkive, the warm and hospitable Ukrainian hosts of the 2^nd USERN Congress and Prize Awarding Festival made this dazzling scientific event beyond the expectations for us. Primarily hosted by Kharkive National Medical University (KhNMU), the 2^nd USERN Congress was co-hosted by 3 other universities including Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv Polytechnic University, and National University of Pharmacy.

Following the scientific theme of “Evolution in Science” this year, the 1^st day of congress was held at Premier Palace Hotel Kharkiv. Highly welcomed by Kharkiv Regional State Administration (HOGA), the scientific program continued with attractive lectures of expert top 1% scientists, from all around the world and in almost all aspects of science. The first day was mainly concentrated on evolution of ecosystems, food, human-making genes, disease diagnosis, and the universe! The second part of lectures in the first day, was mainly focused on the USERN Prize Laureates’ experiences.

 Excitingly, the congress continued with the 3^rd International Festival of Paintings for Pediatric Patients (IFPPP) in the afternoon, where top ranking paintings of 4 age groups where honored and prized. This festival is annually held worldwide and the artistic jury for children’s’ artworks rank the best paintings among more than 1000 pediatric paintings which are gathered from different countries in all 5 continents! Proudly this year, the winners of IFPPP festival were from Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Indian, Qatar, and Turkey.

The 2^nd day of USERN Congress was simultaneously held in 4 universities which was warmly welcomed by head masters of all universities. The lectures of each university were mainly concentrated on one field of science. Kharkive National Medical University generally included the lectures in Medical and Social Sciences such as genetics of neurodevelopmental delay, autism-related brain abnormalities, nanomedicine, and game theory. The lectures in National University of Pharmacy were focused on Biological Sciences such as vitamin B2 biosynthesis and utilization of nano-materials against cancer. On the other hand, Kharkiv Polytechnic University hosted speakers in physical sciences discussing about earth, oceans, and Hydrothermal carbonization. Karazin Kharkiv National University was also focusing on physical and formal sciences. Interestingly and in all 4 universities, the discussion continued with USERN Junior Talks which young researchers got the chance to present their experiences in science and was an inspiration for all the audience.

The final day of congress was such a fruitful day! Starting with the keynote messages of 5 Rectors of Kharkiv Universities, the last day of USERN Congress concluded with celebrating and awarding USERN Prize Laureates in 5 fields of science: Dr. Manlio de Domineco, USERN laureate in formal sciences, Matjaz Perc, USERN laureate in social sciences, Valentina Cauda, USERN laureate in biological science, Lucina Uddin USERN Medical laureate, and Maria Maghdalena Titirici USERN laureate in Physical Sciences.

The last day brought 2 Memorial of Understandings (MOUs) for USERN: with the rector of Kharkiv Polytechnic University and Brain Connectivity and Cognition Lab, University of Miami, USA.