Organized by the ERU Faculty of Medicine, the 9th International Congress on Medical Genetics started at Sabancı Cultural Complex.

Approximately 35 conferences were held at the 3-day congress with more than 150 participants from 30 universities. Speakers from 6 different countries attended these conferences. The presentations made at the congress will be published in a journal.

Making a speech at the opening of the congress, Prof. Dr. Cemal Alper Kemaloğlu, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, said he was proud that Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine, an accredited medical faculty ranked among the top medical faculties, always hosted scientific, cultural and artistic activities.

He pointed out that every gene tells a story and said: “This story is the story of humanity, and you are the scientists learning these stories and presenting them to humanity. We all know that gene therapies and genetic engineering are the medicine of the future. The biological secrets of man are hidden in his genetic material. As these secrets are solved, it is clear that we will make a significant progress in the field of degenerative medicine and the root causes of diseases. If there happens to be a Copernican Revolution, it will certainly be in the field of genetics. This is how I believe it, and I revere your work.”

Prof. Dr. Munis Dündar, a faculty member at the Medical Faculty as well as the Congress Chairman, said he was pleased to participate in a congress that was essential at national and international levels.

Professor Dündar, who complained about not being able to present some scientific activities with a sufficient performance at an international level, pointed out that it is a crucial point that the Turkish Genome Project is unable to find its place at the international level.

Emphasizing that there are important genetic centers in Türkiye, Professor Dündar addressed the representatives of the association: “You need to have an influential role in the Genome project. We need to provide this nation with a service by establishing community relations. I think this is our first duty, and it is vital. We are now experiencing the golden age of genetics and biotechnology in the world. We need to feel this golden age and compete. We have very young qualified geneticists and internationally renowned faculty members. It is necessary to create a national policy for them.”

Assoc. Prof. Taha Bahsi, Chairman of Medical Genetics Association, stated that genetic community is growing rapidly and underscored that there are currently 118 Genetic Diseases Evaluation Centers licensed by the Ministry of Health, half of which are in the public sector and the other half in the private sector. He said that they were trying to provide significant services in Türkiye and abroad. He also added that they were doing their best to improve genetics.

After opening speeches, the congress continued with the first session entitled “Literacy in Rare Hematologic and Oncologic Diseases in Childhood”