Over 25 years of experience in molecular biotechnology, with expertise in food authenticity, GMO detection, allergen analysis, molecular traceability, development of DNA -based methods and PCR approaches for food safety and agrobiodiversity studies.
Ilia State University (ISU) is a flagship public research and comprehensive higher education institution in Georgia that was established in 2006 as a merger of six different institutions, each having a long history and a diverse institutional profile. Its schools offer distinctive training in their respective direction and in-depth research opportunity in social sciences, humanities, life sciences, earth sciences, and hard sciences. The leadership remains open to innovative teaching and learning programs and supports research initiatives to finance research activities (significant allocation for research as part of its annual budget), justly occupying the top research citation index in Georgia. With the highest competition rate for PhD programs in the nation, approximately 17,700 students, 988 highly qualified academic staff, and with renovated research infrastructure in several Georgia’s regions (including 30 large and small scale research institutes, centers and stations), ISU has become one of the most desirable universities to study and work for in the country over the last 10 years. Ilia State University is actively involved in international cooperation projects and priorities of these international projects and programs range from infrastructure and new programs development, improvement of academic and scientific potential and sharing international experience with the leading universities, research organizations, and institutions. Ilia State University has an extensive experience of participating and leading EU-funded capacity building and mobility projects, including Jean Monnet scheme, FP7, Horizon 2020. ISU is the first grant holder recipient Georgian Higher Education Institution of the Tempus and Erasmus+ CBHE programs from Georgia. In a nutshell, ISU has been partner of 27 Tempus, and 20 Erasmus + CBHE international consortia projects, Jean Monnet (3), FP7 (2), Horizon 2020 (3), Horizon Europe (1), 2 International Doctoral Joint Programs by Volkswagen Foundation (University of Gottingen, University of Munster in Germany), more than 85 current international cooperation programmes income generating more than 45 Million GEL (14 Million EUR).
I am an Associate Professor at Ilia State University and Head of a Molecular Biotechnology Research Group. My work focuses on DNA-based methods for food authenticity and traceability, allergen and GMO detection, and the assessment of crop genetic diversity. We develop effective DNA-based approaches for analyzing highly processed foods, including refined oils, and investigate the impact of food processing on the reliability of DNA diagnostics. I have served as scientific director and project manager of more than 10 research projects, including international projects and scientific networks. I am interested in developing new collaborations within Horizon Europe in the fields of biotechnology, sustainable food systems, and agrobiodiversity.
Research group from Ilia State University (Georgia) seeking consortium partners for BIODIV-06. Expertise in DNA markers, PCR and multiplex PCR, agrobiodiversity, wheat genetic resources, food authenticity and molecular traceability.
Research group from Ilia State University (Georgia) seeking consortium partners for CIRCBIO-09. Expertise in DNA-based traceability, food authenticity, PCR diagnostics, GMO and allergen detection, supporting food security and sustainable value chains.