Professor of TNMU is an Invited Lecturer of the European Federation of Pharmacological Societies (EPHAR)

Oksana Shevchuk, Professor of the Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology at TNMU, attended the 11th German Pharm-Tox Summit 2026 as an invited lecturer. The event took place on March 17–20 in Düsseldorf, Germany, in cooperation with the Association for Applied Human Pharmacology (AGAH) and the Dutch Society of Toxicology (NVT).

Within the framework of the public interdisciplinary symposium “Pharmacology in Times of Crisis: Threats – Challenges – Opportunities,” organized during the annual meeting of the German Society for Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology (DGPT) on March 19, 2026, Professor Oksana Shevchuk, as an invited lecturer of the European Federation of Pharmacological Societies (EPHAR), delivered a presentation titled “Medicine Without Pause: Research, Education, and Patient Care in Wartime Ukraine.”

In her presentation, Professor Shevchuk highlighted key challenges in conducting scientific research, maintaining a high standard of medical education, and providing healthcare under the conditions of the ongoing war in Ukraine, particularly in the context of I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University.

Special attention was given to issues such as infrastructure destruction, the need for rapid organizational adaptation, shifts in therapeutic priorities, the implementation of new educational formats, and international cooperation, as well as the treatment of wounded patients under extreme strain on the healthcare system.

The symposium was organized and moderated by Professor Bernd Nürnberg, MD, Medical Director of the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology at the University Hospital Tübingen.

The event was opened by Oleksandra Kozhema, a representative of the Consulate of Ukraine in Düsseldorf.

The meeting brought together presentations by leading experts in disaster medicine, military medicine, care for victims of war and violence, and pharmacology, with a strong focus on the international dimension. The presentations addressed issues of civil-military cooperation, ensuring the resilience of the healthcare system, and the experience of treating severely wounded Ukrainian patients. Representatives of disaster medicine and the medical service of the German Armed Forces outlined current challenges facing pharmacological disciplines in the context of the current security “turning point,” and discussed the role and expectations of academic medicine in crisis and emergency situations.

The symposium also featured:

Colonel (Oberstarzt), Professor and Clinical Director of the Clinic of Traumatology, Orthopedics, Reconstructive and Septic Surgery at Bundeswehr Hospital, Gerhard Achatz (Ulm, Germany), with a presentation titled “Requirements for Civil-Military Cooperation in the Context of Complex Geopolitical Challenges”;

Professor Peter Bradl (Nuremberg, Germany), Vice President of the German Society for Disaster Medicine and Head of the Institute of Rescue Engineering and Emergency, and Disaster Medicine at the University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt, with the presentation “Resilient Healthcare Systems – Maintaining Operational Capacity Under Uncertainty”;

General (Generalarzt), Professor, Director of Science and Capability Development of the Bundeswehr Medical Service and Deputy Commander of the Medical Service Academy, Kai Kehe (Munich, Germany), with the lecture “Pharmacology and Toxicology – New Challenges in the Context of the ‘Turning Point’ (Zeitenwende)”.

The symposium aimed not only to express solidarity with Ukraine, which, through its resistance, defends European freedom and shared values, but also to serve as a platform for exchanging experiences and learning from Ukrainian colleagues—our resilience, adaptability, and creative problem-solving under conditions of extreme pressure and limited resources.

We express our sincere gratitude to Professor Bernd Nürnberg for initiating and organizing this symposium, as well as for his consistent support of Ukraine and solidarity with the Ukrainian people during these extremely challenging times.