Author: Tatjana Ruskovska

As a Fulbright grantee, I spent the 2014/15 academic year in the United States, at the University of Minnesota, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, in the laboratory of Prof. David Bernlohr, where I had the opportunity to get acquainted with research methods and techniques that were not available in our country. I was also involved in all segments of research and education in the laboratory and the Department, thus gaining knowledge and perspectives inherent in top scientific and higher education institutions.

Immediately after returning from the United States, I became actively involved in the activities of the European COST Action POSITIVe, where I implemented all my knowledge gained as a Fulbright visiting scholar and contributed to the successful realization of the project goals and objectives. As a participant in this project, I have published several scientific papers, some of them as a first author, in renowned scientific journals with high impact factor.

It is of note that a collaboration originating in the COST Action POSITIVe resulted in my co-authorship of the paper entitled “Mechanistic insights into dietary (poly)phenols and vascular dysfunction-related diseases using multi-omics and integrative approaches: machine learning as a next challenge in nutrition research” published in Molecular Aspects of Medicine, official journal of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Impact Factor = 14.235, ranked 5 out of 140 journals in the field of Medicine, Research & Experimental.

In addition, I am one of the leaders of the international scientific project MeDiWeB, which focuses on the importance of nutrition within the overall concept of human well-being, a project involving a team of scientists from the Goce Delčev University – Štip.  Several papers in scientific journals with high impact factor were published within this project (they can be found in the database PubMed (search term – Ruskovska).

For me personally, the Fulbright grant presented a great opportunity which opened new perspectives for me in science, and gave me the opportunity to share the knowledge I gained with my students and colleagues at Goce Delčev University – Štip and beyond. In the future, I believe that it will be possible to intensify the bilateral scientific cooperation between the United States and North Macedonia.