Awardees
Magdalena Engler
My name is Magdalena Engler, and I am a dietitian who graduated from the Medical University of Gdansk. I am a member of The Polish Society for Parenteral, Enteral Nutrition and Metabolism (POLSPEN).
With the support of the ESPEN Educational Grant, I had an opportunity to undergo training at the University Hospital Zagreb in Croatia. I worked with a team managed by Professor Željko Krznarić, and I expanded my knowledge in the fields of nutrition & gastroenterology. I gained practical skills with a particular focus on enteral, parenteral nutrition and nutritional management of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Furthermore, I was able to observe different diagnostic procedures for gastrointestinal disorders.
In addition, I completed the Summer School of Clinical Nutrition and Diet Therapy which took place in Zagreb. I participated in lectures and workshops given by experts from countries such as Croatia, Italy and the United Kingdom.
I am grateful to ESPEN for giving me a chance to broaden my horizons and gain new perspectives in clinical nutrition.
Aleksandra Mechlińska
My name is Aleksandra Mechlińska and I am a member of the Polish Association of Dietitians. I have attained a Bachelor’s degree at the Medical University of Warsaw and a Master’s degree in dietetics at the Gdańsk Medical University.
I was selected for ESPEN Educational Grant and I was fortunate to undergo a nutritional training at the Cliniques universitaires de Bruxelles - Hôpital Érasme in 2022 in the Gastroenterology Unit and Obesity Clinic. I was able to deepen my theoretical and practical knowledge on enteral and parental nutrition. I learned about nutritional care of the patients with acute and chronic pancreatitis, short bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease. I acquired experience in the care of the patients undergoing bariatric surgery. Furthermore, I was able to experience the importance of a multidisciplinary team in the clinical practice.
I am very grateful to ESPEN for giving me this amazing opportunity, which has allowed me to improve my clinical skills as a dietitian.
Rosalba Maya
My name is Rosalba Maya, I'm a Dietitian with post degree on clinical nutrition, experience in different Mexican hospitals working on hospital nutrition and nutritional support.
Active member of ESPEN, ASPEN and Mexican PEN Society.
I'm currently working at the Hospital Español in Mexico City since 2019.
I had the opportunity to do my training at the Stanley Dudrick Memorial Hospital in Skawina, Poland. I was able to acquire practical and updated knowledge about the handling of patients with hospital nutritional support, oncological patients and intestinal failure patients.
It was a fulfilling experience to my professional path since I was guided by a team of experts in the matter.
I'm grateful with the opportunity I was given because now my clinical criteria and professional skills have been increased.
Virginia Duran Muñoz-Curzado
I am Virginia Duran Muñoz-Curzado (MD, PhD), General Surgeon specielist working in the Emergency Surgery Unit of the General Surgery and Digestive Surgery Division in the Virgen del Rocio University Hospital (Seville, Spain).
From my first years of training to general surgery, I have shown my growing interest in the management of complex abdominal situations associated with intestinal failure such as catastrophic abdomen and enteroatmospheric fistula, participating directly in the care and treatment of these patients. Since January 2021 our unit has been named as a Reference Regional Unit for the care of catastrophic abdomen and enteroatmospheric fistula in Andalucía. I have actively participated in the generation of knowledge about it with the publication of an article related to a closure system of complex abdomens with large abdominal defects and generating a patent on a device for the local control of intestinal effluvium in the management of enteroatmospheric fistulae of which we have also published our first results.
It was very interesting to complement and expand my training during three month in the Intestinal Failure Unit of the Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester. This Center use to perform complex bowel and abdominal wall reconstructions in patients with type II intestinal failure carrying out a number of annual interventions between 60-100. This educational stay has allowed me learn how these complex patients are managed in other hospitals, how is organized a specific Intestinal Failure Unit and what are its scientific projects.
Dizdar Oguzhan
I am medical doctor and internal medicine specialist in Department of Internal Medicine at University of Health Sciences Kayseri City Training and Research Hospital, Turkey. Furthermore, I am a PhD student in Medical Biology Department at Erciyes University Medical School. I've been the chief of the clinical nutrition unit of our hospital for 3 years. My research focuses on nutrition, especially in renal and liver disease, micronutrients, diabetes mellitus and obesity. I am an active member of Turkish national PEN society and participate in many national PEN society activities. I am also an ESPEN member and I have a Certificate of Teach the Teachers for Life Long Learning (T-LLL) programme of ESPEN.
I was selected for the ESPEN Educational Grant in 2021. I worked in Geneva University Hospital Clinical Nutrition Unit with this grant for 6 months. In this training, I learned the special techniques for nutritional assessment, participated in the clinical visits and the follow-up of patients with nutritional issues, and collaborated on research projects. I became familiar with providing a specialized nutritional management in various patient populations and disease states. This training in this experienced center has also given me an innovative approach in planning new nutritional research projects at my own center.
Konstantina Morogianni
My name is Konstantina Morogianni and I am a Registered Dietitian graduate of Harokopio University of Athens and postgraduate student in Food Nutrition and Microbiome at the Department of Medicine of the Democritus University of Thrace, Greece. My experience as an undergraduate intern, supervised by Dr. Liana Poulia, at "Laiko" General Hospital of Athens, made me realize the essentiality of optimal nutritional care for ameliorating patients’ quality of life.
I applied for the ESPEN Educational training programme in order to deepen my knowledge and skills in clinical nutrition. As an awardee of the ESPEN Educational grant, I worked under the auspices of the Department of Clinical Nutrition, Evaggelismos General Hospital, Athens, Greece, for three months. I participated in the nutrition care process for inpatients hospitalized in a wide variety of the Hospital's departments. I am grateful that I had the chance to be part of a team of highly experienced professionals, managed by Dr. Karayiannis. The whole experience was extremely rewarding and insightful for me. I am thankful for this educational opportunity offered by ESPEN!
Julie Mareschal
Dietician by training, I have been working since September 2013 for the Clinical Nutrition Unit at Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland. I have experience in clinical nutrition and clinical research with a particular interest in malnutrition management.
With the support of the ESPEN Educational Grant, I performed a 4-month training at the Lennard-Jones Intestinal Rehabilitation Unit, St Mark’s Hospital, UK. As a result, I gained expertise in the nutritional management of patients with intestinal failure and inflammatory bowel disease, especially in the field of parenteral nutrition. I also had the opportunity to help the nutritional team implement bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) in clinical practice.
I am very grateful to ESPEN for giving me this opportunity to support the development of my career track in clinical nutrition!