Current members:

• Abbes-Ghorbel Zeineb-Salma
• Ben Ali Nadia
• Ben Jemaa Lamia
• Ben Jebara Mouna (representative of the scientific council)
• Bouzouita Abderrazzak (representative of the scientific council)
• Ben Romdhane Habiba
• El May Michele
• Fennira Fatma
• Kallel-Sellami Maryam
• Kharrat Maher

Presentation :

The various strategic reflections, carried out in recent years, on research activities at the Faculty of Medicine of Tunis led to the decision to create a Research Committee (effective in 2015). Its activity is carried out in consultation with the Dean and the Scientific Council of the Faculty, the actions proposed must be approved by the governance structures of the Faculty and their implementation conducted in consultation with the Heads of Departments.

The vision of the Committee is « Research for better health » and its mission is to « Make medical research a priority for the Faculty, during the student’s training and in the daily life of the hospital-university.

The committee is made up of the Research Director who chairs it, two designated members of the Scientific Council, five members from different sections proposed by the Research Director and three members of the technical platform. The mandate of its members is three years renewable once. It meets monthly at the invitation of its president, a quorum of half of these members is required. A rapporteur is appointed from among the members of the committee, he is responsible for drafting and archiving the minutes of the meetings.

The committee’s activities are of an advisory nature, the reflections carried out and the actions proposed will be transmitted to the Dean and the Scientific Council for approval and implementation. The proposals for strategic actions are around five main axes :

• Propose to the governance structures of the Faculty and in particular the Dean and the Scientific Council an action plan leading to individualizing and structuring the research activity of the Faculty, implementing quality research in line with priority public health problems of the country and encourage the creation of centers of excellence. In collaboration with the scientific committee, the research committee participated in the identification of priority axes for the implementation of unifying multidisciplinary projects. These three lines of research are : i) Neuroscience and mental health, ii) Onco-hematology iii) Public health intervention strategies. Three projects were approved in 2016 with effective start in 2017 as part of an agreement with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, they are funded and evaluated like research laboratories.
• Strengthen research support activities: A recognized technical platform funded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research including a genetic sequencing unit, a flow cytometry unit, a microscopy unit and a techniques unit analytiques was created in 2015. These structures are made available to all of the Faculty’s scientific and hospital-university staff and the hospital structures that depend on them. In collaboration with the platform’s representatives, the committee supports the operation and development of this platform by issuing advisory opinions on the technical aspects (operation of equipment, maintenance, etc.), human resources (recruitment of technicians, etc.), creation of the website, desired purchase of new large equipment.
• Encourage early initiation of medical students to research and its methodology and consolidate doctoral training at the FMT: In collaboration with the studies department, a theoretical training project intended for students with introductory research courses (1st Cycle), methodology and research ethics (2nd Cycle) will be effective at the next academic year. In addition, the Internship Directorate and the Research Committee and to better familiarize the medical student early in research, research internships have been set up with internship objectives integrated into the internship workbook. Summer internships in faculty research structures have also been launched. Besides this initiation to research during medical studies, the Faculty of Medicine of Tunis is also empowered to deliver a Doctorate in Human Biology which is integrated into the Doctoral School  » Life Sciences and Technologies and Earth Sciences ( STVST)  » from Tunis El Manar University. This doctorate, whose number of registered students is increasing, was recently rehabilitated in 2018. The Faculty also submitted a Masters project in Human Biology for accreditation in 2019. As part of the promotion of this in-depth training, the committee follows the various stages of rehabilitating the thesis and makes proposals for the creation of new research masters (Neurosciences, Oncology, etc.).
• Make a regular inventory of research at the Faculty by an evaluation of the scientific production of the research structures, the visibility of the research carried out at the Faculty, the management of the spaces and the financial means available. In particular, the committee participated in the development of a research self-assessment report, as part of the FMT’s accreditation process. This inventory also makes it possible to better coordinate the medical research strategy at the Faculty, to renovate the talent management approach and to attract the best national skills in fundamental and applied research in order to create poles of excellence and offer quality doctoral training.
• Consolidate scientific life at the Faculty by establishing a lasting cycle of research seminars and technical workshops. In 2018, three research training workshops were organized in collaboration with other committees:
  – FMT Theses Committee: Theme « Research ethics »
  – FMT writing assistance committee: Workshop « Writing for Publication: keys to success »,
  – La Rabta Hospital Research and Innovation Commission: Workshop « Writing a research project ».