Our Faculty of Medicine Students Represented Our University at the 14th International Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDNI) Conference

Haber tarihi: 11/11/2025

Last update date: 12.11.2025

Our Faculty of Medicine fourth-year students, İpek Balaban and Ömer Bahadır Kılıç, attended the 14th UDNI (Undiagnosed Diseases Network International) Conference on behalf of our Faculty and University.

The Undiagnosed Diseases Network International (UDNI) is a global platform established in 2014 to strengthen international collaboration in the field of rare and undiagnosed diseases. Inspired by the Undiagnosed Diseases Program conducted by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), UDNI brings together expert clinical and research centers in this field, promoting knowledge sharing and supporting the faster translation of research findings into clinical practice.

Held for the first time in the Southern Hemisphere, this year’s UDNI Conference took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from October 28 to 31, 2025. Our students, İpek Balaban and Ömer Bahadır Kılıç, delivered a presentation titled “Next Generation Leaders: Voices of the Future in Rare Diseases,” in which they shared the awareness, education, and research activities carried out at the Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs Application and Research Center (ACURARE) within our University, as well as the role of students in these efforts.

During the presentation, the University’s vision in the field of rare diseases, biobank studies, Turkey’s first Undiagnosed Patient Program (UDP-IST), and related student community activities were discussed, along with the future-oriented approach and goals. The session, chaired by Helen Cederroth—founder of the Wilhelm Foundation and an international advocate for rare diseases, who was a guest at last year’s 8th ALIS Congress—was regarded as one of the most remarkable parts of the conference.