YEREVAN, Armenia — Building on the success of their earlier collaborative webinars, the Armenian American Medical Association (AAMA) and the American University of Armenia (AUA) Gerald and Patricia Turpanjian College of Health Sciences (TCHS) continued their professional development series for health providers with two recent online events, drawing hundreds of participants from Armenia and abroad.
The third event in the series focused on “Prostate Cancer Screening and Management in Primary Care.” The speakers were Dr. George Haleblian, a distinguished urologic surgeon and educator at Mass General Brigham and Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Armen Arslanian, an internist and geriatrician with Beth Israel Lahey Health. The session addressed key issues in prostate cancer prevention and care, including the role of shared decision-making in prostate-specific antigen screening, identification of high-risk groups, and treatment options for localized disease. About 100 health care providers attended the event.
The fourth event in the series was dedicated to “Stroke Management in Primary Care.” The panel featured Dr. Viken Babikian, professor of neurology at the Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine and a leading expert in cerebrovascular disorders; Dr. Arslanian, who returned as co-speaker; and Dr. Marine Balasanyan, head of the Stroke Team at Erebuni Medical Center in Yerevan. More than 200 participants attended the session.
The speakers covered key aspects of stroke management in the primary care context, including prevention, early recognition of symptoms, and initial response and triage, as well as post-stroke prevention and long-term follow-up. They emphasized the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration and timely referral to improve patient outcomes. Drawing on both international experience and local data, the discussion highlighted practical steps for strengthening Armenia’s capacity in stroke care and demonstrated the value of cross-border professional exchange.
Launched in 2024, the AUA-AAMA webinar series has become a productive platform for ongoing knowledge exchange between Armenian and diaspora professionals. “This event series serves as a unique bridge between diaspora and local health professionals,” said Astghik Atanyan (MPH ’18), research associate at the AUA Avedisian Onanian Center for Health Services Research and Development, who coordinates the initiative from the AUA side. “So far, we have reached nearly 800 participants with only four events, the vast majority representing Armenia’s diverse healthcare community. We continue to expand our reach by making all event recordings publicly available. We have received numerous words of appreciation from participants, reflecting the importance and impact of such collaboration.”
The AUA-AAMA partnership continues to grow as a model for sustained professional collaboration, strengthening the development of Armenia’s health workforce through shared expertise and mutual learning.
The Armenian American Medical Association (AAMA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1972 that represents Armenian-American physicians in the Greater Boston area. AAMA’s mission is to promote excellence in healthcare in Armenian communities and support the professional development of healthcare professionals. Through collaboration with partners in the U.S. and abroad, the organization works to improve the delivery of healthcare, medical education, and research in Armenia. AAMA continuously cooperates with various governmental and non-governmental organizations in Armenia, aiming to support the healthcare and professional needs of Armenian communities.
The AUA Gerald and Patricia Turpanjian College of Health Sciences works actively to improve population health and health services in Armenia and the region through interdisciplinary education and development of health professionals to be leaders in public health, nursing, health services research and evaluation, and health care delivery and management.