Current Position:
Head of the Vilnius University Clinic of Children Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University
Chief Paediatrician, Ministry of Health of Lithuania
Previous Professional Experience
| 1974 | Graduated (cum laudae) from Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine (physician-paediatrician) |
| 1974-1978 | Assistant lecturer, Dept. of Infectious diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University |
| 1978-1981 | Postgraduate student, 2nd Moscow Institute of Medicine, Dept. of Children’s Infectious Diseases (Mentor – N.I.Nisevich) |
| 1981 | PhD thesis defended at the 2nd Moscow Institute of Medicine |
| 1981-1988 | Assistant lecturer, Dept. of Infectious diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University |
| 1988-1989 | Associate professor, Dept. of Infectious diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University |
| 1990 | Dr. Habil. of Medicine thesis, defended at the Institute of Medicine, Riga, Latvia |
| 1990-1994 | Professor, Head of the Vilnius University Clinic of Children’s Infectious Diseases |
| 1994-2002 | Professor, Vilnius University Centre of Paediatrics |
| 2002-2009 | Professor, Head of the Vilnius University Centre of Paediatrics |
| since 2009 | Professor, Head of the Vilnius University Clinic of Paediatrics |
Postgraduate Training
| 1978-1981 | Postgraduate studies (PhD), 2nd Moscow Institute of Medicine, Dept. Children’s Infectious Diseases (Mentor – prof. N.I.Nisevich) |
| 1984-1985 | DAAD fellowship, Dept. of Med. Virology, University Clinic, J-W Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main, Germany (Mentor – prof. H-W. Doerr) |
| 1996 | Salzburg-Cornell seminars in infectious diseases and epidemiology, Salzburg Austria |
| 2001 | Advanced course on vaccinology (ADVAC II), Merieux Foundation, Annecy, France |
| 2004 | Oxford course on Paediatric infectious diseases |
Certificate of the Good Clinical Practice
Regularly – speaker at national and international scientific meetings or training events.
Membership
President of the UNICEF National Committee of Lithuania from 1997 to 2003, retired after 2 terms.
Lithuanian Paediatric Society – President from 2000 to 2007 (retired after 2 terms according to the Constitution of the Society), Board member since 2011
European Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID), Board member 2005-2008; member of the ESPID Educational Committee (2008-2014)
Chairman, National Committee for Poliomyelitis Eradication Certification in Lithuania
Chair of the Board, Baltic Immunoprophylaxis Association (BALTIPA) since 2009
Member of the several international vaccination advisory and working groups
Member of the Editorial Board of national and international scientific journals
Scientific interests, teaching
Paediatrics, paediatric infectious diseases, vaccinology. Leading professor, course of Paediatric infectious diseases for medical students at the Vilnius University; leading professor, course of Paediatric infectious diseases for postgraduate physicians at the Vilnius University; course of vaccinology for postgraduate physicians at the Vilnius University.
Tutor, Oxford University Postgraduate Diploma in Paediatric Infectious Diseases.
Lecturer and speaker at different national and international training and scientific events.
Principal investigator or study co-ordinator in more than 20 completed clinical studies in the area of children and adults vaccination, paediatric infectious diseases.
Previous expert experience, reviewing
Evaluator of EU scientific projects. Expert in WHO European region activities. Expert in European Centre for the Diseases Control (ECDC) activities. Expert in evaluation of the scientific projects funded by the Research Council of Lithuania.
Reviewer for national and international journals of medicine.
International scientific projects
EUROHEP.NET – Surveillance and Prevention of Vaccine Preventable Hepatitis, 1998-2002. EU project, headed by Pierre van Damme (Belgium). V.Usonis – scientific co-ordinator of working packages in Lithuania.
EuroRotaNet – The European Rotavirus Network, international European project, 2007-2013, headed by Iturriza-Gomara (UK). V.Usonis – scientific co-ordinator of working packages in Lithuania.
NeoMero – Efficacy, pharmacokinetics and safety of meropenem in infants below 90 days of age (inclusive) with clinical or confirmed late-onset sepsis: a European multicenter randomised phase III trial, 2009-2015. EU project, headed by Carlo Giaquinto (Italy). V.Usonis – scientific co-ordinator of working packages in Lithuania.
ARPEK – The Antimicrobial Resistance and Prescribing in European Children, 2010-2013. EU project, headed by Mike Sharland (UK). V.Usonis – scientific co-ordinator of working packages in Lithuania.
Publications
More than 150 publications on paediatric infectious diseases published in English, Russian and Lithuanian languages including 40 publications referred by Thomson Reuters web of Science ( h-index = 14), few more papers are accepted or under reviewing. Textbooks and chapters on paediatric infectious diseases in textbooks, vaccine preventable diseases and vaccinology, rotavirus infection, paediatric HIV infection.
Languages
Lithuanian – mother language
English – fluent
Russian – fluent
German – „survival“