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A member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Academia Europaea Tbilisi Regional Knowledge Hub, Prof. Ketevan Tchanturia is the winner of the National Prize of Georgia.
Winners of the National Prize of Georgia (recognizing individuals in the fields of natural science, humanities, social sciences, politics, economics, law, medicine, life sciences, or engineering for their work or series of works performed at a high scientific level) are revealed by the special commission composed of the representatives of various fields and awarded personally by the President of Georgia.
By the decision of the Georgian National Award Commission 2023, the National Award was awarded to the Professor of Clinical Phycology at the King’s College London and the member of the Scientific Board of the AE Tbilisi Regional Knowledge Hub, Prof. Ketevan (Kate) Tchanturia for her trilogy of monographs: Supporting Autistic People with Eating Disorders, Brief Group Psychotherapy for Eating Disorders, and Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CTR) for Eating and Weight Disorders; second winner in mathematics Prof. Merab Svanadze for his series of works on the subject of theories of porosity materials.
At the Award Ceremony the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili thanked the attendees, participants of the contest, and the Commission. During her speech, she noted: “The National Prize is of high importance for us today. It is what unites us – true professionalism, true knowledge (which is more than professionalism), and science, those true values not only unite society but also set an example for youth that is so much needed today. This is what the youth needs from our generation – a rightful and decent example. Example proving that nothing is possible without knowledge and hard work. Winners of the Prize are examples of the highest decency for our Country. I am very happy that one of the winners is a woman working on a very important field – issues of the Autistic people.”
Prof. Kate Tchanturia is a recipient of many international prizes and awards. She is the first Georgian woman scientist elected as a member of Academia Europaea and the one to be awarded the highest award of the British Psychological Society titled: Distinguished Contribution to Clinical Practice (2021). She is a fellow of British Psychological Society, Fellow of Academy of Eating Disorders, Fellow of Academy of Higher Education in the UK. In 2024 Prof. Ketevan Tchanturia was elected as the President of the Eating Disorders Research Society the largest international research organisation in her field.
“I am delighted to be the recipient of this very prestigious award. It means a lot to receive recognition from my home country. For the last three decades, I live in London and work in King’s College London, however, I am a visiting Professor in Tbilisi Illia State University for many years, which gives me opportunity to share my knowledge, experience in the field of clinical psychology and the best international practice with my Georgian students and colleagues. It is very important to facilitate collaboration between Georgian psychologists and the international community in my profession and I will continue to do my best to make sure that happens.” – she said in her award acceptance speech.
Prof. Kate Tchanturia’s professional journey from the Tbilisi State University to the leading institutions of the UK is interesting and inspiring for young scientists.
She has been studying complex problems of clinical psychology for more than four decades, she is a professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience of London, she leads the Clinical-experimental laboratory and group of clinical psychologists and psychotherapists in the Maudsley NHS Clinic and the King’s College London. In 2005 she founded the specialist interest group of Neuropsychology and led it for several years in the world’s largest organization – the Academy of Eating Disorders (AED). She is the author of more than 300 papers, four books, and a novel clinical protocols (H index 94), she supervised 35 doctoral level dissertations and more than 50 MSc students. Among the 10 000 evaluated experts in the field worldwide, Prof. Ketevan Tchanturia ranks as number 5.
Despite active scientific work in the UK and internationally Prof. Ketevan Tchanturia still manages to be actively involved in the education and professional development of young Georgian scientists. She is the visiting professor of the Ilia State University and actively collaborates with the Faculty of Psychology of the Tbilisi State University and shares her knowledge with her Georgian colleagues through conferences, seminars, workshops, and other working formats.
It needs to be noted that Prof. Ketevan Tchanturia and her spouse Simon Surguladze, a psychiatrist by profession, are faithful guardians of Georgia and Georgian Culture in London. They were the first Georgian members of the British-Georgian Society Board. Tradition is continued by their son Alex Surguladze for now. Their family regularly participates in charity work, which has been held during the last twenty years for proper representation and support of Georgia in the UK.