Pages of History: on the 100th Anniversary of Dnipropetrovsk Medical Academy and the Origins of the Establishment of the Department of Infectious Diseases

The history of the department of infectious diseases of Dnipropetrovsk Medical Academy begins in 1927, when in Dnipropetrovsk Medical Institute (founded in 1916) on the basis of city infectious hospital professor M.B. Stanishevska started the teaching of infectious diseases as a separate discipline. In 1937, the student of M.B. Stanishevska, a worthy heir to her, Ye.H. Popkova took the lead of the department of infectious diseases. Candidate’s dissertation «About epidemic parotitis and its neuroaffinity of its virus» she defended in 1940. In this monographic study, the issues of parotitis as an infection that affects not only the salivary glands, but also central nervous system, were considered for the first time. In 1948, the well-known infectiologist, doctor of medical sciences, professor I.I. Levin was elected as the head of department of infectious diseases. In 1950, professor I.I. Levin simultaneously headed the department of infectious diseases and the department of infectious childhood diseases. Since 1952, in Dnipropetrovsk Medical Institute, there are two separate units: the department of pediatric infectious diseases headed by professor Ye.H. Popkova and department of infectious diseases led by professor I.I. Levin. Over the years, both departments were headed by such prominent scientists, as professor A.I. Trypolska (1957–1978), professor V.I. Bychkova (1978–1986), associate professor H.V. Levina (1956–1968), associate professor I.V. Shtyriov (1968–1979), professor N.V. Beliaieva (1979–1994), professor L.R. Shostakovych-Koretska (1994–2008), associate professor, N.S. Suremenko (1986–2008) and professor L.R. Shostakovych-Koretska from 2008 to the present. Employees of the department take part in the work of congresses and conferences with oral and poster presentations, which were held in different years in the CIS and Europe. Under the scholarship of US Civilian Research and Development in cooperation with American colleagues, there were carried out fundamental studies of genetic factors responsible for the resistance of T-cells to HIV in terms of vertical transmission from mother to child. Today, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Dnipropetrovsk Medical Academy of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine, in an effort to keep pace with the times, remembering the luminaries of medicine and our academy, honoring the traditions of the department, do not forgetting our veterans, we are preparing to meet adequately the 90th anniversary of the department of infectious diseases in 2017