About us

The Department of Medical Biology was founded in 1926. Initially, the Department was headed by zoologist Professor O.M. Nikolsky, then – zoologist Professor V.L. Pauli and during the year histologist Professor V.F. Rubashkin.

From 1930 the Department was headed by E.О. Finkelstein (1897-1976). The scientific work of the Department was carried out in several areas. Work on the biology of animals, which are carriers and reservoirs of pathogens of dangerous infections for humans, was carried out by N.H. Miliutin, M.M. Zotyn, V.I. Biriukov. Further research in the field of experimental morphology allowed the staff to move on to study the issue of tumors origin and development.

Medical Biology is the main subject of the Department and one of the basic sciences for first-year students of all specialties. The Department is equipped with 7 computers with control and training programs, 60 microscopes, more than 500 microsamples, 800 training tables, 100 visual slides, and 10 training stands in accordance with the credit-module system. The Department has created an information package on Medical Biology. In cooperation with the Department of Infectious Diseases, a textbook titled “Medical Parasitology with Entomology,” which bears the stamp of the Ministry of Education and Science, and a textbook titled “Medical Parasitology: A Textbook for Foreign Students of Medical Universities” (in English) have been published. Educational and methodical materials for students are available in the Repository of KhNMU and on the website of the Department.

In order to implement modern standards for assessing students’ progression, there is a bank of test tasks (over 3,600 tests) and 365 situational tasks for assessing students’ practical skills.

The educational process involves a constant search for new methods and forms of teaching, as well as the active implementation of computer testing to assess students’ progress.

Every year, the Department is involved in organizing the Interregional Scientific and Methodological Conference “Modern Concepts of Teaching Natural Sciences in Medical Schools,” which discusses topical issues in natural science training for doctors.

Selective and authors’ courses that are given in the Department:

“Medicine”:
– MOLECULAR BIOLOGY IN MEDICINE – 3rd year of study, full-time learning
– FUNDAMENTALS OF MOLECULAR, CELLULAR AND NANOMEDICINE – 6th year of study, full-time learning

“Dentistry”:
– MOLECULAR BIOLOGY IN MEDICINE AND DENTISTRY – 3rd year of study
– FUNDAMENTALS OF MOLECULAR, REGENERATIVE AND NANODENTISTRY – 5th year of study, full-time learning

“Bachelor”:
Speciality “Nursing”:
MEDICAL BIOLOGY – 1st year of study (full-time)

The research interests of the Department range from biochemistry of human brain, population genetics and embryology to cryobiology. The teaching staff of the Department works with the method of Polymerase Chain Reaction, histological method of tissue study, general and special clinical and biochemical researches.

The Department staff led by HoD, Prof. V.V. Miasoiedov participated in implementation of 4 R&D projects.

They have published 4 monographs, 48 articles (29 of which are indexed in Scopus and Web of Science scientometric databases), 106 abstracts, and obtained 5 patents in Ukraine. Teachers of the Department have participated in 93 scientific conferences (with 36 reports) and 1 exhibition. Two PhD theses were defended, focusing on topics related to population genetics and biochemistry.

The teaching staff is constantly improving their professional skills by taking various advanced training courses both in Ukraine and abroad.

The staff of the Department continuously advance their skills through extension courses in Ukraine and abroad. The Department has established agreements for cooperation in scientific and educational areas with leading research and general secondary education institutions in the city.

The discipline “Medical Biology” is part of the Ukrainian-German project “Wildau-Kharkiv IT Bridge” under the DAAD program “Digital Ukraine: Ensuring Academic Success in Crisis (2022).” Teachers of the Department regularly participate in internships and training programs both abroad and in Ukraine, organized by foreign partners. These include the Ukrainian-Swiss project “Development of Medical Education,” scientific internships for educators such as “Academic Integrity: The Challenges of Today” (Warsaw, Republic of Poland), “Medical Education as an Integral Part of the Education System of Ukraine and EU Countries” (Wloclawek, Republic of Poland), “Challenges of Modernization of Medical Education in Ukraine and EU Countries: Scientific and Pedagogic Internship” (Lublin, Republic of Poland), and the German-Ukrainian Autumn School 2021 “Lessons in Biomedicine Derived from Nanotechnology and Artificial Intelligence” (Kharkiv, Kyiv, Ukraine).

Associate Professors I.P. Meshcheriakova, Yu.O. Sadovnychenko, O.V. Shmulich, V.Yu. Dzhamieiev, and Assistants K.A. Kuznetsov and I.K. Kuznietsova are members of the European Society of Human Genetics (Vienna, Republic of Austria). Teachers of the Department publish study books and monographs with foreign publishers, particularly in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Latvia. The results of the Department’s scientific research are published in professional journals indexed in the scientometric databases Scopus, Web of Science, etc., and are presented at conferences.