Department of Biochemistry

History

The Department of Biochemistry at Kharkiv State University was established in 1933 by Ivan Nikolaevich Bulanin, a distinguished scientist, professor, and full member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR (rector of the university in 1945–1960). During this period, the department's research work was conducted in two areas: the chemistry and biology of proteins and the biochemical basis of the development and aging of the organism. In 1960, the Department of Biochemistry was headed by I. M. Bulanin's student, Professor Yelizaveta Vasylivna Parina. The main focus of her research was the age-related features of protein metabolism, including the launch of a new field — protein cryobiochemistry. For her work in the field of ontobiochemistry, she was awarded the Academician O. O. Bogomolets Prize. In 1973, Pavlo Avksentiyovych Kaliman, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Honored Professor of Karazin University, and academician of the Higher School, became the head of the Department of Biochemistry. He participated in the work of the commission on the creation of a new curriculum for training biochemists in the USSR. A branch of the department was organized at the Institute of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Along with ontobiochemical research, a new direction is gradually forming, related to the study of cellular and molecular mechanisms of interaction between the organism and the environment. Since 2003, the department has been headed by Professor Yevgeny Efimovich Persky, who has enriched the department's research topics with works on regulatory mechanisms in connective tissue.

For Applicant

The department has trained more than 1,500 specialists who work in research institutions and educational establishments in Ukraine, as well as in many countries near and far abroad (Russia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland, Israel, Spain, Great Britain, the USA, etc.). The department has graduated more than 500 foreigners — citizens from Central and South America, Africa, China, North Korea, India, and countries of Eastern and Southern Europe. Every year, the department graduates more than 25 full-time and part-time students.

The department trains bachelors of biology (specialization in biochemistry) and masters of biochemistry (qualification as a “Biochemist. Lecturer") in full-time and part-time programs. Graduates of the department (masters and specialists) can work in biochemical laboratories of ecological and epidemiological surveillance, in food and pharmaceutical industries, in research institutes of biological and medical fields; conduct laboratory diagnostics in medicine, sports, and criminalistics; teach in educational institutions. The most talented graduates have the opportunity to continue their studies in postgraduate programs.

The department offers full-time and part-time postgraduate programs. Every year, 2-3 postgraduate students study and work at the department.

Science

The main areas of scientific research at the department are: biochemistry of stress and adaptation, cellular and molecular mechanisms of stress signal transmission in connective tissue, mechanisms of metabolism regulation under normal conditions and under the influence of extreme environmental factors on the body, heme and hemoprotein metabolism, bioinformatics, medical biochemistry.

The department has a branch at the Institute of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Every year, the department staff publishes about 50 articles. Students actively participate in scientific work and present the results of their bachelor's and master's theses at conferences for young scientists. The IX Congress of the Ukrainian Biochemical Society was held at the department.

Staff

The department employs 14 highly qualified specialists, including 4 doctors of science and 7 associate professors.

Educational work

The department provides teaching of general courses in Biochemistry, Bioorganic Chemistry, Radiobiology, Biophysics, and Immunology for students of the Faculty of Biology, Biological Chemistry for students of the Faculty of Medicine, and Human Biochemistry for students of the Faculty of Philosophy majoring in Valeology.

Special courses taught to 4th-year students of the department: “Structure and Functions of Nucleic Acids,” “Structure and Functions of Biomembranes,” “Selected Chapters in Bioorganic and Bioneorganic Chemistry,” “Physical and Chemical Methods in Biochemistry,” “Enzymology,” “Metabolism Regulation,” “Medical and Functional Biochemistry,” “Stem Cell Biology,” and “Applied Informatics.”

Special workshops cover preparative methods in biochemistry, laboratory techniques, methods for studying water-salt metabolism, methods for studying hormones, proteins and amino acids, carbohydrates and lipids, and the basics of surgery (animals).

Special courses for future masters of biochemistry: “Fundamentals of Proteomics,” “Cell Biochemistry,” “Gene Expression Regulation,” “Problems of Practical Biochemistry,” “Methods of Teaching Biochemistry in Higher Education,” “Methodology and Organization of Scientific Research,” “Molecular Immunology,” “Molecular Endocrinology,” “Bioenergetics.”