The discoverer of viruses Dmitry Ivanovsky becomes the main 2020 nominee for the St Petersburg University Person of the Year, a title planned to be established at the University
The honorary title of the St Petersburg University Person of the Year may appear at the University. This idea, put forward by Honorary Professor Robert Evarestov, has been supported by Professor Raul Gainetdinov, Director of the Institute of Translational Biomedicine, Academic Supervisor of the St Petersburg University Clinic of High Medical Technologies. He spoke about that during the Cradle of Virology online conference dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the death of the outstanding St Petersburg University scholar Dmitry Ivanovsky. He was the first person in the world to discover viruses, microscopic pathogens that can infect cells of almost all living organisms.
'It is impossible to overestimate the discovery made by Ivanovsky, a graduate and a staff member of St Petersburg University, especially in the year of the coronavirus pandemic. St Petersburg University Rector Nikolay Kropachev has recently decided to create a museum dedicated to Dmitry Ivanovsky. It will be housed in the Twelve Collegia building, in the premises of the laboratories where the scholar used to work and where he made his great discovery,' Raul Gainetdinov said during the live broadcast.
I believe that the name of Ivanovsky and the description of his experiment should be included in all school books.
Professor Raul Gainetdinov, Director of the Institute of Translational Biomedicine, Academic Supervisor of the St Petersburg University Clinic of High Medical Technologies
Earlier, a regular meeting of the University Academic Council had been held at St Petersburg University in an online format. At that meeting, Professor Alexander Pinevich, Head of the St Petersburg University Department of Microbiology, presented his report titled 'The history of the discovery of viruses: to the 100th anniversary of Dmitry Ivanovsky's death'. During the discussion that followed, Robert Evarestov, Honorary Professor of St Petersburg University, Chairperson of the Permanent Committee of the University Academic Council on Legal Issues, Foreign Member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, suggested that the title of the St Petersburg University Person of the Year should be established and conferred on Dmitry Ivanovsky in 2020. He was supported by: Professor Igor Tikhonovich, Dean of the Faculty of Biology, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Professor Larisa Golovei, Head of the Department of Developmental Psychology and Differential Psychology; and other members of the University Academic Council.
It is supposed that every year, on the occasion of the University’s birthday, the Academic Council will choose a new nominee. It can be either living University staff members or graduates, or the famous professors and members of the administrative staff who have made a prominent contribution to the science and the University in the past. Throughout the year, various educational and cultural events devoted to the chosen candidate will be held. In addition, a portrait of the St Petersburg University Person of the Year will be hung in the gallery of the Twelve Collegia building. The University administration will also cooperate with the city authorities to put up a commemorative plaque on the house where Dmitry Ivanovsky lived and worked.