The Department of Biology was established in 1930 headed by Prof. Nikolai S. CHASOVNIKOV.
In different periods the Department was headed by:
1931-1938 – Prof. Lev B. KAMENKO, Prof. Ivan V. IVANOV, Prof. Alexander D. BERNSHTEIN, Prof. Vladimir G. ELISEEV
1938-1968 – Prof. Alexander P. SKABICHEVSKY
1968-1974 – Assoc. Prof. Gennady P. ANDREEV, Prof. Asst. Maria A. CHERNYAVSKAYA
1975-2010 – Prof. Tatiana M. LYUTIKOVA, Academician of International Academy of Ecology and Life Protection Sciences
2010-2015 – Prof. Svetlana I. ANDREEVA
Since 2015 – Assoc. Prof. Tatiana Ya. ORLYANSKAYA
The Department carried research on theoretical and practical issues of hydrobiology; epidemiology of opisthorchiasis and diphyllobothriasis. For the past thirty years, the scientists of the Department have been studying the morphological features of adaptive reactions at the cellular, population-cellular, organ, organism and population levels. Most of the research is dedicated to the study of the structural and functional basics of the organization of the brain in a comparative anatomical aspect (together with the Brain Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow).
In 1930, Biological Museum was set up. The first collection was delivered by Prof. Lev B. KAMENKO, who acquired a significant number of zoological exhibits from the Regional Museum of Local Lore. Nowadays, the collection is enriched thanks to the donations from parasitologists and consists of 1008 pieces, including 661 animal species. The Biology Museum is actively used for workshops, seminars and master-classes and for the sessions of Students’ Scientific Society.
A great merit of the Department is its career-oriented events, including seminars, lectures, and Open Days for schoolchildren.