History of the Department

The modern department was founded pursuant to the decision of the Academic Council of the university (Minutes No. 3) dated October 28, 2004, and the order of the rector No. 560 dated November 29, 2004.

The department traces its roots back to 1898, when at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI), within the Agricultural Division, Prof. Ye. P. Votchal established the Department of Botany, which was split in 1939. Prof. A. A. Kuzmenko became the first Head of the Department. From 1944, the Department was headed by Assoc. Prof. F. I. Zavhorodnii. In 1954, Prof. I. M. Tolmachov assumed leadership of the Department. From 1962, it was headed by Prof. S. I. Lebedev (1902–1989). In 1963, the Department was renamed the Department of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry. Beginning in 1980, the Department was headed by: Assoc. Prof. O. P. Larin (1980–1984), Assoc. Prof. D. Y. Lavrentovych (1984–1989), Prof. S. S. Maliuta (1989–1992), and Prof. A. A. Bulakh (1992–1998).

From 1988, the Department was known as the Department of Plant Physiology and Biotechnology. In March 1998, it was merged with the Department of Plant Breeding and Seed Production and headed by DSc (Biology) T. V. Chuhunkova. On January 18, 2001, the Department of Plant Breeding and Physiology was separated, and the Department of Plant Physiology, Virology and Biotechnology was established. It was headed by PhD (Biology), Assoc. Prof. M. D. Melnychuk.

On the basis of the Department of Plant Physiology, Virology and Biotechnology, three departments were organized, among which the graduating department became the Department of Ecobiotechnology and Biodiversity. The position of Head of this Department was held by DSc (Biology), Professor, Academician of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology, M. D. Melnychuk. From 2016 to 2021, the Department was headed by DSc (Agricultural Sciences), Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of Higher Education of Ukraine, M. V. Patyka.

Currently, the department is headed by O. Yu. Kvasko, PhD in Biological Sciences, Associate Professor, who graduated from the Faculty of Biology of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in 2010 with a degree in Physiology. In 2013, she completed her PhD thesis in the specialty 03.00.11 - Cytology, Cell Biology, Histology (Biological Sciences). She is the author and co-author of 45 scientific, scientific-methodological, and educational-methodological publications.

Since 1998, the Department has maintained the Educational and Research Laboratory of Biotechnology and Cell Engineering (Rector’s Order No. 4 dated January 9, 1998), which was extensively modernized in 2021. The laboratory serves as a platform for students and postgraduate researchers to carry out the molecular biology components of their master’s theses and is fully equipped with the instruments and tools required for both thesis preparation and the conduct of scientific research.

The Department’s faculty members provide training for specialists at the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels. А number of courses at the Department have been taught in English since 2005.

The main research focus of the Department’s staff includes:

Current fundamental and applied issues in biotechnology, including the development of effective technologies for plant improvement and the in vitro cloning of economically valuable plant lines and varieties;
Research and isolation of somatic plant clones with valuable morphophysiological traits;
Physiological and biochemical studies of plant resistance to phytopathogenic microorganisms, as well as the development of biotechnological methods to combat them;
Screening of promising producers of biologically active compounds, biotechnological synthesis, purification, and development of products based on these compounds;
Genetic characterization, detection of genetic polymorphism, and genotyping of strains.