The
I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry (
IEPHB) is a facility in
Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
,
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, dedicated to research in the fields of
biochemistryBiochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
and
evolutionary physiologyEvolutionary physiology is the study of physiological evolution, which is to say, the manner in which the functional characteristics of individuals in a population of organisms have responded to selection across multiple generations during the history of the population.It is a subdiscipline of both...
.
History
The Institute was founded as a research group in October 1950 by
Leon OrbeliLevon Orbeli was an Armenian physiologist active in the Russian SFSR. He was a member of the Academies of Science of USSR and Armenian SSR...
, a physiologist and a long time collaborator with
Ivan PavlovIvan Petrovich Pavlov was a famous Russian physiologist. Although he made significant contributions to psychology, he was not in fact a psychologist himself but was a mathematician and actually had strong distaste for the field....
. Initially, Orheli's research group included eight people. It subsequently expanded and transformed into the
Laboratory of Evolutionary Physiology of the
USSR Academy of SciencesThe Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
, with the main object of studying functions of the nervous system in animals and man during ontogenesis, and also the effects of
ionizing radiationIonizing radiation is radiation composed of particles that individually have sufficient energy to remove an electron from an atom or molecule. This ionization produces free radicals, which are atoms or molecules containing unpaired electrons...
on animals.
In 1956, the Laboratory became an Institute with Orbeli serving as the first Director of Evolutionary Physiology of the Academy of Sciences. The new Institute was named after
Ivan SechenovIvan Mikhaylovich Sechenov near Simbirsk, Russia – , Moscow), was a Russian physiologist, named by Ivan Pavlov as "The Father of Russian physiology"...
. By the end of 1957, the Institute numbered 9 laboratories, one of them being transferred from the former
P.F. LesgaftPeter Franzevich Lesgaft was a Russian teacher, anatomist, physician and social reformer. He was the founder of the modern system of physical education and medical-pedagogical control in physical training, one of founders of theoretical anatomy. P.F. Lesgaft Institute of Physical Culture in St...
Institute for Natural Sciences.
After Leon Orbeli's death in 1958, the Institute was headed by his collaborator Professor Alexander Ginetsinsky. From June 1960 to March 1975, the Institute was guided by Eugenie Kreps: a former pupil of
Ivan PavlovIvan Petrovich Pavlov was a famous Russian physiologist. Although he made significant contributions to psychology, he was not in fact a psychologist himself but was a mathematician and actually had strong distaste for the field....
and collaborator of Orbeli's, Kreps is known for his fundamental studies in the field of comparative physiology and biochemistry of the nervous system. Kreps successfully promoted research in evolutionary biochemistry. In response, in 1964, the Institute adopted its current name,
I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry.
In November 1969, a monument to
AcademicianThe title Academician denotes a Full Member of an art, literary, or scientific academy.In many countries, it is an honorary title. There also exists a lower-rank title, variously translated Corresponding Member or Associate Member, .-Eastern Europe and China:"Academician" may also be a functional...
Orbeli was erected in front of the first laboratory block on
Maurice Thorezthumb|A Soviet stamp depicting Maurice Thorez.Maurice Thorez was a French politician and longtime leader of the French Communist Party from 1930 until his death. He also served as vice premier of France from 1946 to 1947....
Prospect.
From 1975 to 1981 Institute was headed by Vladimir Govyrin, and from 1981 to 2004 by Vladimir Svidersky. Since 2004, the Institute has been headed by N. P. Vesselkin, Corresponding Member of RAS, a distinguished
neuroscientistA neuroscientist is an individual who studies the scientific field of neuroscience or any of its related sub-fields...
, and head of the Laboratory of Neuronal Interaction.
Journal of Evolutionary Biochemistry and Physiology
The Institute is publisher of the
Journal of Evolutionary Biochemistry and Physiology (ISSN 0022-0930) which is abstracted in the
Chemical Abstracts. The journal is also available
online by subscription only (online ISSN 1608-3202). Contents and abstracts are available
online in PDF format.
External links