Pharmacology Department was created in 1921 as part of the Medical faculty of the Belarusian State University. Since then, the Department was headed - Professor A.P.Bestuzhev (1922-1930), Professor V.A.Anischenko (1930-1941), Associate Professor V.V.Korobko (1943-1953), Professor S.K.Shadursky (1953-1963), Associate Professor N.A.Reut (1963-1976), Professor B.B.Kuzmitsky (1976-1982), Associate Professor A.V.Miklevich (1982-1983), Professor A.S.Zakharevsky (1983-1995), Professor B.V.Dubovik (1996-2006), Profossor N.A.Bizunok (since 2006).
During the 70 years occurred establishment and development of the Department - is built and been established pharmacology training system, organized scientific research in pharmacology and related sciences, created the Belarusian school of pharmacology. The Department is the main center of research on the pharmacology in Belarus.
The first step of department development was carried at hard social and economic conditions and troubled political circumstances. Professor Alexander Bezstugev had arranged the educational process, engaging specialists-physicians for the teaching pharmacology and pharmaceutical chemistry. The research work was complicated by the absence of appropriate financing and the necessary equipment. Still the first experimental work was published in 1925 «More on the question of exciting action of carbonic acid». Since 1930 the development of pharmacology department continues with the Valerij Anischenko as Head of department. Expansion of the department gives the opportunity for the scientific research and formation of research degree. Much attention was given to the development of Medicinal toxicology – the branch of pharmacology: the one department with the research degree was organized. In addition, the pharmacology department had been participating in the pharmaceutical education: it was base for the pharmacists and pharmaceutical laboratory workers educational courses, upgrade pharmaceutical training courses, also helped with recruitment of stuff for these courses, part of the pharmacology department stuff had been teaching some disciplines. Pharmacology department had been working closely with Chemical-pharmaceutical factory dealing with some manufacture issues, providing conference with specialists.
Restitution of pharmacology department was in the Yaroslavl in the 1943 with the guidance of Vladimir Korobko. The main scientific area after WWII were investigations of different substances action on the diuresis and research of medicinal plants on the Belarusian soil.
Konstantin Shadurskiy (1912-1983) was the head of the Department of Pharmacology from 1953 to 1963. He laid the foundations of experimental and clinical pharmacology in Belarus, pharmacochemical trends, research and implementation of original drugs. Doctoral students of Professor K.S.Shadurskiy (I.V.Komissarov, V.N.Salyaev, M.I.Korablev, I.A.Frankov, K.A.Vyatchannikov, A.A.Stolyarchuk, S.Y.Buslovich, N.A.Reut, A.V.Miklevich, A.S.Zakharevsky, B.B.Kuzmitsky, V.I.Talapin, B.V.Dubovik et al.) in the past ruled in many specialized Departments and research teams in Minsk, Vitebsk, Grodno, Yaroslavl, Obninsk, Smolensk, Donetsk, Vinnitsa, create their own scientific schools and directions in pharmacology and toxicology, got wide acclaim.
The training algorithms were training out to the last details in accordance with that time. Books on pharmacology written by the teaching stuff were used in studying process as well as educational and methodological guides, self-explanatory materials, soviet movies and photographic transparency. Students were learning pharmacological actions of medicines in animals and were providing scientific research.
An important historical stage in the development of the Department of Pharmacology was the period from 1976 to 1982, when the department was headed by Professor B.B. Kuzmitsky.
During this period, the staff of the department was engaged in research work in the field of steroid compounds, immunomodulators, the antispastic drug “Dimedrokhin” (1982) was developed and introduced into clinical practice, the Belarusian Scientific Society of Pharmacologists and Toxicologists was actively working.
In the period 1983 to 1995 the Department headed by Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Alexander Zakharevsky. The focus of research was to study the medicinal properties of the plant raw materials and plant products (metal derivatives of inositol hexa-phosphoric acid), was carried out to find new muscle relaxant agents based on bis-quaternary ammonium compounds. Remedies that have been developed: tincture of alcohol from the aerial parts of Polygonum Vejrych family (capillary protective means) hypoazotemic means in the form of dry extract and tincture of alcohol from the aerial part of begonia, cardiotonic agent - dry extract and alcohol tincture from the leaves of Crataegus Submollis, hypolipidemic tool based on oil from flax seeds, muscle relaxant agent “Ditolony” and “Dietony”.
During this period, were prepared and defended 8 candidate dissertations (PhD thesis) on the pharmacology. Belarusian Medical Society of Pharmacology and Toxicology, which is headed by Professor Alexander Zaharevsky, coordinated research in pharmacology, organized scientific sessions, seminars and conferences.
By the beginning of 1990 the pharmacology department was not only teaching the pharmacology discipline but also was the main center of scientific research throughout the BSSR.
From 1996 to 2006 the Department of Pharmacology was headed by Laureate of USSR State Prize, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Boris Dubovik - a graduate of the Minsk State Medical University in 1962, which is about 30 years in the scientific medical radiology center RAMS (Obninsk) and large part of its scientific activities dedicated military pharmacology - the development of the human body protection from exposure to ionizing radiation, physical and chemical factors of destruction.
Since 1996, the Department of Pharmacology has undertaken a number of efforts for the development of experimental and clinical pharmacology in Belarus, the formation of new approaches to teaching pharmacology at the medical schools of the republic. In the field of teaching was developed and introduced in the curriculum course of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (20 training hours), close to European educational standards. Reviewed and largely renovated lecture courses on pharmacology of cardiovascular, psychotropic, anti-infective agents, tissue metabolism regulators. Created new teaching materials, including problem-oriented tasks, the tasks of pharmacokinetics and calculation of rational dosing regimen of drugs, questions for the control of knowledge and test tasks for the main sections of pharmacology, published textbooks and teaching materials for medical students.
During this period, between the Department of Pharmacology and a number of scientific centers of Belarus formed a productive creative collaboration, which resulted in the development of new drugs and formation of a number of scientific fields. In particular, it created a new direction in the development of native medicines based on crystalline amino acids, to produce those substances was built “Grodno Medical Preparations Plant” (Skidel, 2000). Department of Pharmacology, together with the Institute of Physical Organic Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences established the State scientific and technical program “amino acids”, in which planned to develop dozens of new drugs based on amino acids, including means for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the nervous, endocrine, bone joint system, gastrointestinal tract, immunological deficiency (For details, see the scientific work section).
Since 2006, the Department of Pharmacology headed by Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Natalia Bizunok, who graduated from the Belarusian State Medical University (1999).
The main area of her scientific work from his student years is the molecular pharmacology of oxidative stress and the development of new approaches to the management of the redox state of living systems. This line of research is currently dictated by the Department of Pharmacology developed in collaboration with a number of research centers of the National Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Health of Belarus, the Belarusian State University, the Medical Radiological Research Center of RAMS (Obninsk, Russia).
Since 2006 department made the next steps in the development of the teaching of pharmacology. Prepared a new standardized training in pharmacology program. The system of evaluation of knowledge of the pharmacology with use of information technologies, including computer database of test questions of progressive difficulty levels across the curriculum subjects. Developed and used in teaching Study guide on Pharmacology for students of all faculties.
Today there are two main branches of scientific activity of the Department staff: the first – experimental research and development of new neuroprotectors, antidepressants, analgesics and experimentally substantiated recommendations for the clinical use of combination of these drugs and the second – fundamental studies of the methodology for studying the specific activity of drug combinations.
From 1996 to 2020, under the leadership of the Department of Pharmacology at the Belarusian State Medical University, Vitebsk State Medical University and the Medical Radiological Research Center prepared 4 doctors of science (ScD), 14 candidates of science (PhD) and 8 master's of science predominantly in medicine (pharmacology and clinical pharmacology), also in pharmacy and radiobiology. During this period, the staff of the department received 22 patents for inventions, developed and implemented 4 rationalization proposals.
Today the Department of Pharmacology has two Professors - USSR State Prize winner Boris Dubovik and Natalia Bizunok; Associate professors – Boris Volynets, Sergei Prihozhy, Alexander Vauchok; Assistants – Larisa Izvestnova, Olga Rashkevich, Anastasia Sheluhina, Yuri Kashkur, Maria Venger, Ksenia Prihozhy, Tatsiana Kazak, Yana Shishova, Anna Pilyutskaya and Valeria Povshok; laboratory staff: Olga Gatsuro, Svetlana Kazak, Olga Borovik.
Keeping the best traditions of the Belarusian School of Pharmacology, Department plans in the coming years to implement a number of innovative approaches in the field of training of physicians, pharmacists, specialists, development of a number of fundamental and applied scientific research in Belarus.