In Memoriam: Prof. Olena Petrivna Sotnikova

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Professor Olena Petrivna Sotnikova, Head of Pharmacology and Tissue Therapy Laboratory at the Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy, passed away on June 9, 2023. She was born in the town of Makiivka, Donetsk region, on June 26, 1939. After graduating cum laude from the Faculty of General Medicine, Odesa Medical Institute, in 1969, Olena Petrivna began her career as a junior research associate at the Pharmacology and Tissue Therapy Laboratory at the Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy, NAMS of Ukraine. Completing her Cand Sc (Med) thesis, Cytochemical Changes in the Corneal Epithelium and Nasal Mucosa in Impaired Sensory Innervation, under the co-supervision of Drs Sc (Med) V.D. Dragomiretskyi and R.K. Marmur, was her first serious achievement in science. In 1981, O.P. Sotnikova was awarded with a silver medal and the Certificate of Participation in the Exhibition of Economic Achievements of the USSR as a co-developer of a preparation named “aloe tablets covered with a film shell”. She defended her Dr Sc (Med) dissertation and became head of the Pharmacology and Tissue Therapy Laboratory in 1990 and was promoted to professorship in 1999. Professor Sotnikova’s study on molecular and cellular bioregulative and protective mechanisms of tissue preparations in the presence of the impact of adverse factors on the body has become an important contribution to the Acad. Filatov’s fundamental theory of “biogenic stimulators”. Two components had been incorporated into the science and practice activities of the laboratory under her guidance: first, the ocular pharmacological research aimed at the development of single and multicomponent ophthalmic dosage forms from national plant, animal and geo-organic raw materials, and, second, the preclinical evaluation of the curative and preventive efficacy of these forms in ophthalmopathy models. Twelve individuals completed their Cand Sc (Med) degrees under the supervision of Prof. Sotnikova. She produced about 400 publications and authored or co-authored 20 patents. Olena Petrivna was a person with a capital P. She was a remarkably talented scientist and manager, and her job was her passion. She also was a benevolent and empathetic person who had never remained indifferent to the problems of others and was always ready to assist in any way she could. Olena Petrivna’s memory will leave on forever through her numerous published works, scientific ideas and research results, and the apprentices that she mentored.