Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry


The Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry is a leading university for dentistry in Russia. The university's history dates back to the emergence of dental schools in Russia in the 19th century.

History

Establishment

The history of Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry dates back to the 19th century, when the first dental school was opened in Moscow by I.M. Kovarsky. Later, when the Soviets came to power in Russia, it was turned into the House of Soviet Dentistry, and was called upon to tackle a tremendous task of organizing dental health services for the population. The main purpose of MSUMD has always been to train highly qualified medical professionals. Several prominent Russian health care figures who had played a prominent role in establishing the university made a point of including dentistry in the curriculum of the medical school, including N.A. Semashko, P.G. Dauge, M.В. Yankovsky and A.I. Yevdokimov.

Early Soviet years

In February 1920, when the Kovarsky dental school went under the jurisdiction of Narkomzdrav, the Kovarsky school was transformed into a dental research center by the decision of Narkomzdrav's dental health division in order to bring together all dental care units that existed at the time in different parts of Moscow — a demonstration dispensary, a chemical laboratory, and the Kovarsky institution itself. The center was named the House of Soviet Dentistry and among its main purposes were the retraining of former dentists into oral care consultants, and the preparation of secondary dental personnel, such as dental mechanics, filling and prosthetic specialists, and chair side assistants.
First renamed in December, 1920, the HSD's official opening took place two years later in April 1922, when again it was given a different name. This time it was the State Institute of Dentistry, which was to be headed by M.В. Yankovsky, who directed his staff in an in-depth study of Dentistry and Odontology before anything else; the two major problems to be solved were tooth decay and periodontal disease. Among those who joined efforts in the study of these problems were scientists such as professors Ya.S. Utshtem, M.S. Nemenov, M.О. Kovarsky, N.M. Vilnik, and A.I. Yevdokimov, who replaced M.В. Yankovsky at the post after his death in January 1923. A.I. Yevdokimov made large contributions of his own in the SID's development and that earned him the titles of Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, a corresponding member of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR and of Hero of Socialist Labor. Another new name, that of the State Institute of Stomatology and Odontology was given in April 1927 by decree of the Sovnarkom. The SISO was to continue the job of training dentists through a specially organized refresher course for dental professionals and a dental specialization course for general medicine faculties. This helped to streamline the public dental health care as well as carry on with scientific research in the fields of dental and oral pathology and therapy, maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, and prosthodontics.
In 1932, the SISO was renamed yet again, this time to the State Research Institute of Stomatology and Odontology and from then on it was concerned mostly with scientific research problems. There were no educational departments in it at the time, those having been replaced by newly formed divisions for pathological physiology, morphology, surgery and social dentistry instead, to which a steel prosthetics laboratory was added. Another, central, laboratory for prosthetics research was set up a year later in 1933 to manufacture steel dentures on a large scale.

Years as Moscow Stomatological Institute

The Moscow Stomatological Institute as a higher dental school was established under the Narkomzdrav's order dated June 9, 1935, as a subdivision within the SRISO's framework. Both institutions were housed in one building, sharing administration, finances and facilities. Thus, the MSI became the only institution in the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic that was to conduct scientific research in dentistry, translate the results obtained into everyday dental care practices and train dental professionals as well. Since 1935 a whole number of departments were being added to the institute those of normal anatomy, biology, general chemistry, histology, embryology, and, finally, in 1937 the departments of oral therapy, oral surgery and prosthodontics.
In line with the resolution of the RSFSR Narkomzdrav of September 1, 1939, the SRISO and MSI were united to become the Moscow State Stomatology Institute with associate professor D. S. Dyshlis as Director. That year witnessed the first batch of 79 graduates trained by the new institution. By the time World War II broke out, the Moscow State Stomatology Institute included 25 departments involved in the studies of dental caries, periodontitis, oral mucous membrane lesions, and maxillofacial injuries.
In the first days of the war, the MSSI's 1941 graduates were called up to serve in the Red Army or Navy. Among the graduates were V.I. Zausaev who operated on an open heart in a field hospital and who later became a professor and a department head, G.M. Ivaschenko who joined the Army as Chief Dentist, A.I. Doimkov and V.F. Rudko who also gained professorship after the war. To provide the front with dentists, the MSSI put up a special crash course in October, 1941. The MSSI's director, associate professor D.S. Dyshlis, was sent to Izhevsk to make all the necessary arrangements for evacuating the institute to that town, but then the idea was given up. Instead, the MSSI premises in Dolgorukovskaya Street were used to lay out a 50-bed maxillofacial hospital staffed with the institute's polyclinical personnel and the Dentistry department undergraduates. Because of this, over 85% of soldiers with maxillofacial wounds were able to return to the front unscathed. On October 1, 1943, the Moscow State Stomatology Institute opened its doors to students again and about a year later, in February, 1944, A.I. Yevdokimov was appointed its director.

After World War II and Khrushchev Thaw

After the war the training of dental care professionals became vital again. So on October 15, 1949, by decision of the USSR Council of Ministers, former dental schools were reorganized into general medicine and dentistry institutes with a 5-year course of studies. The Moscow State Stomatology Institute was again renamed to become the Moscow Medical Stomatology Institute, which became famous as the country's research and consulting center on all dentistry-related issues.
In 1950, associate professor G.N. Beletskiy, a prominent public health worker, was appointed as MMSI director. Under his leadership, a student enrollment to the institution went up significantly, the existing clinical medicine facilities were enlarged and new teaching hospitals went under construction, the standards of training research and teaching staff also improved. Moreover, two more faculties were launched, part-time and correspondence ones.
From 1964 to 1965, the institute was headed by Prof A.I. Doimkov. For many years, professor acted as the Chief Dentist of the USSR Ministry of Health administration division No 4, which was in charge of providing dental services to members of the Soviet government and top officials from other countries.
From 1965 to 1968, the post of Rector of the MMSI was held by Professor S.I. Babichev, head of the institute's Surgical Disease department. He initiated the idea of incorporating a General Medicine Faculty into the MMSI. On the basis of the Eye Disease department led by professor S.N. Fyodorov, an ophthalmologic research laboratory was created in 1967. The research staff under S.N. Fyodorv looked into a wide range of scientific and practical problems of eye disorders and that, having eventually crowned with success, allowed him to turn the laboratory into what is now known internationally as the Microsurgery of the Eye scientific research institute.

Brezhnev years and Perestroika

During the period of time from 1968 to 1974, when the institute was headed by prof. A.Z. Belousov, the proposal of setting up a general medicine faculty won his support and was realized in 1968. The emergence of the new faculty that was to cater for the need in medical professionals by the city of Moscow and its surroundings called for employment of more teaching staff for a number of the existing departments as well as for putting up new courses and departments. These were launched a year later, staffed with qualified specialists and office workers that helped improve the work of the Faculty's administration and dean's offices. That same year, the MMSI opened an advanced training faculty for medical professionals with departments for dental and general practitioners, which was followed by opening in 1975 of a faculty for advanced training of teaching staff.
From 1974 to 1982, Professor К.M. Lakin, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, headed the institution. He proved very successful with his studies of thromboembolic and hemorrhagic disease prevention and treatment, the results of which have been widely applied in medical practice. Working in this field he virtually laid the foundation of the hemostasis pharmacology school. His time at the MMSI is marked by putting into operation a Clinical Dentistry Center in Moscow in 1976. It was designed to cater for 2 000 out-patients and 50 in-patients a day and housed a number of the Institute's dental teaching hospital departments.

In modern Russia

The decades that followed saw Professor Ye.I. Sokolov as the Rector. As head of the Internal Disease department, he became known for his research into the problems of ischemic heart disease, correction of hemostasis disturbances, and clinical psychophysiology, which brought him success and were immediately put to medical use. Under Professor Ye.I. Sokolov's leadership, the Dentistry faculty premises were greatly enlarged and new departments were added to both Dentistry and General Medicine faculties, as well as output of graduates increased. In 1986, а part-time faculty for dental students was opened, in 1995 - one for post-graduate students, and, in 1998, a secondary medical education faculty was launched to train dental mechanics. Two more to come were a refresher course for dental specialists and the Clinical Psychology faculty, in 1999 and 2001 respectively. Towards the end of the decade, another change of name was in store for the Institution, this time by the orders of the Ministries for General and Vocational Education and that for Public Health of the Russian Federation, dated June 10, 1999. These granted the MMSI a university status with a full name from then on of Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry under the Russian Ministry of Public Health.

Rector of the University

During the five years after Professor Ye.I. Sokolov's resignation in 2002, the University was led by Professor N.D. Yushchuk, a RAS and RAMS academician, RF Honored Scientist, government prize winner, head of the University's Infectious Disease and Epidemiology department. The department's staff is known to take an active part in the work of the Moscow and All-Russia scientific societies of infectionists, microbiologists, epidemiologists and parasitologists, many being members on those societies' boards. This helped to spread new ideas within the country's medical community. The rector paid great attention to the introduction of latest techniques of teaching and assessment of higher school and post-graduate students into the university's practice taking due account of latest pedagogy and medical psychology techniques. Professor N.D. Yuschuk was an active participant in the development of a new effective test control system aimed at better assessment of students' progress. The system was first tried at the time of state assessment of MSMDU students upon graduation and later approved for use by other medical colleges in Russia. It was under Prof N.D. Yuschuk that a scheme was developed, and is now successfully used, for a continuous medical education when a higher medical is to be followed by postgraduate courses. As to the university's new educational facilities that sprang into being in 2002, they include the faculty of Health Economics and Management, the Moscow Region faculty, and that of Penitentiary Medicine.
On May 15, 2007, Professor O.O. Yanushevich, head of the MSMDU Periodontology and Geriatric Dentistry department, was elected rector in a ballot by a university staff meeting that was also unanimous in voting for the former rector, academician N.D. Yuschuk, as the University President.
Himself a graduate of the MSUMD, the Rector elected worked for a number of years at the University's Hospital Oral Therapy Department. Today, he has over 50 scientific papers on topical periodontal problems to his credit.

Notable faculty

According to the research performed by the Dissernet community, the university has multiple cases of Ph.D. level degrees being awarded on the basis of plagiarised theses.