- Email: [email protected]
Centenary biographical note
CENTENARY
BIOGRAPHICAL
NOTE
NIKOLAI PETROVICH POPOV 1888-1961
NIKOLAI PETROVICH
Powv was born in 1888 in the town of Buzuluk, near Orenburg, the son of a teacher. After completing his schooling, he entered the Veterinary Institute in Warsaw, and afterwards was employed as prosector in the department of pathological anatomy of the Veterinary Institute in Novocherkassk. It was the arrival here in 1917 of Konstantin Ivanovich Skryabin that was to dete~ine the future course of Popov’s scientific career. He devoted himself entirely to the study of helminthology and became one of Skryabin’s foremost pupils. Under Skryabin’s direction he took part in numerous research expeditions to study the helminthofauna of animals in various parts of the country (Armenia, Kazakhstan, the Mari Autonomous Republic, etc.), In the 1920s Popov moved to Moscow to work at the All-Union Institute of Experimental Veterinary Medicine, before taking up an appointment in the parasitology department of the Saratov Zooveterinary Institute, In 1936, Popov was invited to become head of the department of parasitology at the Veterinary
Institute in Kazan. Here he presided over a significant expansion in the department’s activities, renewing the securing new stock of illustrative materials, appointments and attracting postgraduates and collaborators. Most of the research carried out by Popov was concerned with the study of equine helminthoses on the basis of material collected during field trips to stud-farms. He carried out successful tests of carbon tetrachloride, which was thereafter widely used in the removal of helminths. For many years he was also involved in studies of helminthoses in sheep in Kazakhstan and in the Tatar and Mari Republics. He identified a new cestode species in the intermuscular connective tissue in sheep, which he named in honour of his teacher ~ult~ceps sk~a~ini Popov, 1937; he also investigated the life cycle of this parasite, proving in an experiment in which he himself ingested a coenurous bladder that man could not be infected by this helminth or function as a definitive host. Popov’s great talents as a scholar and a lecturer were 139
140
CENTENARYBDGRAPHICALNOTE
reflected in the quality of his teaching and research. The material he gathered in Kazakhstan formed the basis for general theoretical studies such as his doctoral thesis “Helminthoses of Sheep in Central Kazakhstan” (1940). Later, during his years in Kazan, he was supervisor to many postgraduates and junior academics (S. F. Funikova, M. M. Mendelevich, M. N. Filimonova, V. G. Evranova, S. K. Kamalova, A. S. Melnikova, V. V. Kibakin and others). Popov was not only a leading hehninthologist, but a man of wide erudition and culture. His enthusiasm for his subject communicated itself to his pupils and ensured that they worked to capacity and never ceased to learn. His favourite proverb, “strike while the iron is hot”, was often repeated to keep his postgraduates and assistants on their toes and to make sure no one put off to tomorrow what could be done today. His lecturing style was restrained, but his lectures were fascinating and thoroughly illustrated from his practical experience and his extensive personal collection of materials.
Popov supervised more than 10 postgraduate theses in veterinary sciences and publish~ upwards of 80 scientific works, including the monograph Helmin~ho~es ofFarm Animals in ihe Tutar and Mari Republics. He also organized frequent field trips in which all members of his department took part. Mention should be made too of Professor Popov’s valuable work at various medical institutions in Kazan. He lectured at the Institute of Continuing Education for Doctors and acted as consultant to malaria specialists in epidemiology clinics. He also played a leading role in establishing a museum within his department, and supervised staff-training programmes. Everyone who was privileged to know Popov remembers him as a humane and erudite scholar and a gifted teacher. V. G. EVRANOVA Kazan Veterinary Institute, Kazan, U.S.S.R.
BIOGRAPHICAL
NOTE
NIKOLAI PETROVICH POPOV 1888-1961
NIKOLAI PETROVICH
Powv was born in 1888 in the town of Buzuluk, near Orenburg, the son of a teacher. After completing his schooling, he entered the Veterinary Institute in Warsaw, and afterwards was employed as prosector in the department of pathological anatomy of the Veterinary Institute in Novocherkassk. It was the arrival here in 1917 of Konstantin Ivanovich Skryabin that was to dete~ine the future course of Popov’s scientific career. He devoted himself entirely to the study of helminthology and became one of Skryabin’s foremost pupils. Under Skryabin’s direction he took part in numerous research expeditions to study the helminthofauna of animals in various parts of the country (Armenia, Kazakhstan, the Mari Autonomous Republic, etc.), In the 1920s Popov moved to Moscow to work at the All-Union Institute of Experimental Veterinary Medicine, before taking up an appointment in the parasitology department of the Saratov Zooveterinary Institute, In 1936, Popov was invited to become head of the department of parasitology at the Veterinary
Institute in Kazan. Here he presided over a significant expansion in the department’s activities, renewing the securing new stock of illustrative materials, appointments and attracting postgraduates and collaborators. Most of the research carried out by Popov was concerned with the study of equine helminthoses on the basis of material collected during field trips to stud-farms. He carried out successful tests of carbon tetrachloride, which was thereafter widely used in the removal of helminths. For many years he was also involved in studies of helminthoses in sheep in Kazakhstan and in the Tatar and Mari Republics. He identified a new cestode species in the intermuscular connective tissue in sheep, which he named in honour of his teacher ~ult~ceps sk~a~ini Popov, 1937; he also investigated the life cycle of this parasite, proving in an experiment in which he himself ingested a coenurous bladder that man could not be infected by this helminth or function as a definitive host. Popov’s great talents as a scholar and a lecturer were 139
140
CENTENARYBDGRAPHICALNOTE
reflected in the quality of his teaching and research. The material he gathered in Kazakhstan formed the basis for general theoretical studies such as his doctoral thesis “Helminthoses of Sheep in Central Kazakhstan” (1940). Later, during his years in Kazan, he was supervisor to many postgraduates and junior academics (S. F. Funikova, M. M. Mendelevich, M. N. Filimonova, V. G. Evranova, S. K. Kamalova, A. S. Melnikova, V. V. Kibakin and others). Popov was not only a leading hehninthologist, but a man of wide erudition and culture. His enthusiasm for his subject communicated itself to his pupils and ensured that they worked to capacity and never ceased to learn. His favourite proverb, “strike while the iron is hot”, was often repeated to keep his postgraduates and assistants on their toes and to make sure no one put off to tomorrow what could be done today. His lecturing style was restrained, but his lectures were fascinating and thoroughly illustrated from his practical experience and his extensive personal collection of materials.
Popov supervised more than 10 postgraduate theses in veterinary sciences and publish~ upwards of 80 scientific works, including the monograph Helmin~ho~es ofFarm Animals in ihe Tutar and Mari Republics. He also organized frequent field trips in which all members of his department took part. Mention should be made too of Professor Popov’s valuable work at various medical institutions in Kazan. He lectured at the Institute of Continuing Education for Doctors and acted as consultant to malaria specialists in epidemiology clinics. He also played a leading role in establishing a museum within his department, and supervised staff-training programmes. Everyone who was privileged to know Popov remembers him as a humane and erudite scholar and a gifted teacher. V. G. EVRANOVA Kazan Veterinary Institute, Kazan, U.S.S.R.