History of the Department
1. The Department of Biochemistry within the Faculty of Biology began its activity in 1944. The first Head of the Department was Associate Professor V.H. Klymenko, who led the Department until 1950.
2. From 1950 to 1978, the Department of Biochemistry was headed by Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Honored Worker of Science K.M. Leutskyi. Owing to Professor K.M. Leutskyi—well known in the international scientific community for his research on the role of vitamin A in metabolic processes—Chernivtsi State University became a leading scientific center for the development of biochemistry.
3. From 1978 to 2002, the Department was headed by Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine S.S. Kostyshyn, who initiated a new research direction at the Department related to the study of molecular mechanisms of heterosis in plants. This period was marked by the organization of the 8th Ukrainian Biochemical Congress at the Department of Biochemistry of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, which brought together leading biochemists from Ukraine and from abroad.
4. From 2002 to 2013, the Department was headed by Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine M.M. Marchenko. During this period, a state license was obtained for the training of Bachelor’s degree students in Biotechnology, and the specialty Molecular Biotechnology was accredited. In 2009, according to the decision of the University Academic Council, the Department of Biochemistry was renamed the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology.
5. From September 2013 to March 2025, the Department was headed by Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Excellence in Education of Ukraine Halyna Petrivna Kopylchuk. In 2014, under the leadership of H.P. Kopylchuk, a state license was obtained for the training of Master’s degree students in the specialty
8.04010213 – Laboratory Diagnostics of Biological Systems.
6. Since March 2025, the Department has been headed by Associate Professor Oksana Mykolaivna Voloshchuk.
Today, the Department is one of the leading centers in the field of biochemistry in Ukraine.
Educational Programs
The Department provides training for students at the following degree levels:
Bachelor’s Degree
Specialty E1 Biology and Biochemistry
(Educational Program: Biology)
Specialty G21 Biotechnology and Bioengineering
(Educational Program: Biotechnology and Bioengineering)
Master’s Degree
Specialty E1 Biology and Biochemistry
(Educational Program: Biochemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics)
Specialty G21 Biotechnology and Bioengineering
(Educational Program: Biotechnology and Bioengineering)
The training of specialists is provided by the academic staff of the Department:
Doctors of Biological Sciences:
Professor H.P. Kopylchuk
Professor M.M. Marchenko
Associate Professor O.I. Khudyi
Candidates of Biological Sciences (PhD):
Associate Professor O.M. Voloshchuk
Associate Professor O.V. Ketsa
Associate Professor L.V. Khuda
Associate Professor L.M. Vasina
Associate Professor L.M. Cheban
Assistant I.M. Nykolaichuk
Support Staff
Head of Laboratory Y.V. Stus
Laboratory Assistant L.V. Humeniuk
Head of Vivarium O.M. Rozhok
Postgraduate Training
Postgraduate Student M.S. Ursatyi
Postgraduate Student K.V. Boiko
The results of scientific research are published in professional national and international journals indexed in major scientometric databases (Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Web of Knowledge), including: “Journal of Lipid Research”, “Archives of Biochemistry and Biophisics”, “Experimental Oncology”, “Biochemistry”, “FEBS Journal”, “Acta Biochimica Polonica”, “Nanoscale Research Letters”, “Acta Biol. Univ. Daugavp”, “Nova Biotechnologica et Chimica”, “Scientific Herald of Chernivtsi University”, “Biology (Biological Systems)”, “The Animal Biology», “Ukrainian Biochemical Journal”, “Reports of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine”, “Physiology and Biochemistry of Cultivated Plants”, “Biotechnology”.
Presentations by the academic staff are delivered at numerous international and national conferences and symposia, including: “FEBS Congress”, “First International Retinoids Meeting (Cosenza, Italy)”, “AQUAREDPOT Workshop on Recirculating Aquaculture (Vilnius, Lithuania)”, IV International Symposium “Invasion of Alien Species in Holarctic” (Borok-4), “11th Ukrainian Biochemical Congress (Kyiv, Ukraine)”, “Conference-Competition of Young Scientists “Current Problems of Biochemistry and Biotechnology – 2021”, “International Conference “Transboundary Management of the Dniester River within the Framework of the Basin Treaty” (Chișinău, Moldova)”, “Modern Oncology: From Fundamental Research to New Therapeutic Approaches”, “Biotechnology of the 21st Century”, “5th International Scientific Conference “Current Problems of Biochemistry, Cell Biology and Physiology”, “XV IMBG All-Ukrainian Conference of Young Scientists with International Participation”.
Members of the Department serve as official opponents during the defense of Candidate of Sciences (PhD) and Doctor of Sciences dissertations, participate in licensing and accreditation commissions for academic programs at higher education institutions of Ukraine, and are members of scientific commissions of the Scientific Council of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, as well as methodological commissions in the field of biology.