Web site: http://mycology.univer.kharkov.ua/

The Department was founded in 1993 on the base of the same specialization that existed since 1925. It is the only Higher Education Department which trains mycologists in Ukraine. Even in the former Soviet Union there were only two such departments: in Moscow and Kharkiv Universities. Investigation of fungi in Kharkiv began immediately after the establishment of the University. Accordingly, Kharkiv mycological school has 200-year history. Beginning with F.A. Delavigne (1767-1826) in Kharkiv University worked such famous mycologists and plant pathologists as V.M. Czernajew, M.V. Sorokin, L.S. Cienkowski, A.O. Potebnia, T.D. Strachov, T.V. Yaroshenko and others. Since 1993, the Department is headed by Prof. Vasyl I. Gluschenko. At this time the staff of the Department includes seven lecturers (PhD).

Department provides teaching of four general courses and 27 specialized courses. During last year’s were created several new textbooks for universities: “General Mycology”, “Medical Mycology and fungal toxicology basics”, “Floristic analysis for mycologists”, “Theoretical systematic”, “Soil science”, “Fundamentals of the field research”, “Slime moulds”. The “General Mycology” textbook is approved as the basic for teaching in all universities in Ukraine.

The Department provides training of Bachelors and Masters in biology majoring in mycology. Graduates working in mycology, plant pathology and microbiology fields, engaged in crop and plant protection from diseases, in the food and pharmaceutical industry, biotech companies which used cultures of fungi, in environmental services, monitoring and quarantine of plants, research laboratories of biological and medical profile and are engaged in teaching in various schools.

Over the past 3 years by the Department 6 PhD theses were prepared by Department collaborators (Leontiev D.V., Usichenko A.S. in mycology specialty, Akulov O.Yu. in plant pathology specialty, V.I. Oblack in biotechnology specialty) and our graduates (Nadeina O.V. in lichenology specialty and Azarkov O.M. in plant pathology specialty). Now 4 post-graduates work on their PhD thesis.

The main research directions of the department are biodiversity, ecology and systematic of fungi, plant pathology, plant resistance to fungal diseases, medical and veterinary mycology, sozology and conservation of fungi, industrial mycology and protection of materials from biodestructors, mushrooms cultivation, biotechnology of fungi.

Monographs, text-books and selected papers published by fellows of the Department and additional information about Department are reflected on its web-cite: http://www-biology.univer.kharkov.ua/micology/index.htm.