Elena Alexandrovna Timofeeva-Resovskaya at the forefront of radiobiology in the XX century

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to show the outstanding contribution of Elena Alexandrovna Timofeeva-Resovskaya (1898–1973) to the development of radiobiology.

Materials and methods

We reviewed the author's memoirs and materials from the personal archive, as well as literary and electronic sources.

Results and conclusions

For the first time the autobiography of Elena A. Timofeeva-Resovskaya and the periods of her scientific activity were revealed. We demonstrated the primary role of Elena A. Timofeeva-Resovskaya in the research of aquatic ecosystems. The results of her research turned out to be important both for solving the problems of radioactive contamination of territories and for the development of modern radioecology. Throughout her life, she worked with her husband Nikolay V. Timofeev-Resovsky (1900–1981), a great scientist and prominent scientific enlightener. There was no purpose to describe the life of Timofeev-Resovskies family, full of exciting events, but it was not possible to avoid it. For young women in science, Elena A. Timofeeva-Resovskaya can provide an example of a successful scientific career even in turbulent times.

Keywords:

• Radiation protection
• radioecology
• radiation biology

Acknowledgments

I would like to express special thanks to Victoria L. Korogodina JINR Dubna for her idea of this article and the support in writing this. I want to thank Ksenia A. Mitrofanova 1MSMU for help in proofreading the text.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 In the author's archive.

2 It was the secret Laboratory ‘B’ of the Soviet Atomic Project.

3 Timofeev-Resovsky NV (1900–1981) Russian Soviet zoologist, geneticist, biogeocenologist, and evolutionist. The main areas of research by N.V. Timofeev-Resovsky: biophysics, radiation genetics, population genetics, microevolution and synthetic theory of evolution, biogeocenology, radiobiology, radioecology, and space biology. He was one of the founders of molecular biology, quantitative biophysics of ionizing radiation, the author of the target theory, the principle of hitting and the amplifier principle in radiobiology, the genetic concepts of expressivity and penetrance, and the biophysical model of a gene. His scientific research made fundamental contributions to a number of areas of modern biology.

4 The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

5 The concept of ‘biogeocenosis’ as an elementary chorological subdivision of the biosphere was developed in the 1940s by Academician VN Sukachev, a friend of the Timofeev-Resovskies.

6 Irina Pabst, nee Udintsova (1927–2004). Actress. Public figure. Renowned benefactor. Cavalier highest German award ‘Cross of Merit (Verdienstkreuz)’. Winner of the 2001 Berliner Bär Prize.

7 In the author's archive.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

S. N. Kulikov

Sergey N. Kulikov, Ph.D. in Medicine, is an Adjunct Professor (Docent) at the Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of General Medicine, Ural State Medical University, Yekaterinburg, Russia.