G. Onishchenko, Academician of RAS, Professor

Professor G.G. Onischenko is a Russian statesman, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for Education and Science, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Honored Doctor of the Russian Federation, Member of the Presidium of the League of Nations Health, all-Russian public organization, Head of the Epidemiology Department of the Russian Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education, Head of the Human Ecology and Environmental Hygiene Department of the Faculty of Medicine and Preventive Medicine of FSBEI of Higher Education of I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University of the Public Health Ministry of Russia.
In 1973 he graduated from the Faculty of Sanitary and Hygiene of M. Gorky Donetsk State Medical Institute with a specialization in «Hygiene, Sanitary and Epidemiology». From 1973 to 1987 he worked in the system of the Ministry of Railways of the USSR, first as an epidemiologist, then at senior positions at various levels. In 1982 he became the chief sanitary inspector of the Moscow Metro, in 1983 – Chief Doctor of the Central Sanitary and Epidemiological Station of the Ministry of Railways of the USSR. In 1986-1987 he worked as a referent of the Healthcare Department of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR; in 1987-1991 – Deputy Chief of the Main Directorate of Quarantine Infections of the Public Health Ministry of the USSR.
Since 1991 – Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision under the President of the Russian Federation – Deputy Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation. Since March 1996 – Acting Chairman of the State Committee for the Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance of the Russian Federation. Since October 1996 – First Deputy Minister of Public Health of the Russian Federation – Chief State Sanitary Inspector of the Russian Federation. From March 2004 to October 2013 – Head of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, Chief State Sanitary Inspector of the Russian Federation. From 2013 to 2016 – Assistant to the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation.
Organizational and research work of G. G. Onishchenko is aimed at developing a system of management of the risks to the health of population of the Russian Federation, especially of the most vulnerable groups (children, pregnant women) living in conditions of chemical pollution of the environment. Gennady Grigorievich paid much attention to the urgent problems of epidemiology and prevention of infectious and non-infectious diseases, ensuring the development of the system for identification, forecasting of risks, the development of methods for planning sanitary and hygienic and anti-epidemic complex measures, which takes into account the natural and climatological conditions of the territories and the hygienic assessment of the human environment that is currently used in the emergency recovery.
Gennady Grigorevich made a significant contribution to the study of epidemiology and organization of the fight against the especially dangerous (cholera, anthrax, plague) and emergent (hepatitis B, C and E, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever and West Nile fever) infections, as well as against the HIV- Infection and typhus. Long-term experience in the fight against cholera allowed developing a reliable system of anti-choleric measures aimed at preventing the spread of cholera and identifying the sources of infection, based on the division of the administrative territories of the Russian Federation into 3 types depending on the degree of danger of occurrence and spread of cholera.
G.G. Onishchenko paid much attention to the development of the organizational and legal base of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service. In 1995-2004 6 important federal laws aimed at strengthening the sanitary and epidemiological wellbeing of the population of the Russian Federation were drafted and adopted with his direct involvement: “On Prevention of the Spread of Disease Caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in the Russian Federation”, “On Immunoprophylaxis of Infectious Diseases”, “On the Sanitary and Epidemiological Wellbeing of the Population”, “On the Quality and Safety of Food”, etc. The new Federal Law “On Sanitary and Epidemiological Wellbeing of the Population”, which includes a number of fundamental provisions previously regulated by by-laws was adopted in 1999.
Pursuant to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 314 dated March 9, 2004 “On the System and Structure of Federal Executive Authority,” the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing was established. During the management of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, G.G. Onishchenko, as a member of state commissions, frequently and effectively participated in emergency recovery. His contribution to the solution of the problem of eliminating measles and poliomyelitis in the country is invaluable.
G.G. Onishchenko is the author of more than 700 scientific papers, including 40 collective monographs. Under his scientific guidance and with his counseling, 22 doctoral and 20 Ph.D. theses were prepared.
The scientific works of Gennady Grigorievich, devoted to modern ideas in the field of microbiology, epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of anthrax were highly appreciated. By the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1411 dated December 13, 2003, as a member of a group of scientists, G.G. Onishchenko was awarded a State Prize of the Russian Federation in science and engineering for developing and introducing into medical practice the new means for specific prevention, diagnosis and treatment of anthrax.
In 2006, G.G. Onishchenko was awarded a Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation in science and engineering for scientific substantiation, development and implementation of the system for protection of population of the Russian Federation from new biological threats. In 2013, he became the holder of the title the «Man of the Year 2013».
The activity of G.G. Onischenko was duly appreciated by both the government and society: he was awarded the Order of Merit for the Motherland of the IV degree (2005), the Order of Honor (2010), the medal of the Order of Merit for the Motherland of the I degree (2006) , the medal “Glory of Ossetia” (Republic of North Ossetia-Alania).