The Laboratory of Socially Significant Problems of Reproductology was created in 2018 due to the new area of study - influence of prevalence of reproductive problems among the population on social interactions in the community.
Laboratory staff collaborate with Russian and international educational and scientific institutions. In 2019, cooperation agreements were signed with Emory University, Atlanta (USA), and New York University. The international pilot study Alcohol exposure in Russia and neonatal immunity is being conducted in the laboratory. In addition, the Laboratory cooperates with St. Petersburg State University on the project Psychological readiness for motherhood as a factor, contributing to the health-saving behavior of pregnant women. Together with the Association Progress through Alternative (Progres prin Alternativă), the study PerConcept is carried out - the perception of the concept of family planning by medical professionals. The PerConcept study has been initiated in several countries, represented in the Latin Association for Health Systems Analysis (ALASS).
The main results of research activities are: determining the frequency of alcohol consumption by women of reproductive age and pregnant women, the teratogenic effect of alcohol on the fetus, newborn and infants of the first year of life in modern conditions of Eastern Siberia; determining the risk factors and mechanisms of disturbances in the state of the main regulatory systems (in particular, determining the role of oxidative stress, metabolic disorders, dysmicroelementoses) in the pathogenesis of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). Based on the studies, the Laboratory developed the algorithms and practical recommendations for doctors (obstetrician-gynecologists) in the case of alcohol consumption by women of reproductive age and in the prenatal period to prevent the birth of children with FAS and FASDs.
The results of the study and the main recommendations are introduced into the educational process. They are used in the training of doctors, clinical residents, interns and students, as well as in the work of doctors in hospitals of Irkutsk and Irkutsk State Clinical Hospital. The patent Method for predicting the development of alcoholic fetopathy against the background of small and moderate doses of low alcohol drinks was received. The results of the study were repeatedly presented at international and all-Russian conferences (Novokuznetsk, 2013; Kazan, 2013; Irkutsk, 2013; Moscow, 2013; France, Paris, 2013; Kazan, 2014; Novokuznetsk, 2014; Moscow, 2014; Irkutsk, 2014; Italy , Rome, 2014; Oklahoma, USA, 2015; Irkutsk, 2016; London, England 2016; Denver, Colorado, USA, 2017; Irkutsk, 2017; Washington, USA, 2017; Canada, Vancouver, 2018; San Diego, California, USA, 2018; Kyoto, Japan, 2018; Irkutsk, 2019). The laboratory staff have published more than 120 articles in leading Russian and foreign journals, including those indexed in the databases Web of Science, Scopus, RSCI, etc.
Currently, the dissertation is being prepared for the degree of Doctor of Biological Sciences.
Laboratory staff participate in scientific and educational activities. One of them is presenting popular-science lectures to schoolchildren and college students in various areas: Formation and protection of the reproductive function of girls and adolescents, Topical issues of contraception, Teratogenic effect of alcohol and nicotine on health, Issues for the prevention of alcohol, nicotine and drugs, Career guidance, and others.
In 2018, the head of the Laboratory was awarded the Laureate of the Makariev Prize in the category Scientific research in the field of natural and exact sciences of high social and civil importance, twice awarded the Junior Investigator Award (University of Texas at Austin and the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and alcoholism (NIAAA)).
