Department of Biology and Physiology

Characteristics of the department

The Department of Biology and Physiology was established after the change of the organisational structure of the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy on 1 September 2020 and it consists of four workplaces:

• The Workplace of Biology, Zoology and Radiobiology
• The Workplace of Genetics
• The Workplace of Physiology
• The Workplace of Pathological Physiology.

The Workplace of Biology, Zoology and Radiobiology

The Workplace of Biology, Zoology and Radiobiology provides teaching in the field of biology, zoology, radiobiology and laboratory diagnostics. In the combined first and second levels of higher education, it provides teaching of compulsory subjects related to the field of biology such as Biology and Molecular Biology in the Pharmacy study programme, the subject Biology in the General Veterinary Medicine and Food Hygiene study programmes in both Slovak and English languages, and the optional subject Laboratory Diagnostics in the General Veterinary Medicine and Food Hygiene study programmes. In the first level of higher education, it provides teaching of subjects such as Biology, Biology and Zoology, Biology and Basics of Ecology in the study programmes such as Cynology, Man-Animal Relationship and its Use in Canistherapy and Hippotherapy, and Feed and Food Safety, in both full-time and external forms.

In the field of zoology, the workplace provides teaching of the compulsory subject Zoology in the combined first and second levels of higher education in the study programmes General Veterinary Medicine and Food Hygiene in both Slovak and English languages. In the first level of higher education, the Workplace of Biology, Zoology and Radiobiology provides teaching of the subject Zoology in the Cynology study programme, in both full-time and external forms. In the field of radiobiology, the workplace provides teaching of the compulsory subject Radiopharmacology and Radiopharmaceuticals in the combined first and second levels of higher education in the Pharmacy study programme, the compulsory optional subject Radiobiology in the study programme General Veterinary Medicine and the subject Radiobiology of Foodstuffs in the study programme Food Hygiene. In the second level of higher education, the subject Radiobiology and Food Irradiation is taught in the study programme Market and Food Quality. In the field of laboratory diagnostics, the workplace provides teaching of the compulsory subject Basics of Laboratory Diagnostics in the Veterinary Nurse study programme and the optional subject Laboratory Diagnostics in the study programmes General Veterinary Medicine and Food Hygiene.

In the third level of higher education, the workplace provides education in the study branch General Veterinary Medicine, in the study programmes Veterinary Morphology and Physiology, Animal Hygiene and Environment, and Parasitic Diseases of Animals.

The research activity of the workplace is focused on the use of molecular biological methods for the identification and classification of organisms by DNA barcoding method and molecular characterization of selected zoonotic species and genotypes of intestinal pathogens in the environment. In the environmental field, it monitors the impact of environmental pollution on the occurrence of nosematosis in honeybees and the presence of post-Chernobyl 137Cs in the forest ecosystem. It also investigates the harmful effects of ionizing radiation on living organisms at the metabolic level. Another field of research is focused on the possibilities of using model organisms designed for alternative bioassays and in the field of regenerative medicine, the workplace is involved in testing of different types of biomaterials using alternative model organisms such as avian embryo or invertebrates.

The Workplace of Genetics

The Workplace of Genetics provides teaching of the compulsory subject Genetics in Slovak in the study programmes General Veterinary Medicine and Food Hygiene and in English in the study programmes in English language (GVM, post BSc.) The compulsory optional subjects Genetics and Clinical Genetics are taught in the Pharmacy study programme in both Slovak and English languages. In the bachelor's study programme Cynology, both in the full-time and external forms, the workplace provides teaching of the compulsory subject Genetics and Breeding of Dogs. In the bachelor´s study programme Veterinary Nurse, the compulsory optional subject Basics of Biology and Genetics in both Slovak and English languages is provided. The workplace provides postgraduate education in the study branch General Veterinary Medicine, in the study programme Veterinary Morphology and Physiology. In scientific research activities, the teachers, scientists and PhD students are engaged in assessing the potential cytotoxic, genotoxic, and synergistic effects of different types of pesticides. They also focus on the study of pesticide-induced changes in the epigenetic status of cells - DNA methylation of selected bovine genes. The workplace is also involved in molecular genetic analysis and DNA diagnostics of selected hereditary diseases in animals, especially in dogs.

The Workplace of Physiology

The Workplace of Physiology provides undergraduate education of the compulsory subject Physiology in the study programmes such as General Veterinary Medicine, Food Hygiene, Veterinary Nurse, Man-Animal Relationship and its Use in Canistherapy and Hippotherapy, offered both in full-time and external forms, including study programmes taught in English language (GVM, post BSc.).

In the study programme Cynology, offered in both full-time and external forms, the workplace provides teaching of the subject Basics of Physiology. The workplace also provides teaching of the subject Basics of Anatomy and Physiology of Food Animals in the study programme Feed and Food Safety.

The workplace provides postgraduate education in the study branch General Veterinary Medicine, in the study programmes such as Veterinary Morphology and Physiology, Veterinary Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Animal Nutrition and Dietetics, and Internal Diseases of Animals.

The scientific research activity of the workplace is focused on the study of mechanisms of action of bioactive additives of natural origin with an emphasis on the modulation of metabolic processes of animals and reproductive abilities of females, with the aim of development of functional foods and additives. The workplace also focuses on the study of the toxicological and biochemical effects of animal venoms on living organisms and the possibilities of using the chicken embryo as an effective animal model. Using animal models, the teachers and scientists are also engaged on the study of the influence of transplanted, sex-specific microbiomes on the gut condition, regulation of feed intake and metabolic interactions in pseudo germ-free mice.

The Workplace of Pathological Physiology

The workplace provides undergraduate education of the compulsory subject Pathological Physiology and the compulsory optional subject Applied Veterinary Haematology in the study programmes General Veterinary Medicine, Food Hygiene and in the study programmes in English language (GVM, post BSc., post BSc. JSP, JSP). In the Pharmacy study programme, the workplace provides teaching of the compulsory subject Physiology and Pathological Physiology. In the Veterinary Nurse study programme, the compulsory subject Pathological Physiology is taught in both full-time and external forms and the compulsory optional subject Radiobiology is provided in the study programmes in English (GVM, post BSc.).

The workplace provides postgraduate education in the study branch General Veterinary Medicine, in the study programmes Veterinary Morphology and Physiology, Internal Diseases of Animals, Veterinary Surgery, Orthopedics and Radiology, and Animal Nutrition and Dietetics. In addition, the workplace also provides education in the study branch Biology, in the study programme Immunology.

The research activities of the workplace focus on the study of the effect of phytogenic additives, nutraceuticals on physiological processes (intestinal mucus, antioxidant status in blood and tissues) in livestock.