On 17 August 1931, Inna Semenivna Zbandut was born — a Candidate of Biological Sciences, a researcher, literary editor of the *Ophthalmological Journal*, and a person whose professional career was inextricably linked for many decades with the V. P. Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy.

Inna Semenivna was born in Kharkiv into the family of Semen Stepanovych Soldatenko, a forestry engineer, and Valentyna Yukhymivna, a  a typist worker. In 1933, following her father’s transfer to work at the Odesa Forestry Department, the family moved to Odesa. From then, Inna Semenivna’s life was inseparably connected with the city on the Black Sea.

In 1954, she successfully graduated from the Faculty of Biology of Odesa State University named after I. I. Mechnikov. That same year, she began her professional and scientific career at the Filatov Institute, initially as a laboratory assistant and later as a junior research fellow in the Laboratory of Optical Functions.

An important role in Inna Semenivna’s professional development was played by her mentors — senior research fellow Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Malynovskyi and Varvara Vasylivna Skorodynska, head of the Tissue Therapy Department and senior research fellow.

During her first years at the Institute, she focused on scientific research in the field of ophthalmology. Inna Semenivna actively participated in experimental and clinical studies of the aetiopathogenesis of myopia, as well as in the study of the supportive function of the sclera in the post-embryonic development of the eye.

The result of this work was her Candidate of Biological Sciences dissertation, entitled “Experimental Study of the Supporting Function of the Sclera in the Postembryonic Development of the Eye and Its Refraction,” supervised under the supervision of Doctor of Biological Sciences O. O. Malynovskyi. In 1967, Inna Semenivna successfully defended her dissertation at a meeting of the Academic Council of the Faculty of Biology of Odesa State University named after I. I. Mechnikov.

After defending her dissertation, she continued her research into the pathogenesis of myopia. Together with V. V. Skorodynska and S. S. Chernyak, Inna Semenivna participated in a study of the geographical distribution of myopia in the Ukrainian SSR. The results of this research were published in scientific papers and presented at congresses and scientific conferences.

In 1969, Inna Semenivna moved to the newly established Department of Scientific and Medical Information, headed by senior research fellow L. S. Zholnerovych. Over the course of nine years, she created an extensive subject card index in ophthalmology, containing an article-by-article index of the scientific journals and collections received by the Institute’s library. This painstaking and systematic work was of great importance for providing the Institute’s scientific community with the necessary information resources.

More Than 40 Years of Service to the Scientific Word

The *Ophthalmological Journal* holds a special place in Inna Semenivna’s professional career.

In 1978, at the suggestion of the Institute’s director, Academician Nadiia Oleksandrivna Puchkovska, Inna Semenivna joined the editorial office of the Ophthalmological Journal. For over than forty years, she worked as a literary editor of the publication, performed proofreading duties, handled the classification of scientific articles according to the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC), and maintained editorial documentation.

Her professional work required not only extensive knowledge, but also a high level of linguistic competence, attention to detail, a sense of responsibility and integrity. Inna Semenivna’s editorial work made a significant contribution to maintaining the high standard of the journal’s scientific publications.

She was one of those specialists whose work often remains unnoticed by the reader, yet directly influences the quality of a scientific publication. Behind every edited article and every issue of the journal stood her professional experience, knowledge, exacting standards, and dedication to her work.

Science, Profession, and Poetry

Inna Semenivna was not only a scientist and editor, but also a creative person with a poetic gift. She began writing poetry whilst still a student.

An important role in the development of her creative talent was played by her interactions with distinguished scientists who themselves were passionate about literature — Professor I. I. Puzanov during her studies at the Department of Zoology and Professor O. O. Malynovskyi during the period when she worked in the laboratory he headed.

In 2011, her collection of poetry, “A Belated Debut,” was published, revealing to readers another side of Inna Semenivna’s personality — a sensitive, observant, and creative nature.

Colleagues remembered Inna Semenivna as an exceptionally intelligent, well-educated, and erudite person who stood out for her high level of professionalism, diligence, zest for life, and optimism. She was held in high esteem by her colleagues and was a model of conscientiousness and boundless dedication to her profession.

On 19 February , 2022, Inna Semenivna Zbandut passed away.

Her life and professional journey are an integral part of the history of the SI “V. P. Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy of the NAMS of Ukraine” and the Ophthalmological Journal.

Today, on the 95th anniversary of Inna Semenivna’s birth, we gratefully recall her many years of work, her academic contributions, her editorial expertise and her talent.

Her name remains in the history of the Institute as that of a person who devoted more than six decades of her life to science, ophthalmology, the development of scientific information, and service to the professional word.

May the bright memory of Inna Semenivna Zbandut — a scientist, editor, poet, and true intellectual — forever remain in the history of the Filatov Institute and in the memories of those who knew her and worked alongside her.