MEMORIAL DAY OF ACADEMICIAN NADIYA OLEKSANDRIVNA PUCHKOVSKA
Today, on May 15, 2026, marks the 25th anniversary of the passing of an outstanding woman, legendary physician, scientist, and person of great compassion — Nadiya Oleksandrivna Puchkovska (May 15, 2001, Odesa).
The name of Nadiya Oleksandrivna Puchkovska is forever inscribed in the history of Ukrainian medicine and world ophthalmology. A student of the great academician Volodymyr Petrovych Filatov, she faithfully continued the work of her teacher, dedicating her entire life to the most precious mission — restoring people’s vision, hope, and joy of seeing the world.
Nadiya Oleksandrivna was not merely an outstanding physician — she was a person who brought light to those who had lost it. Her gifted surgical hands, brilliant intellect, and boundless devotion to medicine helped thousands of patients once again see the faces of their loved ones, the sunlight, and the beauty of life.
In 1937, she defended her PhD dissertation entitled “On the Regeneration of the Endothelium of the Engrafted Cornea” and even then Academician Filatov recognized her as an exceptionally talented researcher. In 1954, she defended her doctoral dissertation devoted to corneal transplantation in complex ocular pathologies.
Since 1946, she worked at the V.P. Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, where she headed a clinical department and served as Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs.
From 1956 to 1985, Nadiya Oleksandrivna Puchkovska served as Director of the Institute. Later, she continued her work as Professor-Consultant, passing her knowledge on to new generations of physicians.
Nadiya Oleksandrivna trained an entire constellation of doctors and scientists, developed innovative treatment methods, and authored hundreds of scientific publications. Under her supervision, hundreds of dissertations were completed, 54 Doctors and Candidates of Sciences were trained, and more than 300 scientific works, including 11 monographs, were published. Her works were translated into English, German, and Japanese. She also developed new ophthalmic instruments and received author’s certificates for her inventions.
As a brilliant ophthalmic surgeon, Academician Puchkovska developed a number of unique surgical procedures involving the anterior segment of the eye, innovative methods of corneal transplantation, treatment of symblepharon and keratoconus, as well as keratoprosthesis techniques. She also proposed a novel pathogenetic method for treating ocular burns using convalescent serum therapy.
Nadiya Oleksandrivna Puchkovska worthily represented Ukrainian medical science at international congresses, symposia, and scientific meetings, was a member of international ophthalmological organizations, and served as Editor-in-Chief of the «Ophthalmological Journal». Yet her greatest achievement was the countless people she helped and the legacy that continues to live on.
Academician Puchkovska was respected throughout the world. In 1998, she became an Honorary Citizen of Odesa, and in 2025 a lane in Odesa was named in her honor. Her contribution to medicine is impossible to overestimate. For many, she remains a symbol of wisdom, humanity, strength of spirit, and true service to people.
Twenty-five years have passed, yet the memory of Nadiya Oleksandrivna lives on in the grateful hearts of her students, colleagues, patients, and all those who had the honor of knowing her personally or benefiting from the results of her great work.
Today, with profound gratitude, we bow our heads in remembrance of a GREAT WOMAN who devoted her life to serving humanity.
Blessed memory to Nadiya Oleksandrivna Puchkovska.
Her name, her work, and her kindness will live forever.
