Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended a solemn ceremony to mark the 90th anniversary of prominent ophthalmologist, Academician Zarifa Aliyeva at the State Song Theatre on Saturday.

"Zarifa Aliyeva was a great doctor in the true sense of the word," President Aliyev said in his speech at the solemn ceremony.

"She has made a valuable contribution to Azerbaijan's ophthalmological school and carried out immense activity to train young professionals. At the same time, her laboratories operated at enterprises where the production process had an adverse impact on people's eyesight. On the one hand, these laboratories studied the impact of harmful processes on human health and, on the other, organized the treatment of patients," the president said.

President Aliyev emphasized that the bright image of Zarifa Aliyeva always lives in the people's hearts. "I think that those who knew and did not know her, those who read books and articles about her always keep her bright image in their hearts. Zarifa Aliyeva was a great doctor, a great scientist and a great personality. Her fond memories will always live in the hearts of those who knew her."

Speaking next were Minister of Health Ogtay Shiraliyev, Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Dean of the Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education Larisa Moshetova, Academician, Department Head of the Russian Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education Alevtina Brovkina and Chairman of the Ophthalmologic Society of Turkic States Sunay Duman.

The ceremony featured a concert, after which President Aliyev viewed a photo exhibition dedicated to Academician Zarifa Aliyeva in the lobby of the Theatre.

Zarifa Aliyeva, an honorary scientist of the Republic of Azerbaijan, doctor of medical sciences and academician of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, was born on April 28, 1923 in the village of Shahtakhty, Sharur region.

Aliyeva graduated from the Treatment and Prophylaxis Faculty of the Azerbaijan State Medical Institute in 1947. Then she acquired the major in ophthalmology in Moscow after successfully completing a two-year advanced training course at the All-Union Central Doctors Improvement Institute.

Zarifa Aliyeva graduated from post-graduate courses in the Institute in 1953.

The results of long-term observations, clinical studies and experiments formed the basis for the doctoral thesis of Zarifa Aliyeva. She defended her thesis titled 'The state of vision of employees at some chemical enterprises in Azerbaijan' at one of the very influential ophthalmologic centers of the world - the Eye Diseases Research Institute named after H. Helmgolts in Moscow. The dissertation of Zarifa Aliyeva, which was one of the first works in the field of ophthalmology, was appreciated by scientists in ophthalmology. In 1977 she was granted the academic degree of a doctor of medical sciences.

Aliyeva dedicated her research to the treatment of trachoma, more precisely, to studying more effective means in curing and aggravation of trachoma, the use of synthomycin, an antibiotic that was new at the time.

Aliyeva is the author of numerous valuable research papers, 12 monographs, textbooks and manuals, about 150 scientific works, one invention and 12 rationalization proposals. She is also one of the authors of unique scientific works like 'Therapeutic ophthalmology' and 'Fundamentals of iridodiagnosis'.

Aliyeva has a great role in preparing highly skilled healthcare personnel. She was a member of the Presidium of the All-Union Society of Ophthalmologists, the Soviet Peace Protection Committee, the Board of Directors of the Azerbaijan Ophthalmology Society, as well as the editorial board of the Vestnik of Ophthalmology journal based in Moscow.

In 1981, Aliyeva was awarded the highest prize in the field of ophthalmology - the Prize named after Academician M.I.Averbakh of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR for her great contribution to the development of ophthalmology -- the researches she had conducted in the field of professional pathology of vision. Professor Zarifa Aliyeva was the first woman to have received that prize.

In 1983, Aliyeva was named academician of the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan for the high level of her scientific researches, their social significance, her public activities, and teaching talent, and great merits in long-term scientific and research works.

She was awarded orders and medals, and the title of Honorary Figure of Science of Azerbaijan.

Aliyeva passed away on April 15, 1985 in Moscow.

In the meantime, the Heydar Aliyev Center presented a new design of the website dedicated to Zarifa Aliyeva. The website is available in Azerbaijani, Russian and English at www.zarifa-aliyeva.az.

Content reflecting the life and activity of the academician, the memories of colleagues and friends of national leader Heydar Aliyev and Zarifa Aliyeva have been posted on the website, presented on the eve of the 90th anniversary of Zarifa Aliyeva.