Federal Research Institute for Viral Infections "VIROM" of the Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being: Past Achievements and Future Directions (on the Occasion of the Institute's 105th Anniversary)

In 2025, the Federal Research Institute for Viral Infections "VIROM" of the Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being (hereafter referred to as the Institute) celebrates its 105th anniversary. The Institute was established on February 17, 1920, with the involvement of the renowned Soviet microbiologist, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor L.G. Perets, when the regional sanitary-bacteriological laboratory was reprofiled into the "Sverdlovsk Chemical-Bacteriological Institute." This transformation aimed to organize measures against outbreaks of infections and epidemics during the Civil War period. The Institute's activities focused on developing methods to combat typhus fever, smallpox, cholera, diphtheria, measles, tularemia, opisthorchiasis, malaria, etc., as well as producing diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive drugs.

In 1938, a virological department was organized within the Institute to study viral neuroinfections, along with a department responsible for manufacturing BCG vaccine.

During World War II, under the leadership and direct participation of the Institute’s director, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor A.M. Khovanova, a typhoid fever vaccine was developed, which played a significant role in saving many human lives and preventing outbreaks of typhoid infection on the front lines and in the rear. The Institute served as one of the main bases of the Ministry of Health of the USSR and RSFSR, providing necessary medications for combating infectious diseases to the front and rear areas, including typhoid vaccines, tetanus and anti-gangrene sera, toxoids, wound and dysentery bacteriophages, among others, totaling over 37 different types of products [1].

In the post-war years, the Institute faced various urgent tasks of that time, such as developing new antimicrobial agents and preventive medicines. In 1955, it was transformed into the "Antibiotics Institute," then in 1957 into the "Polio Prevention Institute," and finally, in 1960, considering its significant contribution to studying virus-induced infections, it became known as the "Sverdlovsk Research Institute for Viral Infections." From this point onwards, active research began on enteroviruses (non-polio), respiratory viruses, and arboviruses, with the list of studied infections constantly expanding.

For over three decades, the Institute served as the leading institution in the country in the field of virology, coordinating research conducted by epidemiological institutes and work carried out by virological laboratories nationwide [2, 3]. Since 1976, thanks to the development of new cell culture lines and the establishment of the Republican Bank-Museum of Cells, the Institute supplied cell cultures centrally to all virological laboratories across the country [4].

In 2005, the Institute joined the ranks of scientific organizations under the Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being (Rospotrebnadzor). During this period, several scientific-methodological centers were established at the Institute, overseeing subjects in the Ural and Siberian federal districts, specifically: the Urals Regional Center for AIDS Prevention and Control, the Ural-Siberian Scientific-Methodological Center for Prevention of Infections Associated with Providing Medical Care, the Ural-Siberian Regional Scientific-Methodological Center for Studying Enterovirus (Non-Polio) Infections, and the Scientific-Methodological Center for Monitoring Pathogens Causing Infectious and Parasitic Diseases [5]. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Institute functioned as a branch of Russia's largest virological center, State Research Center for Virology and Biotechnology "Vector" Rospotrebnadzor. To support practical healthcare needs, a PCR laboratory for diagnosing novel coronavirus infection was created at the Institute.

In 2023, the Institute acquired the status of a federal-level scientific institution—the Federal Research Institute for Viral Infections "VIROM"—under Rospotrebnadzor. Currently, the Institute is headed by Alexander Vladimirovich Semenov, Doctor of Biological Sciences. Its key objectives include conducting fundamental and applied scientific research in the fields of virology, epidemiology, molecular biology, biotechnology, immunology, genetics, and cellular engineering. These efforts aim to develop and improve diagnostic techniques and preventive measures against infectious diseases caused by viruses. Additionally, the Institute provides scientific-methodological and practical support to Rospotrebnadzor authorities throughout the country and neighboring states regarding countering global infectious threats. The Institute's scientific potential comprises highly qualified specialists in virology, molecular biology, immunology, genetics, genetic and cellular engineering, epidemiology, and biotechnology.

To meet these goals, additional modern laboratories have been opened alongside existing ones. In 2023, a sequencing center equipped with high-tech equipment was established to monitor changes in pathogenic organisms causing infectious diseases. Construction of a new laboratory building with a vivarium block for conducting virological studies using pathogenic biological agents (PBAs) of groups I-IV has been completed in the same year. Reconstruction of a unique experimental-vivarium complex is underway, while design work is being finalized and construction begins on a five-story laboratory complex designed for working with PBAs of groups II-IV, complete with a cell culture bank. Large-scale updating of material and technical resources will provide impetus for enhancing the Institute's research capabilities and ensuring the conduct of globally competitive research and development projects.

Finally, it should be noted that prominent scientists who made substantial contributions to the Institute's development over more than a century include L.G. Perets, S.N. Predtechenkiy, G.I. Zarkhi, B.E. Nesgovorov, N.N. Plotnikov, G.D. Grinberg, B.Kh. Burgansky, G.I. Karpukhin, A.M. Khovanova, Yu.F. Bogdanov, Yu.I. Vaserin, M.B. Rostik, B.A. Ermann, N.P. Glinskykh, V.I. Zlobin, A.V. Slobodenyuk, et al.

1. Archival data sources:State Archive of Scientific-Technical and Special Documentation of the Sverdlovsk Region (Fund No. R-26);
2. Zusman F.Ya. (Sverdlovsk Research Institute for Viral Infections). Some issues concerning standardization of virological research in the conditions of Sanitary-Epidemiological Services of the RSFSR. Final Scientific Report No. 80074759, 1982, 52 p.;
3. Glinskykh N.P., Zusman F.Ya., Kazantseva A.P., Bodunova I.A., Morozova A.V., Kiseleva L.V., et al. Ensuring Practical Virological Service with Cell Cultures. Public Health of the RSFSR, 1982, no. 3, pp. 42-43;
4. Glinskykh N.P., Zusman F.Ya., Kuruchina S.G., Ustyantsev V.P., Golubchik I.S., Myryutova T.L., et al. Passportization of Low-Temperature Cell Line Banks at the Sverdlovsk Research Institute for Viral Infections. Collection "Viral Infections and Bacterial Preparations," vol. 28, 1978, p. 94;
5. Semenov A.V., Zakharova Yu.A., Sergeev A.G., Mikhaylenko Yu.A., Leleshkina E.V. Ekaterinburg Research Institute for Viral Infections: Glorious Journey Spanning a Century. Population Health and Habitat, 2022, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 91-92.