History

The first lecturer in Comparative Animal Physiology at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, was Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Mikuláš Julievič Vágner, a native of Petrograd. He developed both the educational and scientific framework for animal physiology, drawing on the foundations of I. P. Pavlov’s school of physiology. His research focused on flies and bees, in which he successfully established conditioned reflexes and analysed their mutual relationships. Among vertebrates, he attempted to address the question of the heredity of conditioned reflexes.

Due to the significant outcomes of his research and the introduction of a newly designed course—Animal Physiology—into the curriculum, RNDr. Vágner was appointed as Associate Professor in 1952 in the field of Comparative Animal Physiology. However, due to his untimely and still unexplained death (in August 1953 in the High Tatras), his work on the development of higher nervous activity from the simplest animals to humans remained unfinished. The importance of Assoc. Prof. Vágner’s scientific contributions reached beyond national borders and received full recognition abroad as well.

After his death, beginning in the 1954/55 academic year, Dr. Podhradský, a research assistant at the Department of Zoology, took over the field. He prepared internal study materials for students and began developing practical exercises, for which he also wrote internal manuals. Until 1959, he taught animal physiology to both full-time and part-time students.

Starting in the 1958/59 academic year, the development of the field of animal physiology was taken over by a student of Assoc. Prof. Vágner – Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Štefan Pavlov, who assumed the position of assistant. He focused on studying physiological processes in living organisms through the functional properties of proteins. His research examined interactions between proteins and various physical and chemical agents, such as ionising radiation, industrial emissions, pesticides, detergents, freons, and fertilisers.

In his research, Assoc. Prof. Pavlov introduced methods such as radiotracer techniques, electrophoretic separation, spectroscopy, and polarography into the study of animal physiology. In 1961, he earned the scientific degree of Candidate of Biological Sciences (CSc.) in animal physiology at Charles University in Prague. In 1964, he completed his habilitation at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava and was officially appointed Associate Professor on May 1, 1965.

He represented Slovak animal physiology during study visits in Krakow, Kyiv, Ljubljana, and Montreal. He authored three university textbooks on Animal and Human Physiology, the first of which, published in 1973, became a widely used and long-standing primary source for studying animal physiology in both Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Additionally, he wrote the scientific monograph “Homeostasis and Adaptations of Blood Serum Proteins” and the book “Threats to Life”.

Following the division of the Department of Zoology on 1 January 1967, animal physiology became a new field within the newly established Department of General Zoology and Animal Physiology at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University. This period marked a strengthening of the field by the arrival of Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Ján Veselovský, DrSc., from the Institute of Zoology at Comenius University, and RNDr. Soňa Gressnerová from the former Department of Zoology. Both were former students of Assoc. Prof. Paulov.

With the arrival of Assoc. Prof. Veselovský, chromatographic analysis of free amino acids was introduced in the department. Research began on changes in living conditions due to various agrochemical substances, as well as the effects of starvation and hibernation on the levels of free amino acids in animal organs and tissues. Dr. Gressnerová introduced haematological methods and analysed haematological parameters following the administration of biologically active substances to animal organisms, as well as during hibernation.

Already in the 1970s, external lecturers from the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS), as well as from other faculties of Comenius University (Pharmaceutical, Medical, and Arts Faculties), began teaching elective courses in animal physiology. Many of them also supervised diploma theses. During this period, the department also received authorisation to conduct the rigorous examination process (RNDr. degree), and its academic staff served as supervisors for rigorous theses.

Conditions for the development of animal physiology improved in 1982 when the Department of General Zoology and Animal Physiology moved from its previous locations on Moskovská and Kalinčiakova Streets to new premises in Mlynská dolina.

Unfortunately, on 1 September 1986, the then management of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Comenius University dissolved the Department of General Zoology and Animal Physiology. Animal physiology, as a division, was merged into the newly established Department of Human Biology and Ecology. Due to this further reorganisation, the animal physiology unit had to permanently give up essential premises and, for that time, high-quality laboratory equipment. The entire structure of teaching subjects as well as research activities had to be rebuilt from scratch. A positive aspect was the recruitment of new staff members. The teaching team was joined by RNDr. Anna Veselá, CSc., RNDr. Jozef Dúha, RNDr. Iveta Supíková, and from the technical staff: Peter Rác, Agnesa Béresová, and Mária Jakubčíková. In this composition, animal physiology operated until November 1989.

Students: Lucia Absolonová (Kršková), Roman Letz, Andrej Mock, Juraj Orosz, and Jozef Somogy – After the political changes in our republic in 1989, a suitable opportunity arose to establish an independent department. Since ethology—then still an elective course and later a compulsory subject taught by external lecturer Assoc. Prof. Martin Novacký—was closely linked to animal physiology, Assoc. Prof. Veselovský, with the help of then-students and diploma candidates in animal physiology (Lucia Absolonová (Kršková), Roman Letz, Andrej Mock, Juraj Orosz, and Jozef Somogy), and with the full support of the then dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, RNDr. Štefan Toma, DrSc., founded the new teaching and research unit: the Department of Animal Physiology and Ethology at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava. The help of these students at that time was greatly needed and highly appreciated. The existence of the new department was approved by the rector’s council led by Prof. Kusý and officially confirmed effective from 1 April 1990. Assoc. Prof. Veselovský was appointed as acting head of the department until September 1990. In 1990, the department welcomed two new members: RNDr. Jana Šokyová, a graduate in animal physiology, and RNDr. Táňa Záhradníková, a graduate in plant physiology.

In September, following a regular selection procedure, Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Martin Novacký, CSc. was appointed as the new head of the department. This marked the expansion and enrichment of animal physiology with a completely new scientific field—ethology—whose teaching and research focus was established by Assoc. Prof. Novacký.

In 1992, Prof. RNDr. Michal Zeman, CSc., as an external lecturer, began teaching and developing a new discipline at the department – chronobiology. In the same year, Dr. Iveta Supíková left the department, and in 1993 Assoc. Prof. Iveta Herichová joined. In 1994, RNDr. Jozef Dúha left, and two years later RNDr. Bystrík Ambruš joined the department. In 1998, he was succeeded by Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Lucia Kršková, PhD., who has been developing the field of ethology in recent years.

Assoc. Prof. Novacký led the department until 1 September 1994, after which Assoc. Prof. Veselovský once again took over the leadership until 1 September 2000. In 1995, following a successful habilitation process, Dr. Novacký became an Associate Professor of Zoology with a focus on ethology. Together with Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Lucia Kršková, PhD., they continued to develop the field of ethology at the department. The department became a training site for regular students, offering 25 courses with the help of external lecturers.

In 1996, Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Štefan Paulov, CSc., retired and was replaced in 1999 by Prof. RNDr. Michal Zeman, DrSc. In 2000, following a formal selection procedure, he became the Head of the Department of Animal Physiology and Ethology, a position he held until 2023.

In 2002, the department received accreditation to supervise PhD students in this field, and subsequently also gained the right to conduct habilitation and inauguration procedures in the field of Animal Physiology. Since then, under the supervision of Prof. Zeman, Assoc. Prof. Herichová, Assoc. Prof. Kršková, and external supervisors from the Slovak Academy of Sciences, a large number of students have successfully completed their doctoral studies. Among them, Mgr. Zuzana Kováčiková-Dzirbíková, PhD. (2004), RNDr. Katarína Stebelová, PhD. (2006), Assoc. Prof. Monika Okuliarová, PhD. (2009), Mgr. Lucia Olexová, PhD. (2013), Mgr. Dorota Kavická, PhD. (2014), Mgr. Ľuboš Molčan, PhD. (2014), RNDr. Zuzana Kaňková, PhD. (2015), Mgr. Roman Moravčík, PhD. (2016), Mgr. Pavel Svitok, PhD. (2016), Mgr. Tomáš Senko, PhD. (2017), Mgr. Kristína Voglová, PhD. (2019), and Mgr. Jana Horváthová, PhD. (2020) became new faculty members of the department.

The first associate professor to successfully complete habilitation at the department was Assoc. Prof. Iveta Herichová, PhD, who defended her dissertation under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Zeman in 1998 and habilitated in 2006. Both of her advancement theses focused on chronobiology, a field that has flourished at the department, making it a centre for this discipline in Slovakia. In 2011, Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Lucia Kršková, PhD, successfully completed her habilitation. She has devoted her scientific career to the study of animal behaviour and has significantly contributed to the development of ethology in Slovakia. In 2018, Assoc. Prof. Monika Okuliarová, PhD, defended her habilitation thesis, with research focused on maternal effects, which gradually evolved into the field of immunology.

We strive to improve the quality of student education through collaboration with external supervisors from the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) and international partners. One example of such successful cooperation was the ESF project aimed at enhancing the quality of doctoral students, which involved not only our department but also four institutes of the SAS accredited for doctoral training in the study programme Animal Physiology (Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Institute of Animal Biochemistry and Genetics, Institute of Molecular Physiology and Genetics, and the Institute for Heart Research), along with a sister department in Vienna. Through this cooperation, students gained hands-on laboratory and animal-handling experience and could compare their level with that of peers at a high-quality international university (Prof. J. Dittami, Prof. K. Kotrschal). The quality of students and young lecturers is also enhanced by medium- and long-term stays abroad. Assoc. Prof. Iveta Herichová, PhD, spent a year in the USA at Texas A&M University, College Station with Prof. V. Cassone. Dr. Z. Kováčiková spent time at the Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague. Medium-term stays (3–6 months) were undertaken by our graduates in: Finland – Oulu (Dr. Stebelová), Austria – Vienna (Dr. Beňová), the Netherlands – Groningen (Assoc. Prof. Okuliarová and Dr. Talarovičová), Austria – Vienna (Dr. Molčan), Germany – Munich (Dr. Kaňková), Czech Republic – Prague (Dr. Svitok), Spain – Málaga (Dr. Horváthová), the Netherlands – Amsterdam (Mgr. Rumanová), and the Netherlands – Leiden (Mgr. Šutovská). In addition to valuable experience, these internships resulted in publications in peer-reviewed international journals. The department's ability to collaborate is further illustrated by the fact that staff have published their work in high-quality international journals in cooperation with leading experts from Slovakia and abroad.

In recent years, the department has experienced a significant increase in both teaching and research output. In education, this reflects university reforms, evaluation based on student numbers, and the long-standing high interest in master's and doctoral studies in the accredited study programme Animal Physiology. For illustration, while in the first ten years of the department's existence an average of 4–5 students graduated per year, in recent years this number has risen to around 20. In cooperation with accredited institutes of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, approximately 10 PhD students join the department each year, and a total of up to 60 students take their final state exams annually.

In January 2016, a complete reconstruction of the breeding facility – the animal house – began. The old premises were completely rebuilt to create a separate enclosed space with an internal layout that allows for undisturbed animal housing, experimental surgical procedures, collection of biological samples, and, importantly, ethological observations. The department focuses on monitoring various environmental influences on the physiology and behaviour of laboratory rats in particular. It is equipped with modern telemetry systems for unobtrusive monitoring of selected physiological parameters, along with a wide range of apparatuses primarily designed for assessing emotionality and other behavioural aspects of laboratory rodents. This enables a direct connection between ethology and physiology. The newly renovated animal facility successfully passed the approval process and was opened for use in June 2016.