In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, volunteers from the international research community came together to form the group #ScienceForUkraine to ensure Ukraine’s scientific research endures and to aid Ukrainian scientists in finding international research positions. The Global Virus Network (GVN) joined in these efforts calling on its member institutions, including the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), to promote the initiative and offer research opportunities to Ukrainian researchers. As such, IHV established three funded positions to host Ukrainian researchers directly affected by the Russian invasion.

It was through these efforts supported by the IHV Director’s office that Tetiana Pozniak, PhD, came to the IHV in October as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Shyam Kottilil, MBBS, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Director of the Division of Clinical Care & Research, Head of the Clinical Care Research Unit at the UMSOM's IHV.

“We, scientists, are motivated by the fundamental tenet of medicine ‘to do no harm’ and are dedicated to honoring the sanctity of life irrespective of culture, ethnicity, nationality, or race,” said Robert C. Gallo, MD, the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine at UMSOM, Co-Founder and Director of the UMSOM’s IHV, and Co-founder and Chair of the Scientific Leadership Board of the GVN. “This is why I joined my colleagues in the GVN in denouncing Putin’s war on Ukraine. Our hearts go out to all Ukrainians, and we, as scientists, want to support our colleagues in Ukraine and help them during this time of need. I am pleased we were able to find a match in Dr. Tetiana Pozniak through the #ScienceForUkraine initiative and can utilize her expertise here at the Institute.”

Dr. Pozniak was born and raised in Ukraine, Kyiv and attended Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv for her undergraduate and master’s degree with honors. She received a PhD in Biological Sciences in 2012 at the Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of National Academy Ukrainian Sciences.

Her husband is a musical composer and sound artist and a Belarusian citizen, who writes music in the Belarusian language to preserve the culture and heritage of the country. The borders between Belarus and Ukraine have been closed since the start of the war. Because of these wartime politics and the rockets that fly from the Belarusian territory to her Ukrainian home where her parents, brothers, and friends still live, it became too difficult for her and her husband and children. Dr. Pozniak’s parents, are both chemists with PhDs. Her father is retired, but her 73-year-old mother still works, when possible, at times when there is electricity in Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine, and the air raid sirens are turned off. 

Prior to joining IHV, Dr. Pozniak held a position as Head of the Laboratory of Virology and Biotechnology at the Institute of Biophysics and Cell at the National Academy Belarusian Science in Minsk. She had worked at this Institute since 2014, aside from a hiatus of a few years to focus on caring for her two daughters ages 7- and 5-years old. At this laboratory, she worked on virology research focusing on diagnosis and pathogenesis. Her work included studying how viral proteins affect their hosts, defining mechanisms for how viral genes get turned on, developing new methods to diagnose viral infections, and advancing new treatments for human diseases like cancer.

“Many Ukrainian women and children were forced to leave the country to save their lives, and the borders are closed to all men. As my husband has a passport from Belarus and because much of Europe supports Ukraine, he would have difficulty finding work,” said Dr. Pozniak. “After the war started in February of this year, we decided that we had to change locations and travel to an independent country. We understood that this is not an easy path for us and our children though.”

She applied to several positions with the #ScienceForUkraine initiative in her field of study and that is how IHV became aware of her availability and skillset. In Dr. Kottilil’s laboratory, she investigates how a therapy for hepatitis B now in clinical trials impacts immune responses.

“It is important to the understand mechanism for how a drug effects the immune system in this case so it’s possible to choose the right therapy or correct cure strategy. This work also may help to develop a novel therapeutic for hepatitis B,” said Dr. Pozniak. “I am excited to work at the world-famous Institute of Human Virology”

As for how she is settling into a new city across the world, she said, “Thankfully, my new colleagues from IHV always give me any necessary information, answer all my questions, and have helped me to adapt.”

Dr. Kottilil said, “The Institute of Human Virology represents an international family of scientists working together regardless of where we are from or what language we speak. We share our resources and knowledge to face global challenges caused by diseases due to existing and emerging viruses. #ScienceforUkraine is an apt example of how our community reaches out to support our fellow virologists at critical times.”