Mala

Lyubov

January 13, 1919, Kopani – April 14, 2003, Kharkiv

Ukrainian scientist and doctor. Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, member of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR (1974), Russian Academy of Medical Sciences (1991), National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Department of Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Experimental and Clinical Physiology, and Therapy, November 1992), and Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine (March 1993). Director of the Institute of Therapy of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine (since December 1988) and Head of the Department of Hospital Therapy and Clinical Pharmacology at Kharkiv State Medical University (since 1955). Chief Editor of the ‘Ukrainian Therapeutic Journal’.

Любов Мала

Portrait of Lyubov Mala, 2023
Designer: Oksana Kocherga

Lyubov Mala dedicated her life to addressing the pressing issues of clinical cardiology, including hypertension, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, chronic circulatory failure, and heart failure. Her pioneering efforts in Kharkiv led to Ukraine’s first comprehensive system for treating myocardial infarction patients. This system included specialised cardiology units with intensive care facilities, rehabilitation centres, and sanatorium-based recovery programmes. 

In 1962, Mala became the scientific head of the Problematic Cardiology Laboratory focused on hypertension, atherosclerosis, and coronary heart disease. Under her leadership, the laboratory evolved into a branch of the Kyiv Research Institute of Cardiology named after academician M. D. Strazhesko in 1981, with Lyubov herself serving as the director.

A prominent figure in cardiology, she was an active participant in every Ukrainian and Soviet Congress of the Therapists and Cardiologists, presiding over the 10th Congress of Ukrainian Therapists, and serving as President of the National Congress of Cardiologists of Ukraine in 2000. Over her career, she presented at 39 international congresses and supervised 38 doctoral and 187 candidate dissertations.

Designer: Oksana Kocherga