How Ukrainian scientists emigrated to the United States and conquered American science

Photo: frame view

Scientists from Kiev, Polina Lyashko and Yuri Kirichok, once decided: they will not be able to develop in their specialty at home. And emigrated to the United States. Now he is working on a formula of longevity, it creates a new type of contraceptives, which will not have side effects.

Former Kiev residents now live and work in San Francisco, and their history began in Kiev, when young graduate students of the Institute of Physiology. The pilgrims worked together on the wall newspaper.

Photo: video frame

“We created a newspaper, came up with all sorts of jokes. Somehow it happened that after four months we got married,” recalls Polina Lyashko.

Doing science in Ukraine was not easy. Often, scientists did not even have enough equipment for research.

“I remember that I soldered all the electronics that I used for my own experiments with my own hands,” recalls Yuri Kirichok.

Photo: video frame

Then the couple decided that they would conquer Harvard. Scientific adviser Oleg Krishtal helped with the recommendation.

A real breakthrough in the couple's scientific work was their work with sperm. Yuri Kirichok was able to measure the electrical activity of a single sperm - the smallest cell in the human body.

Photo: video frame

“Thanks to this method that Yura developed, there was a breakthrough in reproductive biology,” his wife said.

“This way I was able to get a professorship here in California. Polina moved with me,” Yuri noted.

Later, the Ukrainian received a professorship and her own laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley. Today Polina is working on research that promises to radically change the contraceptive market. It is based on plant components that change the activity of the sperm tail in such a way that it cannot penetrate deep into the egg.

“If we can bring to market a product that is safe and without contraceptive side effects, such as mood swings, abdominal pain, weight gain, then that would be wonderful and simply incredible,” said Polina’s lab collaborator, Nadya Manovets.

Yuri studies mitochondria - the part of the cell that produces energy.

“We are trying to discover how we can make mitochondria produce fewer free radicals, and if we can achieve this, then we will probably be able to increase life expectancy,” Yuri said.

Polina and Yuri are confident that immigration gave them the opportunity to develop their scientific potential and contribute to world science. They are unlikely to return to Ukraine, but are interested in participating in joint projects with Ukrainian scientists.

Read also on ForumDaily:

In the US, approved the drug with a microchip, which can be monitored

Scientists have shown how aliens may look

In the United States invented a device that detects the presence of allergens in food for 10 minutes

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.