Dr. Miroslav Petrovec – Associate Professor of Nicolae Testemitanu University

The Senate of Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Republic of Moldova decided to bestow the honorary title of Associate Professor on Dr. Miroslav Petrovec, head of the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The festive meeting, held on May 24, 2022, was moderated by the vice-rector for research activity, academician Stanislav Groppa, director of the National Institute for Health and Medical Research of Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy.

Rector Emil Ceban emphasized that the decision of the Senate was determined by "the unconditional support of Dr. Miroslav Petrovec given to the University in such an important field for medicine as microbiology research, especially in the current conditions, and by his intention to train young specialists in medical mycology area". At the end of his speech, Professor Ceban awarded Mr. Petrovec the diploma of Associate Professor of Nicolae Testemitanu University.

Academician Stanislav Groppa emphasized that this collaboration with the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology from Ljubljana was one of the strategic actions established in the Collaboration Agreement between Nicolae Testemitanu University and the University of Ljubljana, and "Dr. Miroslav Petrovec, a prominent figure in the field of microbiology and immunology, is internationally recognized for his merits".

Professor Petrovec said he was honored by the awarded title, noting that it was a great responsibility to be among the scientific-teaching staff of our university. The Slovenian expert thanked the University Senate for the chance to collaborate with our specialists, because "there are always opportunities to learn from each other". He was surprised by the University’s activity and plans, noting that only through cooperation and hard work the institution was able to achieve such results. While specifying that he preferred the word collaborating to helping, Professor Petrovec said that he wanted to provide opportunities to the people of our country. In this context, he mentioned the statement of Bill Gates: "The one who benefited from much must, in turn, give back just as much", promising to do so.

In support of the Senate's decision, Greta Balan, Associate Professor at the Discipline of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Preventive Medicine, addressed a congratulatory message to Dr. Miroslav Petrovec, highlighting his constant support, especially "in the elaboration and development of the Laboratory's microbiologic strategy". At the end of his speech, the Associate Professor expressed hope for a productive collaboration between the Discipline of Microbiology and Immunology and the Ljubljana Institute of Microbiology and Immunology "in order to launch new good and impactful projects for the development of microbiology and immunology". 

At the end of the meeting, Professor Petrovec delivered a lecture from the State-of-the-Art Lectures series on "Changing Epidemiology of respiratory viral infections - lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic". 

Professor Petrovec's visit took place under the Collaboration Agreement concluded between Nicolae Testemitanu University and the University of Ljubljana, which was signed in September 2021 and provides for the development of cooperation in the field of medicine and public health research, as well as training of doctors and pharmacists.

Dr. Miroslav Petrovec was born in 1968 in Celje, Slovenia. In 1987 he graduated from the Secondary School for Health Professionals. In the same year, he began his studies at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ljubljana, which he graduated from in 1995. In 1999, he defended his doctoral thesis in medical sciences on the topic "Molecular epidemiology of ehrlichiosis in Slovenia", in which he presented the first cases of anaplasmosis in the European population.

In 2003 he completed his professional studies in clinical microbiology. In 2005, he was appointed head of the laboratory for the diagnosis of viral infections at the Ljubljana Institute of Microbiology and Immunology. From 2012 he held the position of head of the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, and from 2014 until now – that of director of the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, being in his second term as vice-dean for the development of professional relations at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana. 

For eight years he was president of the Slovenian Society of Clinical Microbiology and Hospital Infections at the Slovenian Medical Association. 

Teaching activity: Dr. Miroslav Petrovec is an Associate Professor at the faculties of Medicine, Biotechnology and Pharmacy. His teaching assignments include lectures in the Microbiology specialty for students of the faculties of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Microbiology, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biomedicine. In 2014, he received the "Lavrič" award, being named the best lecturer of the year at the Faculty of Medicine. He is also active in postgraduate programs and lectures under a joint project with the Technical University of Zurich, Switzerland, developing a course for radiopharmacists. 

Research: His involvement in research began at the Institute of Pathology as a student. As a medical student he received the University's highest award - the "Prešeren Award" for his research achievements and experimental work in the field of tumor biology "Ehrlich ascites tumor in mice model". Since 1995 his research has focused mainly on tick-borne infections, and in 2006 he started research in respiratory viral infections. He also conducted research as a visiting researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, St. Louis Children's Hospital, USA. In 2000, he worked for two months in the Kosovo region, as a consultant to the World Health Organization for the eradication of the "Crimean-Congo" hemorrhagic fever epidemic. To date he has published more than 80 papers in journals indexed in the SCI (Science Citation Index) database and is co-author and reviewer of several books.