University professor Florin-Dumitru Mihaltan – Doctor Honoris Causa of ”Nicolae Testemitanu” University

”Nicolae Testemitanu” State University of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Republic of Moldova conferred the Doctor Honoris Causa honorary title on University Professor Florin-Dumitru Mihaltan, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Department of Pneumology of Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Bucharest, President of the Romanian Society of Pneumology. 

In the Laudatio, First Vice-Rector Olga Cernetchi, Vice-Rector for Didactic Activity and Academic Management of Nicolae Testemitanu University, mentioned that the University Senate decided to award the honorary title to Prof. Mihaltan for prodigious scientific activity, meritorious results in promoting medical science and practice, substantial contribution to the development of inter-institutional cooperation relations, as well as for the significant contribution to the holding of scientific forums and the development of research projects in partnership, providing support in the education and refresher training of scientific and didactic university and medical staff in the field of pneumology for the national health system, but also for the promotion of Nicolae Testemitanu University in Romania and in other countries.

At the same time, University Professor Alexandru Corlateanu, Head of the Discipline of Pneumology and Allergology within the Department of Internal Medicine, highlighted the stages of the bilateral collaboration initiated 20 years ago. "Thanks to Professor Mihaltan, numerous initiatives and projects were developed both for students and for the teaching and didactic-scientific staff. This partnership led to the holding of the first conferences in the field of somnology in the Republic of Moldova, at that time a science in its early stages, as well as to the carrying out of the first somnographic investigations in the country," the professor specified.

For his part, Professor Florin Mihaltan listed the activities carried out at the beginning of the partnership in the field of pulmonology between the medical universities in Bucharest and Chisinau, since 1993. Then, during the first visit of the Balkan Medical Union delegation to Chisinau, the first Romanian book donation dedicated to pulmonology was made - a gesture that, at that time, opened inter-institutional collaboration and the transfer of knowledge and good practices. 

Professor Mihaltan emphasized that, over the years, this collaboration had resulted in numerous scientific events, professional visits, clinical internships and joint activities in clinics and at the patient's bedside. At the same time, an important aspect in the professor's opinion is the interest of young doctors in the field of pulmonology and their common desire to raise the level of care for patients with respiratory diseases. 

The event was attended by members of the University Senate, representatives of the Discipline of Pneumology and Allergology, students, resident physicians and congress participants. 

The ceremony took place during the first National Congress of Pneumology, organized in partnership with Chiril Draganiuc Pneumology Institute and the Coalition for Respiratory Health from Moldova, with the support of the European Society of Respiratory Diseases, Global Allergy & Airways Patient Platform (GAAPP) and the Romanian Society of Pneumology, on November 14, 2025. 

Florin-Dumitru Mihaltan was born on October 26, 1954. After graduating from the Theoretical High School in Sibiu, he continued his studies at the Faculty of General Medicine and through clinical secondary training in Pneumology at Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest. He launched his professional career in 1982, as a pulmonologist at Marius Nasta Institute of Pneumophthisiology. At the same time, between 1983-1985, he worked as a scientific researcher within the Medical Statistics Section of the Institute of Phthisiology, Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Section. 

Along the way, he improved his professional skills, including through postgraduate courses in the country and abroad. He accumulated knowledge and skills as a scientific researcher, working diligently on his doctoral thesis in medical sciences, which he successfully defended in 1992. 

In 1996, he was hired at Alma Mater as senior lecturer at the Pulmonology Discipline. In 2000, he became an Associate Professor, and since 2008, he has held the position of University Professor at the Pulmonology Department of Carol Davila University of Medicine in Bucharest. 

Professor Florin Mihaltan's organizational and managerial qualities have been clearly demonstrated over the years. He has organized over 200 national and international scientific events on issues of somnology, tobaccoology, asthma, etc. He was one of the main actors in the implementation of the Anti-Smoking Law in Romania, initiator of the first cabinet for quitting smoking and somnology.

In addition to a vast teaching, clinical and managerial activity, marked by an exemplary academic attitude, Florin Mihaltan also carried out an extensive scientific activity. The results of his investigations materialized in a doctoral thesis in medical sciences, successfully defended in 1991, in over 600 articles and 20 published books, in 954 papers published in scientific journals in Romania and 120 papers edited in Revue des Maladies Respiratoires, Pneumologie, Chest, etc.

The Hirsch index in Google Scholar is 79, and the number of citations has reached 38,474.

Concurrently with a vast teaching, scientific, clinical and managerial activity, Professor Mihaltan has also exercised other responsible specialist obligations at national and international level, including: president of the Romanian Society of Pneumology (2024-2026), president of the Somnology and Non-Invasive Ventilation Section of the Romanian Society of Pneumology (2017-2021), full member of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Romania (since 2017), member of the Balkan Medical Union (since 1990), member of the Austrian Society of Pneumology (since 2000), member of the Council of the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention and many others. 

For his remarkable activity in the field of pedagogy and education, science, medical practice and university management, and for his outstanding human qualities, Professor Florin Mihaltan was appreciated with multiple distinctions and diplomas, national and international awards.

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