In memoriam for Mark Dmitrievich Sonin, parasitologist at the Russian Academy of Sciences, 1932-2010

Galaktionov, K. V.

Hoberg, Eric P.

Kontrimavichus, A. L.

Pelgunov, A.

Pugachev, O.

Russ, A. J.

English

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Faculty Publications from the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology Parasitology, Harold W. Manter Laboratory of 8-2010 In Memoriam: Mark Dmitrievich Sonin, 1932-2010 K. V. Galaktionov Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences A. J. Russ Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences O. Pugachev Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences A. Pelgunov Russian Academy of Sciences A. L. Kontrimavichus Center of Nature Research, Vilnius, Lithuania See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/parasitologyfacpubs  Part of the Parasitology Commons Galaktionov, K. V.; Russ, A. J.; Pugachev, O.; Pelgunov, A.; Kontrimavichus, A. L.; and Hoberg, Eric P., "In Memoriam: Mark Dmitrievich Sonin, 1932-2010" (2010). Faculty Publications from the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology. 608. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/parasitologyfacpubs/608 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Parasitology, Harold W. Manter Laboratory of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications from the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Authors K. V. Galaktionov, A. J. Russ, O. Pugachev, A. Pelgunov, A. L. Kontrimavichus, and Eric P. Hoberg This article is available at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/parasitologyfacpubs/608 IN MEMORIAMMARK DMITRIEVICH SONIN1932–2010With feelings of deep regret and loss among his friends andcolleagues, we sadly report the passing of Mark Dmitrievich Sonin at78 years of age on 26 January 2010 following a long illness. As aCorresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctorof Science in Biology, and professor, M. D. Sonin was a well-knownand internationally respected scientist in the field of parasitefaunistics, systematics, biogeography, and ecology of helminths. Hislong and distinguished career began under the guidance ofAcademician K. I. Skrjabin, the influential founder of the ‘‘Russianschool’’ of helminthology.M. D. Sonin was born on 1 August 1932 in the Ivanovskay oblast’in western Russia. We do not know much of his youth, and family lifewould have been challenging with his father having been subjected torepression in days of Stalin. He was educated in Gor’kiy (nowNizhniy Novgorod) State University in 1955. From 1955–57 he was ateacher of high school, and through 1957–1960 a postgraduatestudent, or ‘‘aspirant’’ at the Helminthological Laboratory of theAcademy of Sciences, USSR (GELAN) in Moscow. He received theCandidate of Sciences in 1963, the Doctor of Sciences in 1972.Across Russia, the former Soviet Union, and globally, M. D. Soninis best known as a nematologist who has made seminal contributionsto the development of helminthology. He was the author of more than300 scientific papers and 10 major monographs that have had a broadimpact in the parasitological community. Among these works are 4volumes, published in 1966 and 1967 and later translated to English,in the series Osnovy Nematodologii (Essentials of Nematodology) thataddress Filariata of Animals and Man and the Diseases Caused by Them.For these series of comprehensive studies he was awarded the title ofK. I. Skrjabin Academician by the Russian Academy of Sciences. Thesestudies represented contributions to our current understanding ofsystematics and taxonomy of the Diplotriaenoidea, Aproctoidea, andFilarioidea and offered a new taxonomic framework for theseenigmatic nematodes. The 4 volumes of Osnovy continue to haveconsiderable value today as comprehensive compilations of a broadand scattered literature and as a gateway to identification anddiagnostics of these significant parasites of vertebrates.During his career, M. D. Sonin was one of the primary organizersand participants of the influential All-Union HelminthologicalExpeditions. Field survey and inventory of the parasites of vertebratesacross the broad expanse of Russia in many ways represented thefoundation of what we now recognize as our ongoing process tocharacterize biodiversity on a global scale. A considerable legacy isapparent in scientific collections and information on the distributionof parasite faunas that emanated from these expeditions to the remotecorners of often newly explored territories. As a leader ofhelminthology in Russia, he further served as the editor for numerousscientific publications, and as the organizer of many All-Union andAll-Russian parasitological conferences.Starting in 1983, M. D. Sonin was the head of the HelmintologicalLaboratory of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, and from 1992through 2001 he was director of the Institute of Parasitology of theDOI: 10.1645/GE-2464.1Mark D. Sonin in 1974 at the Helminthological Laboratory of the Academy of Sciences, USSR (GELAN), Moscow, following the completion of hisdoctoral studies.J. Parasitol., 96(4), 2010, pp. 836–837F American Society of Parasitologists 2010836Russian Academy of Science (now the Center of Parasitology in theA. N. Svertsov Institute of Problems of Ecology and Evolution). Underthe innovative leadership of M. D. Sonin, the Institute moved in newdirections to study broader ecological aspects for helminths (virology,mycology, and the immunity of plants related to nematode infections)and protozoology. Under the initiative of M. D. Sonin, the Council onParasitology was created in the Russian Academy of Sciences, servingto consolidate and strengthen the discipline across Russia. During thelate 1990s independent status was received for the HelminthologicalMuseum of the Institute, one of the most important parasitologicalcollections globally. He was instrumental in the establishment of a jointcenter for science and experimentation linking the Institute ofParasitology (RAS) and the Institute of Zoology of the NationalAcademy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia.Leadership of the Institute was only a small part of his largerorganizational contributions. He was vice president of the All-RussiaSociety of Helminthologists and of the Russian Society of Parasitol-ogists, chairman of the Scientific Council on Problems of Parasitol-ogy, and a member of editorial boards of several journals, including,Parasitologya (Russia) and Helminthologia (Slovakia).During recent years his interests drew special attention to studiesof theoretical and practical problems in parasitology. Included wereconsiderations about transmission and circulation of parasites inbiocoenoses, questions about the evolution of parasitism, biodiversity,and the formation of parasitic complexes in urbanized ecosystems.M. D. Sonin, an outstanding scientist and helminthologist, waselected to honorary membership in the Parasitological Society of theRussian Academy of Sciences and the national societies ofCzechoslovakia and Germany in recognition of a long and eminentcareer. Furthermore, in honor of his contributions to the developmentof modern parasitology, the Presidium of the Czechoslovak Academyof Sciences awarded him the Mendel Medal. Beyond acclaim for M.D. Sonin as a scientist, he was widely respected, wise, versatile,educated, and always approachable. It was always simple and easy tocommunicate with Mark Dmitrievich Sonin, who was always willingto help colleagues both young and established, and was a good friendto many throughout their lives and careers. The good memories ofour dear friend, Mark Dmitrievich Sonin, will always remain in ourhearts.K. V. Galaktionov, A. J. Ryss, O. Pugachev, Zoological Institute of theRussian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 1, St. Petersburg199034, Russia; A. Pelgunov, Center of Parasitology of the Institute ofProblems of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences,Leninskiy 33, Moscow 119071, Russia; V. L. Kontrimavichus, Instituteof Ecology, Center of Nature Research, Akademijos 2, Vilnius 08412,Lithuania; Eric P. Hoberg, U.S. National Parasite Collection, AnimalParasitic Diseases Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agri-cultural Research Service, BARC East 1180, Beltsville, Maryland 20705.DATE OF PUBLICATIONVolume 96, No. 4, was mailed 25 August 2010GALAKTIONOV ET AL.—IN MEMORIAM 837

In Memoriam: Mark Dmitrievich Sonin, 1932-2010

UNL | Libraries

University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
Faculty Publications from the Harold W. Manter 
Laboratory of Parasitology Parasitology, Harold W. Manter Laboratory of 
8-2010 
In Memoriam: Mark Dmitrievich Sonin, 1932-2010 
K. V. Galaktionov 
Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences 
A. J. Russ 
Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences 
O. Pugachev 
Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences 
A. Pelgunov 
Russian Academy of Sciences 
A. L. Kontrimavichus 
Center of Nature Research, Vilnius, Lithuania 
See next page for additional authors 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/parasitologyfacpubs 
 Part of the Parasitology Commons 
Galaktionov, K. V.; Russ, A. J.; Pugachev, O.; Pelgunov, A.; Kontrimavichus, A. L.; and Hoberg, Eric P., "In 
Memoriam: Mark Dmitrievich Sonin, 1932-2010" (2010). Faculty Publications from the Harold W. Manter 
Laboratory of Parasitology. 608. 
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/parasitologyfacpubs/608 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Parasitology, Harold W. Manter Laboratory of at 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications from 
the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of 
Nebraska - Lincoln. 
Authors 
K. V. Galaktionov, A. J. Russ, O. Pugachev, A. Pelgunov, A. L. Kontrimavichus, and Eric P. Hoberg 
This article is available at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/
parasitologyfacpubs/608 
IN MEMORIAM
MARK DMITRIEVICH SONIN
1932–2010
With feelings of deep regret and loss among his friends and
colleagues, we sadly report the passing of Mark Dmitrievich Sonin at
78 years of age on 26 January 2010 following a long illness. As a
Corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor
of Science in Biology, and professor, M. D. Sonin was a well-known
and internationally respected scientist in the field of parasite
faunistics, systematics, biogeography, and ecology of helminths. His
long and distinguished career began under the guidance of
Academician K. I. Skrjabin, the influential founder of the ‘‘Russian
school’’ of helminthology.
M. D. Sonin was born on 1 August 1932 in the Ivanovskay oblast’
in western Russia. We do not know much of his youth, and family life
would have been challenging with his father having been subjected to
repression in days of Stalin. He was educated in Gor’kiy (now
Nizhniy Novgorod) State University in 1955. From 1955–57 he was a
teacher of high school, and through 1957–1960 a postgraduate
student, or ‘‘aspirant’’ at the Helminthological Laboratory of the
Academy of Sciences, USSR (GELAN) in Moscow. He received the
Candidate of Sciences in 1963, the Doctor of Sciences in 1972.
Across Russia, the former Soviet Union, and globally, M. D. Sonin
is best known as a nematologist who has made seminal contributions
to the development of helminthology. He was the author of more than
300 scientific papers and 10 major monographs that have had a broad
impact in the parasitological community. Among these works are 4
volumes, published in 1966 and 1967 and later translated to English,
in the series Osnovy Nematodologii (Essentials of Nematodology) that
address Filariata of Animals and Man and the Diseases Caused by Them.
For these series of comprehensive studies he was awarded the title of
K. I. Skrjabin Academician by the Russian Academy of Sciences. These
studies represented contributions to our current understanding of
systematics and taxonomy of the Diplotriaenoidea, Aproctoidea, and
Filarioidea and offered a new taxonomic framework for these
enigmatic nematodes. The 4 volumes of Osnovy continue to have
considerable value today as comprehensive compilations of a broad
and scattered literature and as a gateway to identification and
diagnostics of these significant parasites of vertebrates.
During his career, M. D. Sonin was one of the primary organizers
and participants of the influential All-Union Helminthological
Expeditions. Field survey and inventory of the parasites of vertebrates
across the broad expanse of Russia in many ways represented the
foundation of what we now recognize as our ongoing process to
characterize biodiversity on a global scale. A considerable legacy is
apparent in scientific collections and information on the distribution
of parasite faunas that emanated from these expeditions to the remote
corners of often newly explored territories. As a leader of
helminthology in Russia, he further served as the editor for numerous
scientific publications, and as the organizer of many All-Union and
All-Russian parasitological conferences.
Starting in 1983, M. D. Sonin was the head of the Helmintological
Laboratory of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, and from 1992
through 2001 he was director of the Institute of Parasitology of theDOI: 10.1645/GE-2464.1
Mark D. Sonin in 1974 at the Helminthological Laboratory of the Academy of Sciences, USSR (GELAN), Moscow, following the completion of his
doctoral studies.
J. Parasitol., 96(4), 2010, pp. 836–837
F American Society of Parasitologists 2010
836
Russian Academy of Science (now the Center of Parasitology in the
A. N. Svertsov Institute of Problems of Ecology and Evolution). Under
the innovative leadership of M. D. Sonin, the Institute moved in new
directions to study broader ecological aspects for helminths (virology,
mycology, and the immunity of plants related to nematode infections)
and protozoology. Under the initiative of M. D. Sonin, the Council on
Parasitology was created in the Russian Academy of Sciences, serving
to consolidate and strengthen the discipline across Russia. During the
late 1990s independent status was received for the Helminthological
Museum of the Institute, one of the most important parasitological
collections globally. He was instrumental in the establishment of a joint
center for science and experimentation linking the Institute of
Parasitology (RAS) and the Institute of Zoology of the National
Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia.
Leadership of the Institute was only a small part of his larger
organizational contributions. He was vice president of the All-Russia
Society of Helminthologists and of the Russian Society of Parasitol-
ogists, chairman of the Scientific Council on Problems of Parasitol-
ogy, and a member of editorial boards of several journals, including,
Parasitologya (Russia) and Helminthologia (Slovakia).
During recent years his interests drew special attention to studies
of theoretical and practical problems in parasitology. Included were
considerations about transmission and circulation of parasites in
biocoenoses, questions about the evolution of parasitism, biodiversity,
and the formation of parasitic complexes in urbanized ecosystems.
M. D. Sonin, an outstanding scientist and helminthologist, was
elected to honorary membership in the Parasitological Society of the
Russian Academy of Sciences and the national societies of
Czechoslovakia and Germany in recognition of a long and eminent
career. Furthermore, in honor of his contributions to the development
of modern parasitology, the Presidium of the Czechoslovak Academy
of Sciences awarded him the Mendel Medal. Beyond acclaim for M.
D. Sonin as a scientist, he was widely respected, wise, versatile,
educated, and always approachable. It was always simple and easy to
communicate with Mark Dmitrievich Sonin, who was always willing
to help colleagues both young and established, and was a good friend
to many throughout their lives and careers. The good memories of
our dear friend, Mark Dmitrievich Sonin, will always remain in our
hearts.
K. V. Galaktionov, A. J. Ryss, O. Pugachev, Zoological Institute of the
Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 1, St. Petersburg
199034, Russia; A. Pelgunov, Center of Parasitology of the Institute of
Problems of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences,
Leninskiy 33, Moscow 119071, Russia; V. L. Kontrimavichus, Institute
of Ecology, Center of Nature Research, Akademijos 2, Vilnius 08412,
Lithuania; Eric P. Hoberg, U.S. National Parasite Collection, Animal
Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agri-
cultural Research Service, BARC East 1180, Beltsville, Maryland 20705.
DATE OF PUBLICATION
Volume 96, No. 4, was mailed 25 August 2010
GALAKTIONOV ET AL.—IN MEMORIAM 837


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