Gabriel Kovac

Prof. Kováč was born on 8 November 1947 in Trnava in a workfolk family. Having finished the central agricultural technical school in Trnava (branch grower – breeder) in 1966 – 1972, he studied at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Košice. In 1971, during academic study, he got married and brought up three children with his wife Maria – son Martin and daughters Gabriela and Adriana.With the diploma of a veterinary surgeon he succeeded to the department of Internal Diseases of Ruminants and Swine as a research assistant. In 1972 – 1973 he completed basic military service attendance at the military Veterinary Research Institute in Prague, where, inter alia, he broadened knowledge of scientific-research work, and published his first publications. After returning to the UVM in Košice, he continued with the activities he had started before the military service. Later, he worked as a pedagogic lecturer (1974). Since 1975, he started add-on post-graduate study and in 1978 he defended dissertation thesis („Serum concentrations of vitamin E in cattle and sheep in relation to age, season, pregnancy, breed, and application of its preparations'). In the framework of contemporary regulations in 1982 he was named associated professor and after 8 years of active pedagogic and science-research activities he defended his doctor dissertation thesis („Clinical picture and biochemical indices after application of VX substance in cattle, sheep, and swine'). After habilitation and inauguration hearings („Periods of low vitamin E concentrations in the blood serum of pigs, diagnosis and prevention) he was designated professor for internal diseases of animals and pharmacology by decree of the Slovak President in 1997. In 1989 – 1991, he was the head of the university department and vice-rector for scientific-research activities and foreign relations. In 1997 – 2002, he performed superintendence of the Department of Internal Diseases of Ruminants and Swine at UVM Košice. In the subsequent period 2003 – 2007, he was the chief of II. Clinical Department for Internal Diseases, and since September 2007 chief of the Department for Diseases of Ruminants at the UVM Košice. Already during study he was interested in the subject he later chose, as he worked as a demonstrator and scientific jumper on the Department of Histology and Embryology led by Prof. Hrudka and subsequently at the Department of Internal Diseases of Ruminants and Swine headed by Prof. Vrzgula. As a student, he was involved in the students' scientific and professional activities, in which he stayed as an assistant for 10 years as a scientific secretary. Later he completed several educational stays on the Veterinary faculty in Utrecht, Helsinki, and short-term educational and lecturing stays within European and worldwide scientific and professional events, particularly organized by buiatrics societies in Sophia, Budapest, Moscow, Olsztyn, Lublin, Havana, London, Aberdeen, Belfast, Cambridge, Lyon, Alford, Toulouse, Vienna, St. Paul, Bologna, Edinburgh, Sydney, Balatonfured, Punta del Este, Hannover, Lovran, Quebec, Hajduszoboszlo, Krakow, Nice, Radenci, Kodan, Lisboan, Bury, Gura Humurolui, Leipzig, Siofok, etc. Numerous foreign stays enriched his scientific-pedagogic profile and contributed to his appointment to prominent specialized and scientific commissions and scientific boards, not only at UVM in Košice, but also on Veterinary faculty VaFU Brno and Medical faculty UPJS Košice. Moreover, he was the chairman of the branch of veterinary medicine of the Slovak Academy of Agriculture Sciences, now he is its vice-president, he was the vice-president of Slovak Commission for Dispense of Scientific Ranks, member of presidency of Slovak Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Scientific College of Slovak Academy of Science for Agricultural, Forestry, and Veterinary Sciences, Slovak Association of Veterinary Surgeons and president of its Subsection of Diseases and Rearing of Cattle, contact person for World Buiatric Society and member of its board extension, co-founder and member of executive boards for organization of Middle-European Buiatrics Congresses, member of British VET Association for Cattle Diseases, member of the scientific board of advisers of the American Biographic Institute. Prof. Kováč is a commissioner of VEGA (scientific grant agency) MS SR and SAV for Agricultural, Forestry, and Veterinary Sciences (for 5-times, last from r. 2005); vice president of Committee for Agriculture Sciences of Agency Supporting Research and Development; member of working parties of Accreditation Commission of SR related to veterinary sciences; member of Technical Board of SNAS (Slovak National Accreditation Service) for accreditation of certifications boards for risk management. Till now, he is a member of several editorial boards of scientific journals: „Biofarm', „Veterinarní medicína', „Folia Veterinaria', „Orbis Medicinae', etc. Within his scientific and research activities he performed important functions as the president of the Common Special Committee for Defence of Dissertation Thesis (PhD.) in the field of study 'Internal Diseases of Animals', member of special committees for defence of dissertation thesis (PhD.) in the fields of study: 'Immunology', 'Nutrition and Dietetics', 'Toxicology', 'Pharmacology'. He is the chairman of Committee for Defence of Doctor Dissertation Thesis (DrSc.) at science branch 'Internal Diseases of Animals', member of special committees at science branches: 'Veterinary Morphology', 'Nutrition and Dietetics', 'Parasitology', 'Other Related Branches of Veterinary Sciences'.Prof. Kováč is engaged in advisory and expertise activities aimed at helping agricultural practice, he closely cooperates with various enterprises in proposing and verifying of new remedies and aids for agricultural and veterinary practice. His present activities classified Prof. Kováč among head representatives of Slovak veterinary medicine, particularly in the field of internal diseases. This is proofed primarily by working out of aetiopathogenesis, diagnosis, therapy and prevention of the most important metabolic disorders in livestock and wild animals. Scientific and research activities of Prof. Kováč are presented at home, as well as abroad. Till now, he is a co-author of 22 Slovak scientific monographies, 11 foreign scientific monographies, author and co-author of three academic textbooks, 7 scripts, 91 scientific works in the Current Contents journals (88 foreign and three Slovak), 239 scientific and special papers in other journals (62 foreign and 177 Slovak), 141 scientific contributions in reviewed proceedings of foreign conferences, 371 scientific works in reviewed proceedings of Slovak conferences. Prof. Kováč, as the principal investigator and co-investigator, participated in 23 defended final reports of state research tasks, 6 department research tasks, 2 international grant projects, and 6 grant projects within SR; 11 continuous research reports, 9 research and special works based on economic activities. He worked out 23 reviews of issued works, 42 opponent reviews of qualifying works, 3 special translations, 36 scientific-popular and informative contributions, he took part in the elaboration of subject words in four dictionaries and encyclopaedias, and other 96 published works (to prominent jubilee colleagues, information on important scientific and special events at home and abroad). At the present, he is the principal investigator of VEGA and APVV grant projects, and co-investigator of several other projects. Among the published works of Prof. Kováč, the most important is knowledge of periods of low vitamin E concentrations in the blood serum of cattle, sheep and swine in relation to stage of pregnancy, age, season, and response to various ways of administration of remedies based on vitamin E and selenium; clarifying of aetiopathogenesis, diagnosis, therapy, and prevention of nutritional muscular dystrophy in young cattle; hypovitaminoses of B-complex; interactions of natural antioxidants and poly-unsaturated fatty acids; the use of natural sorbents; knowledge of clinical picture and metabolic indices in livestock and wild animals in areas exposed to industrial and chemical contaminations. In close relation to educational stays abroad, Prof. Kováč paid also considerable attention to the clarification of aetiopathogenesis, diagnosis, therapy, and prevention of several organ entities, and methodical procedures. In the recent period, Prof. Kováč orientates his collective, particularly research activities of his PhD students, to use components of genomics, proteomics, nutrigenomics, metabolomics, for real selection of animals by health signs, which lags behind the selection of food animals based on production traits only. Prof. Kováč participated meaningly in under-graduate education within students' research and special works (21 students), diploma thesis (12 the students), young scientific-pedagogic workers for needs of UVM (5 PhD.), practice (2 PhD.), and foreign countries (2 PhD.); three associated professors, two regular professors; building up of former Department of Internal Diseases of Ruminants and Swine, later 2nd Clinical Department, and presently the Clinical Department for Ruminants at UVM Košice, as an up-to-date academic place of work within the University of veterinary medicine in Košice, as well as in European space (through acquirement of financial resources within developing projects).