INFECTIOUS DISEASES DISCIPLINE 

CURRENT: Department 5, Medical Specialties III, Infectious Diseases Discipline 

The Infectious Diseases Discipline was established in 1975 in the young Faculty of Medicine of the University of Craiova. Initially organised and led by leading personalities from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Bucharest (Prof. Ludovic Păun, Prof. Mircea Angelescu), the discipline soon established its own academic body under the direction of Prof. Toma Negomireanu (1978 -1994). He organises higher medical education in infectious diseases in the newly founded Faculty of Medicine, writes the first lectures for students, publishes numerous articles at home and abroad.

Brief presentation of the discipline: 

• the first titular leader of the discipline was: Prof. Toma Negomireanu

• period of time during which he was head of the discipline: 1978 - 1994

• his short biography: 

  • date and place of birth: 1928, Gorj county

  • studied at the Faculty of Medicine in Cluj (1952) specialized in epidemiology of infectious diseases (1959), doctor of medical sciences (1970).

  • after graduating from university, he began his university teaching-scientific career as a specialist teacher at the technical sanitary middle school in Cluj (July 1953-September 1958); director of the same school from July 1953 to November 1954, he successively went through all the steps of the professional hierarchy: specialist doctor in infectious diseases by examination, confirmed by the Ministry of Health by order no. 616/1959; primary doctor in infectious diseases by examination, confirmed by the Ministry of Health by order no. 854/1963; he was promoted by competition to the positions of:

Assistant at IMF Cluj (1954 - 1955)

Assistant professor at the IMF Cluj (1955 - 1970)

Head of works of IMF Cluj (October 1970 - September 1974)

Associate Professor at the Clinic of Infectious Diseases IMF Târgu-Mureș (1974 - 1977)

Professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Craiova (1977)

• academic career:

  • further training, internships, professional experience: 

Epidemiologist at the sanitary hospital of Cluj: August 1952-October 1954

Responsible for infectious diseases in Mureș County, within the Mureș Sanitary Directorate (1975-1977)

Member of the National Society of Infectious Diseases.

As a member of the International Society of Infectious Diseases he has participated in scientific events abroad (Berlin, Florence, Vienna). He obtained three patents and carried out four research contracts with the Academy of Medical Sciences. 

• list of main works, distinctions, awards: 

Author of the first course on infectious diseases of the discipline (1983, reprinted in 1986), the course on tropical infectious diseases and numerous scientific articles (over 200)

• doctoral supervision in the field of Medicine -3 doctoral students

• the initial collective: Dr. E. Gadza Volosciuc, Dr. Silvia Munteanu, to which Dr. Mioara Cotulbea, Dr. Dan Hurezeanu, Dr. Valentina Ionescu, Dr. Augustin Cupșa, Dr. Iulian Diaconescu, Dr. Carmen Canciovici, Dr. Livia Dragonu are added. Dr. Marian Manea (assistant professor 2002-2003), Dr. Irina Niculescu (2007-2018), Dr. Iulian Diaconescu (assistant professor 1982-1998), who later took over the training of students of the Faculty of Dentistry, became head of works in 1998 and then associate professor in 2003.

In addition to those mentioned above, we should mention Dr. Stefania Calotă, Dr. Marieta Cumpănașu, Dr. Marin Canciovici, Dr. Marioara Dinuț, Dr. Mihai Iorgulescu, Dr. Gheorghe Necea. It is remarkable the collaboration with Dr. Constanța Ciobanu, who managed the clinical laboratory for 24 years, or with the remarkable professional of the radiology service who was the late Dr. I. Diaconu.

• The infectious diseases discipline was led by:

  •  Prof. PhD Augustin Cupșa: 1994-2015

– main achievements: books, manuals, treatises - 17, articles and abstracts published in journals - 97 (9 international), abstracts in congress and conference volumes - 180 (64 international, national with international participation), communications at local, intercounty, national scientific meetings (without volume of abstracts) - over 100, MEDLINE citations - 8 (2 SIDANet);   activities to modernise the Infectious Diseases Clinic; organisation of the HIV/AIDS surveillance and control system in Oltenia; Establishment and institutionalization of the Medical Education Centre within the U.M.F. of Craiova; contributing to the construction and active promotion, nationally and internationally, of the image of Craiova's academic medical institutions. He was awarded the Diploma of Excellence of the Romanian National Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases for organizing, as President, the 9th National Congress of Infectious Diseases, 22-25 September 2004, Craiova; Nominated at the Medical Scientific Section of the Excellence Awards 2004, 2005, 2006 for outstanding contributions in medicine, specialty Infectious Diseases, Medic.ro, Edition I, II, III;  Participation in international programs: 1990-1994 - coordinator (on the Romanian side) of the Romanian-Norwegian program AIDS Prevention Dolj, 1990-1994 - approved by the Romanian Government, 1995-1996 - TEMPUS program coordinator on behalf of U.M.F. Craiova, 2004-2007 - Member of the Steering Committee of PHARE project RO-2002/000-586. 04.11.01 "Restructuring of the Network of Regional HIV/AIDS Centres in order to improve prevention activities and access to care for HIV-infected people", member of the working group - for the surveillance and control component of the PHARE project RO-2002/000-586.04.11.0, 1995-2008 - Research programs in the field of HIV/AIDS (multicenter studies) and other infectious diseases; 1998- 2015 Prorector with academic management and scientific research, U.M.F. of Craiova; Member of scientific societies: Romanian National Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases (since 2000 member of the Board of Directors); European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases; Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE);Starfish Society / New Jersey, USA.

• PhD supervisor since 2004 (6 PhD students), Prof. Augustin Cupșa formed the teaching staff of the infectious diseases discipline, supervised generations of students and residents.  

  • Associate Professor PhD Iulian Diaconescu: 2015-2017

• – main achievements: author of 11 books (9 co-authors, 1 monograph), 20 articles, 23 papers presented at scientific events, 60 papers published as abstracts; principal investigator/research team member in more than 20 international clinical trials; organizer of postgraduate courses: "Tuberculosis of the nervous system"-1999, "Antibiotic therapy course"-2000; President of the National Conference on Infectious Diseases 2011, 2015. Exchange of experience: Centre Hospitaliers Regional et Universitaire de Nimes, France, Infectious Diseases, 27 April-7 May 1992. Supervisor: Professor Dr. Jacques Jourdan; Faculty of Medicine of Utrech, The Netherlands. "Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases", 8-19 July 1996. Mentor I. M. Hoepelmen, MD Ph D; Infectious Diseases, Craiova, organized March 29-April 2, 1993, by MS and French Embassy; Infectious Diseases, Craiova, organized Sept. 6-10, 1993, by MS and French Embassy. 1993, by MS, French Embassy, WHO Regional Office for Eastern Europe; Infectious Diseases, Craiova, organised 24-28 Oct. 1994, by MS, French Embassy, WHO Regional Office for Eastern Europe; Teaching&Learning and Educational Media organised by University of Cluj-Napoca and University of Dundee, 22-25 March 1999; Seminar on Francophone Medical Pedagogy, Brasov, 18-22 Oct. Head of the Faculty of Dental Medicine (2008-2011); President of the Academic Evaluation Commission 2008-2012 (Faculty of Dental Medicine Craiova); Vice Dean of the Faculty of Dental Medicine (2004-2008); Member of the Senate of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Craiova- 2004-2012; Member of the Commission of Infectious Diseases of the Ministry of Health (since 2016).

The current team of the infectious diseases discipline is led by Prof.Dr.Florentina Dumitrescu, and is composed of: Dr.Lucian Giubelan, Dr.Livia Dragonu, Dr.Andreea Cristina Stoian, Assistant Dr.Anca Elena Duduveche (CVs attached).

In 1998, the HIV/AIDS Infection Surveillance Computerisation Programme was initiated.

Between 1994 and 2001, the discipline organized a series of scientific events, including five annual Romanian-American meetings (with the participation of the University of Louisville/Kentuky and the Pediatrics Department of the Faculty of Medicine - Prof. D-tru Bulucea), two inter-city conferences (infectious diarrheal disease, HIV/AIDS infection), a national conference in collaboration with the Craiova Military Hospital (respiratory infections)..

The first international scientific collaborations were established, including the University of Bergen/Norway, MHS Amsterdam/Netherlands, University of Louisville/USA, Steroidogenesis Inc.

Teachers have participated in postgraduate training courses and exchanges of experience in universities in Norway, the Netherlands, France, England, the United States, etc..

A symposium on infectious diseases has been organized annually (since 1999) within the framework of the UMF Days in Craiova, addressing current topics in the field. 

In 2004, the 9th National Congress of Infectious Diseases was organized in Craiova (22-25 September 2004, Craiova), and in 2011, 2015, 2019, National Conferences of Infectious Diseases were also organized.

The Discipline of Infectious Diseases is a partner in research grants funded by MEN in the Immunohistochemistry and Immunology Research Centre of U.M.F. of Craiova, as well as in international multicentre programmes on the treatment of bacterial respiratory infections, Clostridium difficile infection, systemic infections.

Postgraduate education has been developed, residents in the clinic are currently working in the specialty and residents from other specialties are training in infectious diseases. There has also been a significant increase in postgraduate courses on offer.

Postgraduate programmes: postgraduate courses are organised annually, both for residents and specialist/primary infectious disease physicians and for colleagues from other specialties who wish to learn about the latest developments in infectious diseases. Here are some postgraduate courses: "Update on viral hepatitis"-2009; "Introduction to comprehensive management of people with HIV/AIDS"-2010; "Update on respiratory and cardiovascular infections"-2011; "Update on HIV/AIDS and associated comorbidities"-2012; "Current issues in infectious diseases associated with tourism"-2013; "Human gut microbiome"-2014; "Multidisciplinary approach to the HIV/AIDS patient"-2016; "Current issues in tropical infectious diseases"-2017; "Antibiotic therapy today-certainties and challenges"-2018; "Syndromes in infectious diseases"-2019

The PhD supervisors were Prof. Toma Negomireanu and Prof. Augustin Cupșa.

Topics and research areas include: HIV infection (epidemiology, clinical, antiretroviral treatment-national multicenter studies, procaine HCl effects associated with antiretroviral treatment-collaboration with Steroidogenesis Inc./USA); bacterial resistance to antibiotics; nervous system tuberculosis; host infections with compromised defense.

The course on Transmissible Infectious Diseases, published in 2007 by the University Medical Publishing House, under the coordination of Prof. Augustin Cupșa, is different from the classical courses in terms of didactic conception and organization of the material. Special attention has been paid to learning objectives, knowledge fixation and self-assessment, so that students, guided by the teachers, can better organize their individual or group study, more adapted to their learning needs. The sidebars contain facilitators for evidence-based learning and are an attempt to break out of rigid patterns of presenting learning material, encouraging meditation, reflection, curiosity learning, group discussion, computer-assisted learning and offering some suggestions for practical activities.  The final aim of the course is for the graduate to have a better understanding of infectious diseases, to learn the principles of diagnosis and treatment in infections, to be able to work and decide professionally in the main communicable infectious diseases.

In 2020, the members of the discipline's collective have developed and published a volume, "Infectious Diseases", dedicated to the Semicentenary of the Faculty of Medicine, UMF Craiova, especially addressed to medical students, but which can also be useful for young doctors. For the students of the Faculty of Midwives and Nurses is available the volume with the course material and for practical works, elaborated by the members of the discipline. 

In 2014, Prof. Augustin Cupșa introduces a modern way of evaluating students, OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination), which consists in going through a circuit of stations in equal times, in which simulated situations are found, as close as possible to the real problems of a young doctor. It requires: problem solving, attitude, decision making, clinical, practical and communication skills, etc. It does not require the retelling of course material, but the use of the data learned, thus measuring competence, not memory and reproduction of data. The system has been improved yearly, with the support and suggestions of our teachers and students, and has been appreciated by graduates.