Oleg Leonidovich Lakhman, born on May 31, 1966, after graduating from the Faculty of General Medicine of the Irkutsk State Medical Institute in 1989 and completing a clinical residency in the specialty of "nervous diseases", worked at the East Siberian Institute of Medical and Ecological Research, where he went through all the stages of growth from a junior researcher to the position of chief physician of the clinic, where he worked from 1995 to 2017. Since 2017, he has held the position of director of the institute. In 1997, he defended his candidate dissertation, and in 2004 - his doctoral dissertation in the specialty of "nervous diseases"; in 2008, he was awarded the academic title of professor in the same specialty, and by the Resolution of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences dated January 19, 2016, No. 11, the title of "Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences". She holds the highest qualification category in the specialty "neurology", specialist certificates in the specialties: public health and healthcare organization, reflexology, periodic accreditation in the specialties of neurology and occupational pathology.
Professor Oleg Leonidovich Lakhman is a renowned specialist in the study of occupational diseases of the nervous system and a recognized scientist in the field of preventive medicine and occupational medicine in Russia. His scientific works are aimed at developing a theory of the formation of the leading forms of occupational neurological pathology and are devoted to issues of their diagnosis, clinical presentation, and treatment. O.L. Lakhman developed a methodology for the etiological and differential diagnosis of the late manifestations of occupational neurointoxications, substantiated the concept of the pathogenesis of toxic encephalopathy, and developed and implemented new medical technologies for the diagnosis of toxic encephalopathy in occupational neurotoxicoses. O.L. Lakhman was the first to substantiate classification criteria for the severity of cognitive impairment in chronic mercury poisoning. Neuropsychological criteria for the diagnosis of cognitive impairment in various occupational intoxications have been developed. Differential diagnostic criteria for mercury and alcoholic encephalopathy were established for the first time. As a result of research conducted under the supervision of O.L. Lakhman, Modern classifications of chronic mercury intoxication and neurointoxication in firefighters were developed, and clinical manifestations in the acute and late periods of intoxication with a complex of neurotropic toxic substances in firefighters and in the late (post-exposure) period of chronic mercury intoxication were systematized. O.L. Lakhman made a major contribution to the possibility of identifying occupational diseases in firefighters and developed diagnostic criteria for occupational neurointoxication in them. As a result of O.L. Lakhman's innovative methodological approach and the integrated application of modern diagnostic methods, occupational diseases were identified in 102 firefighters for the first time in the Russian Federation. Consistently addressing workers' health issues in 2016, the publication of the monograph "Ophthalmomercurialism" concluded another cycle of multidisciplinary research into the pathogenesis and scientific basis of a new form of occupational disease caused by chronic mercury exposure – ophthalmomercurialism. Thus, another level of social and medical protection for workers was proposed.
Another area of O.L. Lakhman's research is identifying the mechanisms underlying the development of occupational diseases of the peripheral nervous system from exposure to physical factors of production. Specific changes in the body's sensory systems under exposure to local and general vibration have been established. Under O.L. Lakhman's leadership, the current clinical manifestations of vibration syndrome were identified and its classification was refined. With his direct involvement, original methods and technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of polyneuropathy, vibration syndrome, fluorosis, and sensorineural hearing loss, protected by patents, were developed and implemented into practice. Today, these unique, proprietary methods reduce the risk of developing occupational diseases, and, by identifying their early manifestations, prevent the development of a pathological process and its progression when workers are exposed to harmful production factors.
Thus, O.L. Lakhman created an original scientific school of occupational pathologists in Siberia for the study and substantiation of the development of occupational diseases in workers caused by exposure to chemical and physical production factors.
Over the past three years, O.L. Lakhman's research interests have expanded. This includes studying the mechanisms of occupational stress development caused by high neuropsychological loads and physical factors. The priority is to substantiate the possibility of establishing an occupational disease in the form of emotional burnout syndrome in healthcare workers. O.L. Lakhman is also directly involved in identifying post-traumatic stress disorder in participants in special military operations and providing them with treatment and rehabilitation measures.
O.L. Lakhman has extensive experience organizing a number of research areas in the field of occupational medicine. In recent years, he initiated and organized a major section of the National Program related to the prevention of mercury intoxication and harm to workers' health, during the cleanup of man-made pollution in Usolye-Sibirskoye, Irkutsk Region. In April 2024, the Bureau of the Preventive Medicine Section of the Department of Medical Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, at the initiative and with the direct participation of O.L. Lakhman, decided to develop a National Program "Health of the Working Population in the Russian Federation." He was entrusted with the leadership of the section on maintaining the health of workers in Siberia and the North.
O.L. Lakhman successfully combines organizational and scientific work in medicine not only with highly professional practical clinical practice but also with a wide range of community service. He is a member of two dissertation councils for the defense of candidate and doctoral dissertations in the scientific specialties of occupational medicine (medical sciences) and hygiene (medical sciences). He is a member of the editorial boards of the journals "Medicine in Kuzbass," "Zabaikalsky Medical Bulletin," and "Baikal Medical Journal." Since 1999, he has been the chief freelance occupational pathologist for the Ministry of Health of the Irkutsk Region and a member of the relevant commission on occupational pathology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. He is a member of the Central Certification Commission for the Siberian Federal District and the Certification Commission of the Ministry of Health of the Irkutsk Region. He is a member of the Medical Council under the Governor of the Irkutsk Region. He is accredited by Roszdravnadzor, is an expert of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and is a member of the Presidium of the Russian Association of Physicians and Specialists in Occupational Medicine.
Lakhman, O.L. He has 337 publications included in the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI), 47% of which are on the WoS or Scopus White List, including 9 monographs, and has received 41 patents for inventions. Over the past 5 years, he has published 73 scientific papers, 40 of which in WoS or Scopus journals, including Q1 and Q2 quartiles, 10 patents, and 2 monographs. He is a co-author of the national guide "Occupational Pathology" (2024). His h-index is 22. With the participation of O.L. Lakhman, 33 regulatory and methodological documents have been developed, prepared, and approved at the federal and regional levels, including 8 new medical technologies and 7 textbooks. Under his supervision and scientific consulting, 14 candidates of science and 1 doctor of science have been trained; 2 doctoral and 3 candidate dissertations are currently being written, and residents and graduate students are being trained. O.L. Lakhman has 34 years of research experience and 25 years of teaching experience. He is the Head of the Department of Occupational Pathology and Hygiene at the Irkutsk State Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education, a branch of the Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. He also leads the occupational pathology course at the educational center of the All-Russian Scientific Institution "VSIMEI," which trains physicians from the region and other regions of the country.
For his scientific achievements and professional work, O.L. Lakhman has been awarded the "Excellent Healthcare Worker" badge, Certificates of Honor from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, several republican, departmental, and regional certificates, and the "200th Anniversary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia" Medal from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. In 2010, he was awarded the Honorary Badge and Prize "For Achievements in Maintaining and Improving the Health of the Working Population of Russia" at the All-Russian Congress "Profession and Health." For his successful work in Mongolia, he was awarded the "Honored Worker of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Mongolia" badge; he was three times awarded the title of "Laureate of the Regional Competition in Science and Technology, Solving Socio-Economic Problems of the Irkutsk Region" for the development and implementation of various diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitation methods for occupational diseases in Eastern Siberia, 2012, 2018, 2023, the honorary title of "Honored Worker of Science and High Technologies of the Russian Federation" (2021), awarded the Commemorative Medal named after Academician M.A. Lavrentiev (2024), became an Honored Scientist of the SB RAS with the presentation of the "Golden Sigma" badge. During his leadership of the institution, for his great contribution to the development of medical science and practical healthcare, in 2020 the Institute received a gratitude from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, and in 2025 received an Honorary Certificate from the Minister and a Commemorative Medal named after Academician M.A. Lavrentiev.
