- From the very beginning, we have been accompanied by many important people in our university, thanks to whom our department has been able to develop during these 20 years. We are proud of our achievements - said Professor Bolesław Samoliński, Head of the Department, opening the symposium and welcoming its participants. He then presented a brief history of the department and its most important achievements.
The Rector of the MUW, Professor Zbigniew Gaciong, congratulated on the jubilee of the department and wished them further fruitful development. Addressing the guests of the event, he emphasized: - The Department, in addition to its wide range of activities, also deals with health policy in relation to public health. In our country, this is an extremely important area where expert support and intellectual background is needed. The department and the university are such a facility for all sorts of governmental and non-governmental institutions, and can be to an even greater extent. I hope that those in power will take advantage of this expertise and the possibilities offered by the university and the department.
Giving the floor to the employees presenting the scientific achievements of the department, Prof. Samolinski noted: - I am honored to lead a team that I believe is among the Polish elite in public health, epidemiology and environmental health issues.
The researchers presented, among others, the program entitled "Epidemiology of Allergic Diseases in Poland" (ECAP) and its further inclinations as well as the "National Health Program 2016-2020" and the "MedFake" project. They also presented the results of a study on the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among police employees in the Mazovian province and an analysis of outpatient testing. Finally, they discussed the team's work on quality improvement in health care and research collaborations with other research centers and students.
Among the many guests of the event were: Prof. Aleksander Nawrat, President of the University Council, Senator Beata Małecka-Libera, Prof. Marek Krawczyk, Rector of the MUW from 2008 to 2016, Prof. Jerzy Kruszewski, a long-standing consultant in allergology, vice rectors of the university, chairpersons of the scientific discipline councils, deans, former heads of the department and its employees.
In 2001, by virtue of the Ordinance of the Rector of the Medical University No. 17/2001 of 26 June, an Independent Laboratory of the Prevention of Environmental Hazard was established at the Faculty of Health Sciences. The year 2004 was the year of its transformation into the Department. Another change took place in 2007, when the unit adopted the name of Department of the Prevention of Environmental Hazard and Allergology. In 2021, the name changed to the current name: Department of the Prevention of Environmental Hazard, Allergology and Immunology.
The team consists of physicians with specialization in otolaryngology, allergology, pediatrics, immunology and pulmonology, persons specialized in epidemiology, public health, environmental health and experts in biostatistics, sociology and environmental engineering. Currently, the department teaches 54 subjects in the area of health sciences and environmental health to students of 8 fields of studies conducted at MUW. Between 2001 and 2021, the department's staff published a total of 703 scientific articles, 57 monographs and several hundred popular science articles. 22 Doctoral Dissertations and 8 Habilitations were defended and 42 grants were carried out in the department. The employees of the unit were part of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council in 2011, during which they co-decided on the shape of EU health priorities. On July 7, 2021 the Department established the Coalition for Healthy Aging, which has major implications for senior policy in Poland. As a result, the Older Americans Act and the Public Health Act were created.
