Nationality Armenian Spouse Artavazd Dzvakeryan | Children Anna Gyurjyan Name Adelaida Avagyan | |
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Born April 6, 1924
Yerevan, Armenia ( 1924-04-06 ) Occupation Physician and scientist Died May 12, 2000, Williamsburg, Virginia, United States | ||
Adelaida Avagyan (Armenian: Ադելաիդա Հովսեփի Ավագյան, April 6, 1924 – May 12, 2000) was an Armenian physician, researcher, and leader in healthcare. She was the head of the Nutrition Hygiene (Nutriciology) laboratory from 1969–94 in the Institute of Nutrition Science and Professional Disease Prevention, Yerevan Armenia. She is the author of more than 50 research articles in journals of the USSR.
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Early life
Adelaida Avagyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia to Hovsep Avagyan, an agriculture specialist and his wife Marianush Vasilyan, a language teacher. Adelaida was the oldest of four siblings, Desdemona, Robert and Esfira. During her childhood at Chaikovshi street, Yerevan, Armenia, Adelaida was often very involved in daily care giving and acted as a role model for her younger siblings. Her mother, a highly educated language teacher, paid much attention to good education and encouraged the learning of multiple languages and sciences. Her father believed that each child should be given the opportunity for unlimited development of his/her talents and gifts. Particularly, the Avagyan family believed in providing best education for their children. Throughout their childhood, all four children were exposed to musical instruments and literature. Adelaida, for instance played the piano since age 6 for 7 years and demonstrated quick advancement in performance.
Adulthood
Adelaida graduated as valedictorian from Khachatur Abovian high school in 1941. She then entered into Yerevan State Medical Institute. In 1946, she graduated with magna cum laude and received the professional degree of doctor of medical practice. While practicing in the medical field appealed to Adelaida, she decided to pursue medical research. Specifically, she greatly desired to advance the standard of care in hygiene and hygiene practice in Armenia during the 1940s and aid in improving public health and overall wellness. She entered the Institute of Nutritional Hygiene in Moscow, USSR. After being accepted, she moved to Moscow. In 1956, she defended her first dissertation (kandidatsakaia disertatcia) and became among the first doctors from Armenia to have postdoctoral training in Moscow. Adelaida was chosen to travel to Indonesia as an ambassador, guided with the task of reorganize the health care system. Adelaida declined this offer to offer her services in Armenia. She became the director of the laboratory of nutrition hygiene in Yerevan. While heading the department, Adelaida also defended her doctoral dissertation in 1976, which was a result of 20 years of research in the biomedical field. Over the course of her medical research career, she acted as an advisor to young scientists and their research projects while preparing and publishing over 100 of her own research articles in several different international journals. Adelaida also gave numerous interviews in public radio and television programs educating the general public about the dangers of malnutrition and prevention of botulism in home canning.
Family Life
Adelaida married Artavazd Dzvakerian, a civil engineer in 1962. They had a daughter, Anna in 1963. She became the grandmother of three, Asya, Harut and Adelaida (who was named after her). In 1998, Adelaida joined her daughter and her family in the United States. In 2000, Adelaida was diagnosed withcancer and after three months, she passed with her daughter and her family at her side. Adelaida was laid to rest at Williamsburg Memorial Park in Williamsburg virginia, USA.