In Memory of Professor Eduard V. Ulrich (December 29, 1937–June 2, 2025)

Eduard V. Ulrich, MD, Professor of the Bairov Department of Pediatric Surgery, passed away at the age of 88. Following his graduation from the Leningrad Pediatric Medical Institute in 1961, Professor Ulrich’s life was connected to his alma mater. At the Pediatric Surgery Department, Eduard Ulrich rose through the ranks from Associate Professor to Professor and headed the Department in 1992, continuing the heritage of Girey A. Bairov. Here, in the late 1970s, he became interested in spinal surgery and devoted most of his research career to it. In 1985, he defended his PhD thesis on surgical treatment of congenital spine deformities in children, where he codified his unique personal experience and proposed his own classifications and new treatment methods of congenital spinal deformities. In the early 2000s, he supervised the development of a practice and scientific pediatric spine research program. In fact, he created a pediatric spine school in St. Petersburg. Now, its graduates include many professionals who head leading medical centers in different regions of Russia. Eduard Ulrich is the pioneer of pediatric spine research in Russia; he directly supervised the creation and was President of the St. Petersburg Pediatric Spine Association. Professor Ulrich has been a member of the Editorial Board of the Russian Journal of Spine Surgery since its foundation.