The history of MNIOI in faces. Director Andrey Dmitrievich Kaprin

We are completing the publication of a series of materials dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the P. A. Hertsen MRIOI dedicated to its directors. Today we will tell you about Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrey Dmitrievich Kaprin, who headed the Institute in 2013 and remains in this post until now.

Andrey Dmitrievich Kaprin-Honored Doctor of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian Academy of Education, chief freelance oncologist of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, one of the leading Russian specialists in the field of oncology.

Andrey Dmitrievich was born in 1966 in the family of a military pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, veteran of the Great Patriotic War D. V. Kaprin. Love and mutual respect — that’s what the children in this family grew up on. According to Andrey Dmitrievich, he always felt the support of his father, no matter what issues it concerned.

In 1983, A. D. Kaprin entered the medical faculty of the Moscow Medical Dental Institute named after A. I. Evdokimov. Pretty soon, he was already working part-time where he could: as a janitor in the center of Moscow, as an orderly, and then as a paramedic in an ambulance, wanting to be an independent, real head of the family, like a father.

He was extremely lucky, as Andrey Dmitrievich himself repeatedly emphasized, to study with such titans of Soviet healthcare as Academician V. P. Kharchenko, director of the Institute of Radiology (now the Russian Radiology Research Center of the Ministry of Health of Russia), who for many years was the country’s chief radiologist; academician N. A. Lopatkin, the founder of the Russian school of urology. Andrey Dmitrievich began his PhD thesis with experiments at the Research Institute of Urology, which today bears the name of Nikolai Alekseevich.

Andrey Dmitrievich went from a simple nurse to the general director of the largest cancer cluster in the country-the Federal State Budgetary Institution “NMRC of Radiology of the Ministry of Health of Russia”, which he headed in 2014. Combining three leading Russian research centers was the most difficult task in his professional career, which was full of challenges. Academician Kaprin managed to study in Germany in one of the largest cancer centers in Europe, and in 2010 received a second higher education at the Russian Presidential Academy of Public Administration, majoring in Public Service and Personnel Policy. However, self-education and continuous professional development in the profession was and remains his principle of life.

Andrey Dmitrievich, despite the extraordinary employment of the head of a huge center, the president of two major professional communities in Russia and the CIS — the Association of Oncologists of Russia (AOR) and the Association of Directors of Institutes of Oncology and Radiology in the CIS and Eurasia (ADIOR), continues to operate himself, and, as a rule, takes on the most complex, severe cases. Thanks to his direct involvement in clinical practice, the most complex reconstructive eviscerations were awarded the Vocation Award this year. At the same time, the reconstruction and re-equipment of all three branches of the National Research Center of Radiology continues.

Andrey Dmitrievich always remembers all the names and patronymics of his teachers, colleagues, comrades, employees, and patients. He continues the development of many innovative areas that were born within the walls of all three branches of the Center headed by him, ensuring continuity in scientific and clinical activities: combined treatment methods, proton and photodynamic therapy, reconstructive and plastic surgery.

It boldly undertakes the introduction of new methods and whole areas, for which the Center’s staff has been awarded two prizes of the Government of the Russian Federation and twice – the National Prize of the Professional Community “Vocation”.

Andrey Dmitrievich is a member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, continues to head the Department of Oncology at RUDN University, travels dozens of times a year to the regions to participate in conferences and master classes, as well as to new Russian territories, Syria, CIS countries, and events of the Oncopatrul educational project.
Where does he get his powers from? God only knows. During his teaching career, A. D. Kaprin trained hundreds of doctors, and more than 20 dissertations were defended under his supervision. Academician Kaprin was awarded the Order of Honor and Pirogov.

Today, the Center he heads is not only an advanced scientific and clinical base for introducing the latest methods of cancer diagnosis and treatment. The National Research Center of Radiology patronizes two orphanages, its teams play football and volleyball in medical leagues, and the team is friends with many theaters, museums, and art galleries in the country.
Andrey Dmitrievich was one of the first leaders of the federal level to create his own social media account with weekly access and live feedback from subscribers.

On August 2, 2023, Andrey Dmitrievich turned 57 years old. We join all the congratulations and wish the chef good spirits and many, many good years!

Press Service of the National Research Center of Radiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation