Obituary of Arkady Lyubarsky

Arkady Leibovich Lyubarsky, 75, of Great Neck Plaza, NY, passed away on December 25, 2023, surrounded by his family, after a valiant battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Arkady was born on June 13, 1948, to Leib Geshelevich Lyubarsky and Ruzya Aronovna Fleidervish in Kiev, Ukraine. After finishing high school, he studied biophysics at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (Phys Tech), the leading specialized scientific university in the former Soviet Union, achieving a doctorate in biophysics from the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. After graduating, he moved to Pushchino, a biological research center in the Moscow region. There, he married his wife, Alevtina Domashenko—also a scientist—and their two children, Sophia and Andrew were born. In Pushchino, Arkady and Alevtina lived and participated in a vibrant community of scientists from across the former Soviet Union. In 1992, Arkady and his family moved to Philadelphia, PA, where he worked as a senior research investigator at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine for nearly 30 years, focusing his research on gene therapy and approaches to maintain and restore visual function amongst individuals suffering from blindness. He was a distinguished scientist and respected colleague who was known not only for his lasting contributions to science but also for his warmth and wit. Arkady was a loving husband, father, and grandfather who was dedicated to and supported his family in all respects. He enjoyed the outdoors and remained active his entire life, whether swimming in the ocean or hiking in the forest. He applied his sharp intellect not only to his scientific endeavors but also to history and economics, of which he had an encyclopedic knowledge. Arkady is survived by his wife, Alevtina, his two children, Sophia and Andrew, and his three grandchildren, Max, Annabelle, and Alma. A memorial service will be held at the Riverside-Nassau North Chapels, 55 N. Station Plaza, Great Neck, NY 11021, at a date and time to be announced.