KAMENEVA

DR. MARINA

Passed away on May 28, 2026. Marina was a lifelong scientist, teacher, inventor, and innovator who never lost her passion for working and sharing her curiosity about the natural world. Born in the Soviet Union at the end of the Second World War, she and her older brother, Igor, were raised in Moscow by their single mother. Though Marina studied and played the violin throughout her early years, a broken arm from a physical education injury cut her musical aspirations short in high school.

Undeterred, Marina shifted her focus toward science. She enrolled in the engineering program at the prestigious Moscow State University (MSU), where she earned both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Fluid Mechanics. Around this same time, she also welcomed her first child, daughter, Yulia. Balancing motherhood and academics, Marina pursued postgraduate studies at MSU while working as a junior research fellow at the Institute of Mechanics. She earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 1972, shortly before the birth of her second child, son, Alexander.

Marina continued her research at the university until 1989, when she immigrated to the United States with her husband, Boris Kushner, and their children. Overcoming significant language and cultural barriers, Marina secured a position as a visiting scientist at the University of Pittsburgh in 1991. She dedicated the remainder of her career to Pitt, eventually rising to the rank of Full Professor in the Bioengineering Department, before retiring in 2022, as Professor Emerita. Over the course of her distinguished career, Marina published more than 170 scientific papers, received numerous awards, and secured multiple patents. As a dedicated graduate student advisor, she also proudly guided many Ph.D. candidates through to the successful defense of their doctoral theses.

Marina became a widow in 2019, when she lost her husband, Boris Kushner. She is survived by son, Alexander; daughter, Yulia; granddaughter, Susanna; grandson-in-law, Patrick; and great-grandson, Aaron.

Services at RALPH SCHUGAR CHAPEL INC., 5509 Centre Avenue, Shadyside, on Monday, June 1, 2026, at 11 A.M. Visitation one hour prior to service (10 A.M. - 11 A.M). Interment, Homewood Cemetery. Anyone who knew and loved Marina as we did is welcome to attend.

Marina was a lifelong animal lover. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to a local animal shelter in her name. www.schugar.com