Birth: May 31, 1929, Törökszentmiklós (Hungary)

 † August 31, 2020, Budapest

Education:

• 1953 Semmelweis University, Faculty of Medicine: MD

Academic qualifications:

• 1994 Dr. Med. Habil.
• 1969 DSc
• 1957 PhD

Present and previous positions:

• 1971 - Semmelweis University Department of Genetics, Cell- and Immunobiology (previously Department of Biology):
  2000 - Professor emeritus
  1994 - 2000 Professor
  1971 - 1994 Professor and chairman

• 1949 - 1971 Department of Histology and Embryology:
  1970 - 1971 Professor
  1963 - 70 Associate professor
  1959 - 63 Senior lecturer
  1956 - 59 Assistant professor
  1953 - 56 PhD student
  1949 - 53 Undergraduate assistant

Professional visits:

• 1991 Department of Biology, Sch. Med., Waseda University (Susumu Ishii), Tokyo, Japan
• 1983 and 1991 Department of Biochemistry, Gifu University (Yoshinori Nozawa), Gifu, Japan
• 1964 Chester Beatty Research Institute (Peo C. Koller) and Guy's Hospital Med. Sch. (R. Batchelor) London, England

Activities in education:

• Lectures and examination of students
• Writing textbooks
• Supervising PhD students (17 PhD dissertation were prepared under his direction)

Other activities at the university:

• Chairman of the Scientific Student's Council (for five years)
• Chairman of the Director's Council in the Theoretical Building (for five years)
• Chairman of the Editorial Council Semmelweis Publisher (for 11 years)

Memberships:

• Editorial Boards: Experimental Cell Biology (for 8 years), Acta Protozoologica (also at present)
• Editor-in-Chief "Biologia" (for 10 years)
• Chairman of the Book and Journal Committee Scientific Council of the Ministry of Health (for 8 year)
• Member of the Editorial Council, Medicina Publisher (for 25 years)
• Member of the Editorial Board "World of Nature"
• Hungarian Biological Society (President of the Section for General and Theoratical Biology, for 10 years)
• Educational Society of Budapest (President of the Biological Section for 10 years)
• European Cell Biology Organisation
• European Teratology Society

Honours and awards:

• 2000 Khwarizmi International Award (1st prize)
• 2000 COMSATS Award (1st prize)
• 1999 Acta Biologica Hungarica published a jubilee issue in the occasion of his 70th birthday
• 1994 "For the Hungarian Higher Education" medal (Ministry of Health)
• 1994 Golden Signet of the Semmelweis University
• 1992 Huzella Medal (Semmelweis University)
• 1989 Pál Bugát Award (Educational Society)
• 1987 "For the excellent work" medal (Students of Semmelweis University)
• 1983 Huzella Prize (Hungarian Biological Society)
• 1982 Outstanding Teacher (1st grade, Semmelweis University)
• 1979 Memorial Medal (József Attila Free University)
• Prize for high level books (five times)
• Prize for high level papers from the journal, World of Nature

Research interests:

• Cell biology, developmental biology, evolution and ontogenetic development of hormones and hormone receptors, hormonal imprinting

Research areas:

• Elaborated and justified the three-phase theory of heterotransplants and the method of anti-antiserum
• First observed the lymphoid (thymic) origin of mast cells and their endocrine regulation
• First observed the enrichment of mast cells around malignant tumours and their effects on the tumorous proliferation
• Gave new data on the interrelations between the pineal body and other endocrine organs and described (first) the connection between the pineal body and immune system
• Observed (first) the receptor-level reaction of unicellular organisms to vertebrate hormones and described (first) the hormonal imprinting in such a low phylogenetic level, which was the first observed epigenetic phenomenon at cellular level
• Demonstrated and justified the presence and importance of hormonal imprinting in invertebrates, vertebrates and mammals
• Elaborated the theory of parallel running of hormone and receptor evolution
• Observed the phenomenon op faulty imprinting caused by related or foreign molecules able to bind to the receptor (members of the hormone family, drugs, vitamins, environmental pollutants), which provokes life-long disturbances at receptor, hormone and sexual behavioral levels
• Observed (first) the life-long hormone production influencing effect of hormonal imprinting in unicellular and mammalian level
• Observed the presence of hormones in the immune cells and (first) in the nucleus of these cells
• Elaborated a new immuno-endocrinological theory

Inventions: 

• Agar-binding tumour detection method, two drugs against tumours, one new histochemical method

Languages:

• English
• German (reading)