Dr. György Bagdy, Vice-Rector for Scientific Affairs considers the management and the reinforcement of imaging and core facilities tasks of high priority. He believes that academic and scientific growth can be realised through the development of academic infrastructure, quality research activities and individual research grants made available by the European Union. Dr. György Bagdy, professor of pharmacy is honoured to be vice-rector for scientific affairs which he attributes to the excellent scientific achievements of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Initially Dr. György Bagdy wanted to become a biologist, but in the end chose pharmacy, which encompasses more fields, thus gives a better opportunity for scientific research. During his university years he was the member of the Students’ Scientific Association at the Department of Biophysics, and between 1980 and 2007 he worked at a special diagnostics laboratory at the National Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology. Here he could take part not only in scientific research but in patient care as well. In the meantime, he spent five years in the USA familiarising with translational research: he was studying pharmaceutical substances in experiments on animals, in vitro receptor binding and was also involved in protocol writing at the clinics. His research activities involve psychiatry, which focus on the causes of depression and try to identify new medicinal targets. The broader area of his research includes gene-environment and gene-gene interactions, as well as comorbidity.
Dr. György Bagdy feels honoured to be vice-rector and at the same time believes that this achievement can be attributed to the achievements of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, where scientific activity is the most intensive amongst all the faculties.
“Semmelweis University’s research activities are outstanding not only in Hungary but in Central-Europe as well, which is reflected by the prestigious places the university has taken in international rankings recently.”, he said.
The position of the university has considerably improved thanks to the enhancement of data collection which was one of the priority goals of Dr. Mária Judit Molnár, former vice-rector for scientific affairs.
“In the past few years funds from the European Union have not been distributed equally among the different regions in Hungary, leaving Central Hungary without sufficient funds. One of the solutions to this problem could be if researchers individually applied for grants of the European Union.”, said Dr. György Bagdy.
The university strives to encourage and help its researchers with this.
“Scientific research is more than our jewel in the crown, it is one of the university’s core values, which gives a solid basis for education and health care. Scientific research will be further supported by a newly designed financing system.”, said the vice-rector.
He considers molecular pathology a priority research area, but there is also a high demand for the identification of molecular markers applied in therapy in different areas. Even if it is easier to apply for grants financing translational research, basic research should aslo be encouraged, as groundbreaking achievements could stem from the tiniest discoveries, whose significance will become apparent only later.
“It is also important to recognise and take into consideration the prominent scientists of our university. If a researcher produces outstanding results in a given field internationally we need to further develop that specific area. Fortunately, there are several research groups participating in great projects, such as the Momentum Project or the National Brain Research Programme.”, he said.
Without the development of infrastructure it is impossible to maintain the present level of research facilities, let alone achieving progress. That is why reinforcing core facilities and laying down basic rules for accessing high value devices are of crucial importance.
“All areas of imaging have undergone a great evolution, therefore our next project applications will be targeted at the improvement of imaging infrastructure.”, he said.
The development plan aimed at the improvement of the three major activities of the university should also pay distinguished attention to the area of research.
“A great pool of patients, an outstanding professional background, old traditions and an open-minded attitude towards innovation make research reach great potentials.”, said Dr. György Bagdy.
Pálma Dobozi
Photo: Attila Kovács, Semmelweis University
Translated by: Ágnes Raubinek
