Two young researchers from the 1st Department of Paediatrics, Dr. Dorottya Czövek and Dr. Domonkos Pap, were the recipients of the Junior Prima Award in the category of Hungarian Research. Dr. Edit Juhász, State Secretary for National Financial Services and Utilities, Ádám Török, Secretary General of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and Tamás Bernáth, President and CEO of the Hungarian Development Bank, presented the prizes in the building of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
The awardee’s laudation reveals, among other things, that Dr. Dorottya Czövek is committed to healing children with lung disease; she is working on developing new, innovative methods in both her clinical and research work. After several years of Swiss and Australian research and clinical work, she joined the 1st Department of Paediatrics where she began the establishment of the Pediatric Pulmonology Research Group and launched a Newborn Childhood Home Ventilation Program in Hungary, where she deals with seriously affected families and children.
Dr. Dorottya Czövek has been published in some of the most prestigious professional journals, and is also the author of a chapter on respiration of an American textbook on Paediatric Pulmonology. She also plays an important role in teaching Hungarian and international medical students, as well as in providing academic and research work. Dr. Czövek was also the recipient of the Bolyai and Bolyai scholarship, as well as the Young Researcher NRDI grant given to a leading researcher. She has 12 publications and a cumulative impact factor of 102.
Dr. Pap finished summa cum laude at the Doctoral School of Clinical Medicine at Semmelweis University. Already during his PhD years, he published two independent and nine co-authored publications in renowned international journals. After his doctorate, he continued his work as a postdoctoral researcher at the MTA-SE Paediatric and Nephrology Research Group led by Attila Szabó.
The main aim of Dr. Domonkos Pap’s research is to explore the pathomechanism of chronic kidney disease and renal fibrosis. His investigations identified molecules with pathological roles that, up until recently, have been unknown in the disease. In addition to his basic research activities, he actively participates in the development of drug therapies aimed at developing the therapeutic treatment of chronic kidney disease in the 1st Department of Paediatrics. His scientific achievements make a significant contribution to improving the quality of life of those suffering from this illness, he said. Dr. Domonkos Pap considers the promotion of careers in science and research as a top priority, and therefore participates in the Kerpel-Fronius Talent Management Program; he considers the Students’ Scientific Assocation’s training programme for students to be of vital importance as well. He has published a total of 13 publications in foreign professional journals and 7 in domestic journals.
This year, a total of 55 talented youth have been presented with the award, and the jury selected ten scientists who have well-researched scientific findings and publications at the international level. The prize-winners were evaluated not only on the number of their publications, lectures and citations, but on their academic achievements in the research area in question as well. The 2018 Junior Prima awardees in the category of Hungarian research are: Dr. Péter Ábrányi-Balogh (chemical engineer, pharmacologist), Dr. Gábor Harami (biologist, gene research), Dr. Zsuzsa Kreizinger (veterinarian, bacteriology), Dr. Emma Kun (astronomer, double black hole), Dr. Rita Anna Pancsa (biologist, protein structure), Dr. Levente Szalárdy (physician, neuroscience research), Dr. Szabolcs Takáts (biologist, molecular cell biology) and Dr. Péter Vancsó (physicist, nanoparticle material science).
The Junior Prima awards in the Hungarian research category were presented at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences main building for the 12th year. The prizes were awarded by Dr. Edit Juhász, State Secretary for National Financial Services and Utilities Services, Ádám Török, Secretary General of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Tamás Bernáth, President and CEO of the Hungarian Development Bank.
Bernadett Bódi
Photo and Source: Hungarian Development Bank
Translation: Faye Gillespie
