She is a second-year MD-Ph.D. student who has already participated in research projects as a TDK student. Her article was recently accepted for publication in the prestigious, high-impact D1 journal, the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. Genevieve Arany-Lao-Kan was honored with the Excellent Student Award by the Centre for Translational Medicine.
Genevieve Arany-Lao-Kan is a sixth-year medical student at Semmelweis University who joined the MD-Ph.D. program last academic year and has previously conducted research as a TDK student. “At the start of my fourth year, right after completing my dermatology rotation, I knew I wanted to get into the field as soon as possible. Joining TDK research offered me a great opportunity to do so. A Ph.D. student, Dr. Katalin Martyin, who later became my SMS at CTM, brought this to my attention. It was a defining moment because it opened the door to translational medicine and guided me toward the MD-Ph.D. program,” she says. During her TDK years, she had the chance to be involved in several inspiring projects. With Dr. Martyin, she compared teledermatology to traditional face-to-face examinations in diagnosing skin conditions, an area that gained traction following the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, she also participated in a project built around the renowned MADIT-CRT multicenter trial, where she learned the fundamentals of clinical research and contributed to parts of the manuscript.
Medicine has always been Genevieve’s lifelong dream, and dermatology stood out early on as the field that most appealed to her. She is especially fascinated by the cosmetological aspect of dermatology. “The skin is the first thing people see, it tells a story about the person behind it, and that aspect is incredibly powerful. I am very interested in learning how improving the skin can help people feel better about themselves and, in many ways, about their lives. As a fun side note, ‘dermatologist’ was actually one of my favorite words as a toddler, so perhaps this path was written for me from the beginning.” Genevieve is already planning to start dermatology residency training after obtaining her medical degree, alongside preparing her Ph.D. thesis. She has worked towards this for years, and the thought of finally being able to work in the field, surrounded by experienced doctors from whom she can learn, is incredibly exciting for her.
Genevieve recently had an article accepted for publication in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. “In my research, a team effort led by my supervisors Dr. Norbert Kiss and Dr. András Bánvölgyi, we examined how psychotherapeutic interventions added to standard eczema care, affect adults with atopic dermatitis. After reviewing studies from around the world, we found that add-on psychotherapy plays a big role in improving patient outcomes. It not only reduces disease severity but also enhances the quality of life for those who receive it. This means that, for many patients, treatment can potentially be modified to a less intensive regimen, which benefits both the individuals and the healthcare system by lowering long-term costs. It was incredibly exciting to see our hypothesis confirmed so strongly and to translate those findings into potential clinical and regulatory implications.”
Balancing research and university studies has not always been easy, but Genevieve has risen to the challenge. “It has been hard sometimes, to be honest, especially in the first year when there were weekly group meetings and biweekly class meetings. I often found myself running from a university class to a CTM meeting and then back again, just in time for a practice. However, those challenges taught me how to prioritize, stay organized, and manage multiple responsibilities at once. Looking back, the first year was full of intense learning that helped shape who I am today, equipping me with the skills to produce work that is accepted in a D1 journal, something I couldn’t have dreamed of a year ago.”
(Emese Szabó)