Nationally renowned head of department retires after nearly two decades

The Department of Medical Biology at the Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School has a new head as of mid-April. For nearly 20 years, the department was led by Prof. Zsolt Boldogkői, who gained widespread national recognition—and many enemies—during the Covid pandemic through his efforts to popularize science. However, the professor is not going to be an inactive retiree from now on. ’Work will continue to fill my life. I think that’s just natural for a researcher,’ he said.

On April 10, 65-year-old Zsolt Boldogkői spent his last day as head of the Department of Medical Biology. That evening, his colleagues surprised the biology professor with a farewell party—those living abroad logged in online for the event. A few days later, the medical school honored his 18 years of service with a commemorative medal. He handed over the department leadership to his former PhD student, Dóra Tombácz, and plans to continue his research at the department. He has a successful grant proposal to study the regulation of gene expression over four years and to produce ’smart’ viral vectors for use in brain research.

Zsolt Boldogkői joined the Department of Medical Biology as an assistant professor in 2003. Four years later, he was appointed acting department chair, and from 2009 onward, he served as head of department and university professor. As he recounted, it took him five years at the start of his career to reorganize the curriculum.

’We were voted the best department for ten years, so I think my intervention was successful. This changed around the time of Covid, and now the situation calls for change once again. I’ve noticed that Generation Z learns more effectively through more concise, clearly articulated messages. Furthermore, the knowledge and technologies in the fields we teach—molecular genetics, genomics, and cell biology—are driving a paradigm shift in both medical science and clinical practice. Furthermore, it has become necessary to integrate AI and other technologies that have emerged in the meantime into education as well. In my final years, I no longer wanted to introduce radical changes, but I’m happy to assist my successor in this work if they need it,’ he said.

As for scientific achievements, according to Professor Boldogkői, they have improved significantly over the past 18 years. ‘The ratio of researchers and instructors at the department has increased, and it has become a friendlier place. We worked on a variety of topics over the years. Our research had—and still has—two main strands. We used viruses as tools for brain research, and we also studied the genetic regulation of viruses. In addition to these two approaches, we addressed other issues, such as investigating the genetic background of suicide and depression. Our latest project is microbiome research, led by the new department chair.’