An Excellent Mentor, Diligence and Dedication

Interview with Zoltán Lipinszki

Dr. Zoltán Lipinszki is a fellow of the Biological Research Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Szeged, and a grantee of last year's Junior Prima Prize. Apart from his field of specialisation, we have enquired the young researcher about the wide international reputation of their research team.

When did your interest turn towards studying protein decomposition systems?

I was a second year student at the program for biologists of the University of Szeged at the Faculty of Natural Sciences when Professor Andor Udvardy held a very interesting lecture at a course in molecular biology. It was the story of an enzyme complex that works in our cells and is able to recognise and decompose redundant or damaged proteins in space and time. A number of interesting questions were raised during the lecture in connection with the operation of the enzyme complex, as little was known about its structure and regulation at the time, so these promised exciting research topics. Thus, in the summer of 2002 I joined Professor Udvardy's team at the Biochemistry Institute of the Biological Centre of Szeged, first as a students' circle member, and then as a PhD student after I obtained my degree.

Who were your masters and supervisors?

My primary master is Dr. Andor Udvardy. He was the one who taught and gave me everything that was essential during the process of becoming a researcher. Although he obtained a degree in medicine and then in mathematics, he has been a biologist for more than forty years now, and even more respectably, he has been actively working in the laboratory to this day. He has done research in Princeton, in Göttingen, in Marburg and other major university towns. His oeuvre is characterised by its serious professional foundations, precision and thorough consideration, which makes him an outstanding researcher and a perfect mentor. The international esteem of our results is also a basis for cooperation opportunities. We have been asked to provide purified proteasome by Harvard University, fruit fly stock and antibodies by Yale University, requests also came from Spain, Greece or England, and we have cooperated with groups from Munich or San Francisco.

Why is it important to understand the mechanism of protein decomposition?

In fact, as recently as the 1940s, the proteins in our bodies were still thought to be wear-and-tear-proof, and it was assumed that we can only digest proteins introduced with food. It was Rudolf Schoenheimer who first pointed to the fact that the quantity of intracellular proteins depends on the dynamic rates of their production and decomposition. This was followed by the exploration of protein decomposition mechanisms and the study of their molecular details, which has made a serious career by now. If we get to know the molecular details of protein decomposition processes, we might be able to correct errors, influence the workings of processes and heal grave diseases which are considered to be mortal today.