In 2025, the Miskolczy Dezső Award of the University of Szeged’s Department of Neurology was presented to Prof. Dr. Márta Széll, Professor and Head of the Department of Medical Genetics, in recognition of the exemplary collaboration between the Department of Neurology and the Department of Medical Genetics, spanning more than a decade. The award ceremony took place during the 22nd Congress of the Hungarian Society of Clinical Neurogenetics, held in Budapest.
Named after Dezső Miskolczy – a defining figure in Hungarian neurology and neuropathology – the award was established in 1994 by Dr. László Vécsei, MD, PhD, Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and former Professor and Head of Department at the University of Szeged. The distinction is conferred upon nationally and internationally recognized experts whose collaborative work with the University of Szeged’s Department of Neurology has made a substantial contribution to the advancement of neuroscience.
Over the more than 30-year history of the Miskolczy Award, four researchers affiliated with Szeged have received this prestigious honor. In 2025, the award was presented to Prof. Dr. Márta Széll, Vice-Rector for Strategic Planning at the University of Szeged, acknowledging her long-standing role in fostering interdisciplinary cooperation.
Miskolczy Award Recipients:
1994: Ferenc Gallyas (Pécs)
1995: Mátyás Papp (Budapest)
1996: Cervós-Navarro, J. (Berlin)
1997: Péter Lantos (London)
1998: Iván Bódis-Wollner (New York)
1999. Georg Gosztonyi (Berlin)
2000: Szilveszter Vizi E. (Budapest)
2001: Robert Schwarcz (Baltimore)
2002: Peter Riederer (Würzburg)
2003: Kálmán Magyar (Budapest)
2004: Emil Pásztor (Budapest)
2005: Gyula Telegdy (Szeged)
2006: Lars Edvinsson (Lund)
2007: M. Flint Beal (New York)
2008: Amos D. Korczyn (Tel Aviv)
2009: János Szolcsányi (Pécs)
2010: Heinz Reichmann (Drezda)
2011: Jes Olesen (Copenhagen)
2012: Jonas Bergquist (Uppsala)
2013: Miklós Palkovits (Budapest)
2014: Tamás Dóczi (Pécs)
2015: Jean Schoenen (Liege)
2016: Sámuel Komoly (Pécs)
2017: László Csiba (Debrecen)
2018: Gábor Jancsó (Szeged)
2019: Tamás Freund (Budapest)
2022: László Vécsei (Szeged)
2023: Gábor Kovács G. (Toronto)
2024: Sándor Beniczky (Aarhus)
2025: Márta Széll (Szeged)
Photo: Péter Klivényi, Professor and Head of the Department of Neurology at the Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, and Márta Széll, Vice-Rector for Strategic Planning at the University of Szeged. Photo courtesy of the Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School
Dezső Miskolczy (1894–1978) was a leading figure in Hungarian neurology and neuropathology. He was born on August 12, 1894, in Baja, Hungary, and began his medical career as a military physician during World War I (1914–1918). Following the war, he joined the Institute of Neurohistology at Pázmány Péter University in Budapest, where he initially worked as a trainee and later as an assistant professor under the leadership of Károly Schaffer. During this formative period, he collaborated with several of Europe’s foremost neuroscientists, including the future Nobel laureate Santiago Ramón y Cajal.
In 1930, Dezső Miskolczy was appointed head of department in Szeged. Between 1930 and 1940, he served as Chair and Director of the Department and Clinical Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at Ferenc József University. In this capacity, he was active not only in clinical practice but also played a decisive role as a researcher and organizer, shaping both the professional operation and the strategic direction of the clinic, as well as the Brain Research Institute he founded. His research interests encompassed hereditary diseases of the nervous system, the histopathological investigation of schizophrenia, and the mapping of fiber systems and pathways of the cerebellum.
In his work, Dezső Miskolczy applied pioneering methodological approaches, including experimental synaptic degeneration techniques, to investigate the structure of the cerebellum, achieving results of international significance. He also played a formative role in the organization of Hungary’s first neurosurgical unit, working in collaboration with István Környey at the clinic in Cluj-Napoca. He authored numerous scientific works and studies; his anatomical and neuropathological publications – including research on hereditary organic neuropsychiatric disorders – remain valuable historical sources for understanding the early development of neurology as a discipline.
The University of Szeged extends its congratulations to Prof. Dr. Márta Széll on receiving the Miskolczy Award!
Original Hungarian text by Ferenc Lévai
