As of May 30, 2026, Márta Széll serves as Dean of the University of Szeged’s Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School. We spoke with the first woman to lead the Medical School about her priorities and plans, and with her predecessor, György Lázár, about the key achievements of the past eight years.
Professor György Lázár – Leading the Medical School for two consecutive terms
The outstanding reputation of the University of Szeged’s Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School is evident in a range of indicators. Among them is the fact that it has the second-highest admission threshold among Hungary’s medical schools, surpassed only by Semmelweis University in Budapest. For the past eight years, the Faculty was led by György Lázár, who looked back with us on the key achievements and defining moments of his two terms as dean.
“At the start of my first term, I had already been heading the Department of Surgery for 14 years,” Professor Lázár recalled. “In 2018, leadership changes took place at several levels across the University. At the time, there was a growing sense that having a dean who was also an actively practicing physician could help strengthen a changing approach to medical education. Having served several terms on the Faculty Council and having held various responsibilities within the academic system, I was well known to those evaluating the application, and I was equally familiar with the Faculty’s day-to-day operations. Even so, deciding to apply required careful consideration. Before seeking a second term, I gave the decision even more thought. Looking back, however, I can say that I do not regret it.”
Prof. Dr. György Lázár. Photo: István Sahin-Tóth
When asked about the defining moments of his two terms as dean, Professor Lázár first highlighted a symbolic milestone that, in his view, reflects the Faculty’s identity and values.
“One of the most significant milestones of the past eight years was the Faculty’s change of name. By taking the name of Albert Szent-Györgyi – Nobel laureate, former Dean of the Faculty, and former Rector of the University – the Medical School sent a powerful message: that its intellectual roots are most closely aligned with the renowned scientist’s outstanding work and vision. At the same time, our core mission remained unchanged. During my tenure, the three pillars of medical education – teaching, healing, and research – became even more closely integrated, and the synergies between them grew stronger.”
The former dean then turned to one of the most consequential areas of development: the renewal of medical education itself.
“One of my key priorities over these eight years was to modernize the medical curriculum in Szeged. As clinical experience became increasingly central to physician training, the curriculum had to evolve accordingly. Our goal was never merely to grant degrees, but to equip our students with the knowledge and practical skills needed to succeed anywhere in the world after leaving their alma mater. We wanted them to graduate ready to practice medicine at a high professional level from day one. At the same time, we made a sustained effort to ensure that hands-on training kept pace with the latest developments in medicine.”
Discussing the reform process in greater detail, Professor Lázár emphasized that the changes were introduced gradually and with careful attention to students’ needs.
“Over several years and in two major phases, we modernized the curriculum across both the preclinical and clinical stages of medical education, revising contact hours, content, and areas of emphasis alike. Based on feedback from our graduating students, these changes have clearly proved worthwhile.”
As the professor explained, another central ambition of his deanship was to strengthen the Faculty’s research profile.
“Our other major goal was to achieve excellence in research. Looking at our positions in both Hungarian and international rankings, I can say with confidence that we have firmly established ourselves among the leading medical faculties. Within Hungary’s research university landscape, the Medical School in Szeged consistently ranks among the very best, and we also perform exceptionally well by international standards. This is the result of true teamwork – something we have every reason to be proud of. High-level research activity, strong publication performance, internationally recognized results, and a large number of highly qualified faculty members have all played a crucial role in making this possible.”
Professor Lázár emphasized that lasting excellence depends not only on high performance, but also on a supportive academic environment in which both faculty members and students can thrive.
“It is a source of genuine pride for me that the Medical School contributes so much to the overall success of the University of Szeged. From the very beginning of my deanship, I was convinced that a stronger system of incentives would be vital. That is why, over the years, we created a range of funding opportunities to ensure that our faculty members and talented students could pursue research within the Medical School and reach their full academic potential,” György Lázár said in summary.
Infrastructure development was another defining aspect of the Faculty’s advancement during Professor Lázár’s tenure as dean.
“Raising the standard of education and research was not only a matter of renewing what we teach – it also required a strong and forward-looking program of infrastructure development. By renovating the old surgical clinic building and giving it a new educational mission, we were finally able to address one of the Faculty’s long-standing unfinished tasks. Now named after Ilona Banga – the pioneering biochemist who worked alongside Albert Szent-Györgyi – the building has been transformed into a multifunctional center that meets the expectations of the 21st century. It also provides a setting worthy of the Nobel Prize legacies of Albert Szent-Györgyi and Katalin Karikó. Complementing these infrastructure developments, the Faculty invested substantial resources each year in introducing new diagnostic and therapeutic methods – advances that significantly strengthened not only patient care, but also the quality of education and research,” the former dean explained.
Together, these investments not only strengthened the Faculty’s infrastructure and elevated professional standards but also created a stronger foundation for its expanding international presence. In fact, internationalization has long been one of the defining strengths of the University of Szeged’s medical school. Along with an extensive network of global research partnerships, foreign-language medical education has become an essential part of its identity. Back in 1985, Szeged was among the first institutions in Hungary to launch a medical degree program in English – an early step that helped shape the school’s international profile for decades to come. Notably, to mark the anniversary, the Faculty organized a reunion for physicians who had graduated from the program over the past forty years, welcoming alumni from around the world.
Another major milestone in the Faculty’s internationalization efforts came in 2023, when the Hungarian Accreditation Committee approved its six-year German-language program in Medicine. Introduced in phases beginning with the 2023/2024 academic year, the program reached another landmark this year, when its first graduates received their degrees. Beyond the expansion of its international programs, the Faculty’s global reputation is further reinforced by its successful accreditation from the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME).
During Professor Lázár’s deanship, the Faculty also maintained a strong commitment to health awareness and active living. In 2025, the 52nd Medical Students’ Championship brought teams from Hungary’s medical schools to Szeged, where sixty games were played across five sports over the course of two days. As both host of the event and the birthplace of the tradition itself, the University of Szeged honored the founders of the series with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque. The championship was also distinguished by what many regarded as the most impressive venue in its history.
With his tenure as dean now complete, Professor Lázár will continue to perform surgeries while also carrying forward selected academic responsibilities. At the same time, he will be able to devote more attention to teaching and mentoring the next generation of physicians.
Professor Márta Széll – The first woman to lead SZTE’s Medical School
Prof. Dr. Márta Széll. Photo: Ádám Kovács-Jerney
As of May 30, 2026, Prof. Dr. Márta Széll succeeds György Lázár as Dean of the University of Szeged’s Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School. Her ties to the University run deep. She graduated from the University’s secondary school for teaching practice, as did her father, mother, and sister. The family tradition continued into the next generation as well: both her own children and her sister’s children attended the same school, where her sister now teaches. Her academic journey remained equally closely tied to Szeged. She earned her degree in molecular biology at József Attila University, one of SZTE’s legal predecessors, then began her research career in plant molecular biology at the Biological Research Center in Szeged. Around the turn of the millennium, however, her professional path took a new direction. At the Department of Dermatology and Allergology, under the guidance of Lajos Kemény and Zsuzsanna Bata, she developed the research expertise and scientific perspective that would shape the rest of her career. The next defining chapter of her professional journey unfolded at the University of Szeged’s Institute of Medical Genetics, which she has led since 2012.
“At the heart of our institute’s work is genetic diagnostics, spanning both of its principal domains: chromosome-level cytogenetic testing and DNA-level molecular genetic diagnostics. We provide diagnostic services for the entire Southern Great Plain region, while some of our examinations are available nationwide. The institute also teaches Clinical Genetics and Genomics to fourth-year medical students in Hungarian, English, and German. This is a field that future physicians must understand in depth, as genetics is playing an increasingly important role in modern medical practice,” emphasized Márta Széll.
Before becoming Dean in summer 2026, Márta Széll served as Vice-Dean for Scientific and International Affairs of the medical school in Szeged from 2014 to 2018.
“We need to find the methods and channels that help today’s students acquire knowledge as effectively as possible – knowledge whose scale and complexity are no longer comparable to what we had to master decades ago. The scale of this challenge is illustrated by the fact that the body of biomedical knowledge now doubles every 73 days,” the new dean emphasized, adding that research would remain one of her key priorities.
“Research at the medical school is of outstanding quality and is a major driver of the University’s scientific success. In several fields, the Faculty and its research groups are working at the frontiers of international science. It is a shared responsibility to ensure that these activities receive the strongest possible support, while also helping to educate and inspire the next generation of researchers. I will do everything in my power to ensure that both the research conducted at the Faculty and the scientific achievements it generates are integrated ever more closely into the University’s broader research and innovation ecosystem,” Professor Széll said in summary.
Medical education in Szeged continues to attract outstanding students from Hungary and around the world. Its enduring appeal rests on a combination of strengths: highly experienced and dedicated faculty members, continuously advancing clinical and educational infrastructure, and opportunities to participate in the high-level research conducted across the University’s clinics and research units. Together, these advantages help ensure that Szeged not only educates the next generation of physicians but also contributes to shaping the future of medicine in Hungary and beyond.
Original Hungarian article by Ferenc Lévai
Photo: István Sahin-Tóth
