neurobiologist, writer
EducationI earned my first degree from the Faculty of Science at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), in the Department of General Physics, qualifying as a teacher. I had not even held my first diploma in my hands before I already knew that I wanted to become a biologist. Five years later, I earned my second degree at ELTE’s Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, specializing in neurobiology as a research scientist.During the COVID lockdown, I took the opportunity to complete the International Olympic Committee’s postgraduate course in Sports Nutrition, and more recently, Stanford Medical School’s Gut Microbiome course.Professional CareerI began my professional career as a university student researcher at the Institute of Experimental Medicine. From there, driven simply by economic necessity, I joined one of Europe’s largest sports nutrition companies, Scitec Nutrition, as Commercial Director for Hungary.During my 12-year career there, I subsequently became Regional Commercial Director for Central Europe, and later, as Professional Director of the newly established Scitec Institute for Sport Performance, I was able to fully pursue my passion.For the past seven years, I have been the Professional Director of Sports and Preventive Diagnostics at SYNLAB Hungary.I am also a member of the Sports Professional and Sports Science Committee of the Hungarian Olympic Committee. I am currently pursuing my PhD at Széchenyi István University in Győr.Looking back on my professional career—in football terms—I have always played the long ball. As Commercial Director, together with my team, we achieved a 450% increase in sales volume in the sports nutrition market, while developing new sales methodologies and retail network operating models.I am particularly proud that we had the privilege of being a partner and sponsor of the Hungarian Olympic Team for two Olympic cycles. Together with my team of dietitians, we have been supporting the preparation of Hungarian Olympic athletes since the fourth Olympic cycle.Katinka Hosszú, Áron Szilágyi, Tibor Benedek, László Cseh, Gergely Siklósi, Marcell Vámos, the Shaolin brothers, Sarolta Kovács, the Hungarian men’s and women’s water polo teams, Michelle Gulyás, Bence Nádas—and I could go on—are among the athletes who have been our clients.ResearchTogether with my friend, Dr. Zsolt Komka, a sports medicine physician and cardiologist, we have conducted several human studies investigating the cardiovascular and hydration responses of elite athletes under extreme exercise conditions.We succeeded in identifying one critical physiological factor that may contribute to sudden cardiac death in athletes: the Critical Hemoconcentration Zone.What’s Under the Hood?Over the past decade, I have delivered more than 300 professional presentations at conferences in Hungary, across Europe, and beyond Europe, including South America, Israel, and Turkey.I am passionately curious about new knowledge and enjoy synthesizing insights from different fields of expertise.But if someone were to open up my chest, they would find a well-worn hiking boot, a camera, and a Bernese Mountain Dog named Amanda—surrounded by a few dried blades of grass, fallen leaves, mud, and desert sand.