One of the most prestigious distinctions in Hungarian pharmaceutical research was awarded this year to a professor of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Pécs. Dr. Tamás Kálai, Director of the Institute of Organic and Medicinal Chemistry, received the 2025 Bruckner Győző Award.
The award was established by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) and Richter Gedeon Plc. and recognises researchers whose work has played a defining role in the advancement of medicinal chemistry over an extended period of time.
“The conferral of the award is a great honour, especially when I look at the list of previous recipients, who are outstanding researchers. Although I am the person named, I believe that the award also belongs to the close-knit community behind me — those who day by day walk the arduous path of organic preparative chemistry together with me, or, having become independent, continue that work without me. The award came as a surprise; I was not aware of my nomination,”
— said Dr. Tamás Kálai, for whom the distinction holds particular significance.
Professor Kálai has been working in Pécs for more than three decades, further developing research directions whose foundations were laid by distinguished researchers of the Faculty as early as the 1970s. The chemistry of stable nitroxide free radicals and their potential applications in medicinal chemistry have remained central to his work ever since.
Recalling the early stages of his research career, he noted:
“Since my arrival in Pécs (1992), I have primarily been engaged in the synthesis and transformations of stable nitroxide free radicals, a field initiated in the 1970s by Professor Kálmán Hideg and his research group, inspired by Academician József Tigyi. Over time, the topic has branched into several directions, one of which is the concept of so-called dual- or multi-target drugs. Nitroxides are capable of acting as small antioxidant molecules, thereby extending the effect of the original drug molecule and potentially reducing its toxicity.”
— the professor recalled.
In recent years, the research group has achieved results that extend beyond classical medicinal chemistry applications and open exciting new perspectives for modern materials science.
“In recent years, it has been revealed that nitroxides condensed with quinoxaline have proven to be uniquely outstanding spin probe compounds for ESR spectroscopic investigations of graphene oxide structures. Within the ‘nitroxide’ research field, eight PhD or candidate dissertations have already been successfully defended,”
— he highlighted, emphasising the significance of this new research direction.
The award is not only a recognition of the professor’s career, but also conveys an important message to young researchers who are just beginning their scientific paths.
“Research work requires great perseverance, humility and patience… and in what we do, the most important thing is that it remains professionally and ethically defensible years or even decades later,”
— he formulated as guidance.
The 2025 Bruckner Győző Award thus recognises not only Professor Tamás Kálai’s decades of dedication, but also the vibrant, creative research community that has long been a defining contributor to pharmaceutical research in Pécs and across Hungary.
The community of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Pécs, extends its respectful and proud congratulations on this distinguished honour.
We have also shared the news of this prestigious recognition on LinkedIn:
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