Researchers, faculty members, and industry experts from around the world gathered for the conference, titled “Biochemistry Without Borders 2026.”
László Csernoch, acting director of the Institute of Physiology at the University of Debrecen’s Faculty of General Medicine, stated in his welcoming remarks that a conference is the best venue for interaction, and that in-person attendance remains the best form of communication even in the 21st century.
- A conference of this magnitude offers a significant opportunity for members of the Hungarian scientific community to learn about each other’s work. Internationally recognized researchers and educators work at universities across Hungary, so it is a great honor for the University of Debrecen to host the community at an international conference. At the same time, this provides Hungarian researchers with an opportunity to gain insight into international research- said László Csernoch in response to a question from hirek.unideb.hu.
Nearly 200 guests from some 20 countries are attending the conference, which runs from Wednesday through Friday. The program, conducted in English, features presentations by Hungarian and internationally recognized experts, as well as 42 outstanding presentations and 96 poster presentations across 9 sections. The sessions focus on cutting-edge topics such as lipids and membrane functions, genomics, biochemistry, cell-level communication, diseases and molecular therapies, protein sciences, gene regulation, and applied translational research.
- The topics of the presentations cover a wide range, from biochemistry to bioinformatics to translational research, an area we would like to develop at the University of Debrecen as well- noted György Panyi, acting associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Debrecen’s Faculty of General Medicine. In his welcoming remarks, he encouraged the young researchers to be open-minded and to learn from experienced speakers.
The University of Debrecen contributed to the event not only as a venue. Beáta Lontay, associate professor at the Institute of Medical Chemistry of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Debrecen, highlighted that the university also supported the participation of PhD students in the event through scholarships. She further emphasized that the university promoted the borderless knowledge exchange by awarding the University of Debrecen Symposium Prize.
The main organizer of the conference was the Hungarian Biochemical Society, whose junior section was introduced by Mihály Kovács, a professor and deputy director of the Institute of Biology at ELTE’s Faculty of Science. He noted that membership has exceeded 1,000 and that the number of new members is growing.
Several awards will be presented during the professional conference. This year, the association’s Béla Tankó Award was awarded to László Virág, a university professor and director of the Institute of Medical Chemistry at the University of Debrecen’s Faculty of Medicine, while the Lifetime Achievement Award—also named after the renowned biochemist—was awarded to Viktor Dombrádi, professor emeritus at the Institute of Medical Chemistry. Both earned this recognition for their outstanding domestic and international contributions in the field of biochemistry and within the society. They also gave presentations at the conference, as did Michele Vendruscolo (University of Cambridge), who provided a comprehensive and in-depth overview of current challenges and innovations in biochemistry.
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