Laszlo Z. Bito
Encyclopedia
László Z. Bitó is a physiologist and a writer. As a researcher he has developed a medicine for glaucoma
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is an eye disorder in which the optic nerve suffers damage, permanently damaging vision in the affected eye and progressing to complete blindness if untreated. It is often, but not always, associated with increased pressure of the fluid in the eye...
. As a writer he writes novels and essays.
Biography
László Bitó was born in Budapest, HungaryHungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. His family was forced to leave Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
during the Communist era. He served in a mine in Komló and became a local leader of the revolution in 1956. After the revolution
1956 Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution or Uprising of 1956 was a spontaneous nationwide revolt against the government of the People's Republic of Hungary and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956....
was crushed by Russian forces, he fled to the United States where he won a scholarship and became a physiologist. He was granted asylum in the United States and came to Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
in the winter field period of 1956–57. Bitó graduated from Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
in 1960 as a pre-med biology major. He went on to obtain his Ph.D. from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in medical cell biology in 1963. His research led to the development of Xalatan, the drug that has saved the sight of millions of glaucoma
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is an eye disorder in which the optic nerve suffers damage, permanently damaging vision in the affected eye and progressing to complete blindness if untreated. It is often, but not always, associated with increased pressure of the fluid in the eye...
sufferers. He has published more than 150 scientific articles and received, among many other honors, the highest recognition in the field of eye research, the Proctor Medal. Upon retiring from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
as Emeritus Professor of Ocular Physiology, he returned to Hungary and his first love of writing. Of his 14 nonscientific books—novels, essays, and three anthologies of some of his more than a hundred newspaper and magazine articles—some have appeared in translations in half a dozen countries.
Scientific career
In the United States László Bitó has built an academic career as an internationally known professor of physiology. Most of his academic career is connected to Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(where he is Professor Emeritus of Ocular Physiology) and to the University of Puerto Rico where he studied the effect of ageing on the eyes of apes. The fruit of his research is Xalatan, the medicine for glaucoma
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is an eye disorder in which the optic nerve suffers damage, permanently damaging vision in the affected eye and progressing to complete blindness if untreated. It is often, but not always, associated with increased pressure of the fluid in the eye...
. The development of Xalatan brought a fundamental change to the treatment of this blinding disease. He published more than 140 scientific papers and was awarded with the Proctor Medal (2004) and Columbia University Award for Distinguished Achievement (2004).
Writing
László Bitó gradually moved back to HungaryHungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
after the fall of Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and started a new career as a writer. His first novels are based on his early personal memories of Hungarian history. Istenjárás (Quick Step) and Az Ötödik Lovas (The Fifth Horseman) were written in English but published only in Hungarian translations. His third novel, based on Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
stories, "Abraham and Isaac" brought him literary success in 1998. The book was translated to several languages and was put on stage in Budapest theaters. "The Teachings of Isaac" and "Isaac of Nazareth" followed the philosophical ideas in "Abraham and Isaac" to a logical conclusion.
His most recent books are the work of an American citizen and a Hungarian patriot. Nekünk kell megváltanunk magunkat (We Must Be Our Own Saviors) is a selection of his newspaper and magazine articles and interviews. Eutelia – Euthanasia (Blissful Life - Peaceful Death) is a philosophical writer’s and a humanist medical researcher’s argument about dignity in life and death. Az utolsó mérföld (The Last Mile) written together with Polcz, Alaine, a Hungarian writer and founder of the Hungarian hospice service, is a book about preparing to die.
Academic publications
- The Ocular and Cerebrospinal Fluids, with Davson H, Fenstermacher JD (Eds.),Academic Press, London, 1977.
- The Ocular Effects of Prostaglandins and Other Eicosanoids, with Stjernschantz J (Eds), Alan R. Liss, New York, 1989.
- Ocular Effects of Prostaglandins and Other Eicosanoids (Ed), Special Supplement based on the 9th International PG Symposium (Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 12-13 May 1995) and the ARVO SIG Sessions on Latanoprost (Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 22-23 April 1996). Survey of Ophthalmology Vol. 41, Suppl 2, 1997.
Novels
- Istenjárás, (Quick Step), Aura, 1994. (Translated from English by Árpád GönczÁrpád GönczÁrpád Göncz is a Hungarian liberal politician and former President of Hungary . Göncz played a role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956...
and Pál Békés) ISBN 963-7913-15-7 - Az ötödik lovas, (The Fifth Horseman), Aura, 1996. (Translated by Pál Békés) ISBN 963-7913-17-3
- Ábrahám és Izsák,(Abraham and Isaac), Magyar Könyvklub, 1998. ISBN 963-548-698-7 és Argumentum Kiadó, 2000. ISBN 963-446-158-1
- Izsák tanítása, (The Teachings of Isaac), Argumentum Kiadó, 2000. ISBN 963-446-131-X
- A Názáreti Izsák, (Isaac of Nazareth), Argumentum Kiadó, 2002. ISBN 963-446-208-1
Essays and collections
- Nekünk kell megváltanunk magunkat, (We must be our own saviors), Argumentum Kiadó, 2004. ISBN 963-446-288-X.
- Boldogabb élet - Jó halál, (Blissful Life - Peaceful Death), Anthenaeum 2000 Kiadó, 2005. ISBN 963-9471-82-8.
- Gáspár, Menyhért, Boldizsár, Karácsonyi ős-ökuménia, (Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar), Ecumenical Chanuka and Christmas story with 30 fullpage color illustrations by Wanda Szyksznian, Jelenkor Kiadó, 2006. ISBN 963-676-409-3
- Az utolsó mérföld (The Last Mile) (with Polcz, Alaine), Jelenkor Kiadó, 2007. ISBN 9789636764180 (jó halál)