Peter Csermely is a Hungarian biochemist

Biochemist

Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. The prefix of "bio" in "biochemist" can be understood as a fusion of "biological chemist."-Role:...

, and professor at Semmelweis University

Semmelweis University

Founded in 1769, Semmelweis University is the oldest medical school in Hungary. The faculty became an independent medical school after the Second World War and developed into a university teaching medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, health sciences, health management as well as physical education and...

 (Budapest, Hungary). His major fields of study are molecular chaperones and networks. In 1995 Csermely launched a highly successful initiative, which provided research opportunities for more than 10,000 gifted high school students. In 2006 he established the Hungarian National Talent Support Council, and in 2010 he started a nationwide movement for bettering the everyday work morality in Hungary.

Till 2011 he wrote and edited 12 books and published more than two hundred research papers with a total independent citations over 5,000.

Biography

He graduated at ELTE Apáczai Csere János Secondary School. In 1977 he began his studies at Eötvös Loránd University, where he gained his honours MSc degree in chemistry. One year later he got a PhD in colloidal chemistry. In 1988 he received another PhD in biochemistry. In 1994 he obtained a DSc in cell biology and medicine.

Scholarships and other activities

Between 1984 and 1985 he was a researcher at New York State University; in 1986 and 1987 he continued his studies at the Hannover Medical School

Hannover Medical School

The Hannover Medical School , founded in 1965, is a university medical centre in Germany, part of a regional medical network.-International:...

. From 1989 to 1991 he worked as a Fogarty Fellow at the Harvard. After his postdoctoral fellowship years he became an assistant, associate and full-time professor at the Semmelweis University. Between 1993 and 1997 he spent almost a year with research in Tokyo. In 2000 he was a visiting professor of the Paris Diderot University.

He was and is a member of several boards and committees of the Hungarian Science Foundation and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Hungarian Academy of Sciences

The Hungarian Academy of Sciences is the most important and prestigious learned society of Hungary. Its seat is at the bank of the Danube in Budapest.-History:...

. From 2006 he is the chairman of the Hungarian National Talent Support Council. From 2007 to 2009 he was the member of the Hungarian National Public Education Council. Between 2008 and 2010 he was a member of the Wise Persons' Council of the President of Hungary. He is a Fellow of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public

Ashoka: Innovators for the Public

Ashoka: Innovators for the Public is a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, VA, supporting the field of social entrepreneurship. Ashoka was founded by Bill Drayton in 1981 to identify and support leading social entrepreneurs through a Social Venture Capital approach with the goal of...

.

His area of research area is related to stress, aging and networks. He is the author of 12 books and more than 200 scientific papers having more than 5,000 independent citations. He serves as an Editor of Cell Stress and Chaperones, PLoS ONE

PLoS ONE

PLoS ONE is an open access peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Public Library of Science since 2006. It covers primary research from any discipline within science and medicine. All submissions go through an internal and external pre-publication peer review but are not excluded on the...

 and (Nature) Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports is an online open access scientific journal published by the Nature Publishing Group, covering all areas of the natural sciences. According to the press release, it is a journal conceptually similar to PLoS ONE....

.

Honors and Awards

• 1986 Tankó Award of the Hungarian Biochemical Society
• 1995 Howard Hughes International Research Scholar's Award
• 1996 Tivadar Huzella Award for the best basic science investigator of the Semmelweis University
• 2002 Peter Pazmany Award (Pro Cultura Hungariae Fund)
• 2002 Anyos Jedlik Award (Hungarian Patent Office)
• 2003 EMBO Science Communication Award
• 2004 Descartes Prize of Science Communication (top prize of the European Union)
• 2005 The Order of the Republic of Hungary, Knight’s Cross
• 2006 Példakép Award for being a role model in Hungary
• 2009 Master-teacher, an award for being an outstanding mentor of undergraduates
• 2010 his talent support activity becomes a part of the national heritage of Hungary
• 2010 Széchenyi Society award
• 2011 Spirit of Budapest Award of the Cell Stress Society International
• 2011 Prima Award of the Prima Primissima Foundation, Hungary

Publications and References

• Stress of Life from Molecules to Man (auth., 1998; auth. 2007)
• Research and Publication in Natural Sciences (in Hungarian) (co-author, 1999)
• Stress Proteins (in Hungarian) (2001)
• Science Education: Recruitment and Public Understanding (auth. 2003; auth. 2005; auth. 2007)
• The strength of hidden networks (in Hungarian) (2005) -- in 2011 selected as one of the best 250 non-fiction Hungarian books recommended to all Hungarian libraries
• Weak Links (2006, paperback: 2009)
• Wings and Weights (also in Hungarian) (2010)
• Enchanted by networks -- (interview book in Hungarian) (2010)

Current research support

• National Science Foundation (Hungary, OTKA F5534; T17720; T25206; T37357, K69105, K83314) Stability of cellular networks. 35000 EUR/Year, 1992-2015, principal investigator.
• EU Structural Funds (TÁMOP-4.2.2/B-10/1-2010-0013), 2011–2012, 25000 EUR/year, Participant.