On 23 and 24 January 2024 the Assessment Committee including internationally recognised researchers, with the participation of the research centre’s and its institutes' leaders and researchers, conducted the on-site review of the scientific activities of the HUN-REN Biological Research Centre in Szeged (HUN-REN BRC) and the research institutes belonging to the centre, which is an important part of the comprehensive evaluation process.
The members of the Assessment Committee evaluating HUN-REN BRC are:
Prof. Alexander J.B. Zehnder, Visiting Professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, Professor Emeritus at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, Chairman of the HUN-REN Advisory Board
István Szabó PhD, Strategic Advisor to HUN-REN, former Vice President for Science and International Affairs at the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office, founder of the Innovation Section at the Hungarian Economic Association
Prof. Dr. Ole Petter Ottersen, former President of the Karolinska Institute, and former Rector of the University of Oslo (Norway)
Prof. Dr. Ole Holger Petersen, FRS, former Vice President of the Royal Society and the Academia Europaea, and Research Professor at Cardiff University’s School of Biosciences (UK)
Prof. Philip William Ingham, FRS, Head of the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Bath (UK)
Prof. Bertil Andersson PhD, DSc, former President of the European Science Foundation and Nanyang Technological University, former member and Chair of the Nobel Committee in Chemistry, and member of the HUN-REN President's Circle
Prof. Michal Toborek PhD, Leonard M. Miller Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Vice-Chair for Research in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Miami School of Medicine (USA)
Prof. Eva-Mari Aro PhD, foreign member of the Royal Society in London, Research Director and Professor Emeritus of molecular plant biology in the Department of Life Technologies at the University of Turku (Finland)
Prof. Dr. Péter Nagy, Scientific Director and Head of the Molecular Immunology and Toxicology Department at the National Institute of Oncology in Budapest, and Acting Director of the Chemistry Coordination Institute at the University of Debrecen
The comprehensive assessment of HUN-REN's 49 research institutes was launched in January 2024, at the initiative of President Balázs Gulyás. The aim is to provide an unbiased and candid assessment of the standing of HUN-REN's research institutes in the global competition and identify potential breakthrough points. Building on the results of the evaluation, and by incorporating international best practices and examples, a new research strategy that supports the defined objectives will be developed in collaboration with the research institutions.
