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"Getting involved in research goes far beyond technical skills, it changes how one’s thinking. You start asking better questions, approaching problems more critically, and continuing when things don’t work the first (or fifth) time", says Jessica Seetge, a recent graduate of the University of Pécs Medical School, who became the first international program student at the faculty to receive the Pro Scientia Gold Medal at the 37th National Student Research Conference (OTDK) in the Medical and Health Sciences Section. She believes that research during student years teaches perseverance, creativity, and keeps curiosity alive—skills that prove invaluable in everyday medical practice.

Written by Viktor Harta

Jessica Seetge, who arrived in Pécs from Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany, has been fascinated by medicine since childhood. Unlike many, she did not begin university studies immediately after high school. She volunteered at a local hospital and later trained as a nurse, gaining hands-on insight into patient care and clinical work. Those experiences reinforced what she had known for some time: becoming a doctor was her dream. In 2018, she started her studies at the University of Pécs Medical School.

"What I love most about medicine is the constant learning, there are always new questions and challenges, and the chance to see a direct impact on patients’ lives. It’s demanding, and that’s exactly what makes it meaningful to me”, Jessica shared. She received her diploma in the summer of 2025 at the Dr. György Romhányi Aula of the UP MS.

Along with her degree, her research work was also recognized: the Scientific Students’ Associations Council awarded her a prize named after Professor Gyula Mestyán, given to outstanding graduating students for their TDK achievements.

"My path started early. After my third semester, I gained my first hands-on experience in experimental research with Dr. Viktória Kormos at the Department of Pharmacology, where I worked with a mouse model of migraine. There, I learned ex vivo techniques, such as immunohistochemistry and RNAscope, as well as perfusion-fixation, brain sectioning, and slide preparation. I still remember perfusing my first mouse, it felt like stepping into a new world. I also learned and carried out in vivo behavioral experiments in mice. Later, I moved to the Institute for Translational Medicine and joined Dr. Erika Pétervári’s team, where we used rat models to investigate how specific neuropeptides influence metabolism; there, I learned to perform metabolic measurements in rats," she said.

She added that during her clinical years, she spent considerable time at the University of Pécs Clinical Center’s Department of Emergency Medicine (SBO) and Department of Neurology. The time-critical nature of acute stroke care, where treatment decisions must be made quickly, directed her towards clinical research.

"I became especially interested in acute recanalization for patients who are on anticoagulants, and that’s now the focus of my thesis with Prof. Dr. László Szapáry. These decisions are complex, as every case involves a balance between the risk of bleeding and the benefit of restoring cerebral blood flow. My aim is to make that decision patient-specific, combining bedside information (such as anticoagulant type and timing, imaging, and risk scores) with the best available evidence. That’s where bench and bedside meet, and where new data can change practice fastest."

For this recent graduate of the Medical School, receiving the Pro Scientia Gold Medal was a major landmark. The award was announced in connection with the 37th National Student Research Conference (OTDK), held from April 22 to 25, 2025, in the Medical and Health Sciences section. Out of five awards to be given, Jessica Seetge was among 79 sections with about 1,200 students, and the first from the university’s international program deemed worthy of this distinguished honor.

"The Pro Scientia Gold Medal was a meaningful milestone for me, both humbling and very motivating. It acknowledged years of work: the late nights, teaching hours, and exam periods, and gave me the confidence to aim higher at what comes next," she said. This was her second OTDK conference, having previously competed in Budapest, and each gave her different insights. "The first time, I really learned how to communicate my ideas clearly and handle tough questions on the spot. By the second, I felt much more confident, it became a genuine conversation with researchers from across Hungary. For me, the OTDK is as much about the ideas you take away as the work you present”, she added.

The young doctor believes that getting involved in research goes far beyond technical skills, it changes how one’s thinking.

“You start asking better questions, approaching problems more critically, and continuing when things don’t work the first (or fifth) time. It taught me resilience, creativity, and how to keep my curiosity alive, skills that are incredibly useful in everyday medicine”.

Besides personal growth, it also has practical benefits supporting academic progress. Those who submit the best Undergraduate Research Society (TDK) essays in the faculty’s annual internal competition may have their work accepted as a thesis. If the author of the thesis delivers a prize-winning presentation based on the thesis topic at a TDK conference, they can be exempted from the thesis defense and awarded an automatic excellent grade. Thanks to this, Jessica was able to complete her thesis by the end of her third year, and her TDK placement exempted her from the defense.

She emphasized that preparing for conferences like the OTDK fosters deep understanding, sharper presentation skills, and consistent self-critical evaluation of one’s own work. „But the biggest rewards are personal. Research has connected me with people I might never have met otherwise, including students in the Hungarian program who are now close friends. Joining the TDK board and helping organize events made medical school feel less like a grind and more like a shared experience”, she said.

"Looking back, I never expected research to play such a major role in my life: starting from simple curiosity, it led me to international conferences, the MD/PhD program I began in my fifth year, and most unexpectedly, to a position at the University Hospital Basel. Along the way, I even met some of my heroes: neurologists whose papers I had read as a student; in fact, the person who would eventually connect me to Basel was someone I first met at a stroke research conference in Helsinki. Now I actually get to work with those people — it still feels a bit unreal, but all this clearly shows how many doors research can open, often in unexpected directions," summarized the now Switzerland-based doctor.

She also had a message for those just starting their medical studies. „Be curious and open-minded and try not to compare yourself to others; everyone’s path is different. I didn’t enter medicine straight after school; I worked for a few years and waited for my chance. My first years in medical school weren’t easy either; I even repeated a year because of biology. If things don’t go perfectly at first, don’t be discouraged. The early years can feel overwhelming, but they’re the best time to explore different areas of medicine, including research. You never know what will spark your interest or where an unexpected opportunity will lead. Some of the best experiences come from the paths you never planned to take.”

Photos:

Jessica Steege,

Tibor Rafa-Gyovai,

Dávid Verébi