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Dr. Péter Hegyi receives one of the world’s most prestigious physiology awards
September 25, 2025
Dr. Péter Hegyi, professor at Semmelweis University and at the University of Pécs, held the prestigious Robert F. Pitts Award Lecture at the World Congress of the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS). This opportunity is one of the greatest honors of the world's physiology community. The IUPS consists of more than 60 national and regional physiology societies, and it is the overarching body for physiology. The award that Dr. Péter Hegyi received is presented every four years since 1978 and is considered one of the highest honours in the global physiology community. This is the first time that a Hungarian researcher receives the award.
Robert F. Pitts, American physiologist and researcher, was a pioneer in the field of elucidating the kidney’s role in acid-base balance. Named after him, the award has been received by renowned scientists such as Walter F. Boron (Wayne State University, USA, 1993) who is considered to be a prominent scientist of medical physiology, Dennis Brown (Harvard Medical School, USA, 2013), Pascal Houillier (INSERM, Paris, France, 2017) and Alicia A. McDonough (University of Southern California, USA, 2022).
In his lecture, Dr. Péter Hegyi summarized his 25 years of research work on the ion transport mechanisms of pancreatic ducts. The professor and his research group were the first to demonstrate that pancreatic bicarbonate secretion is regulated not only by stimulatory but also by inhibitory mechanisms. This discovery put pancreatic physiology into a new perspective and raised new questions about the course of pathological processes, such as acute and chronic pancreatitis.
Their research has shown that bicarbonate secretion is crucial in keeping digestive enzymes inactive and flushing out toxic enzymes. They proved that the CFTR protein plays a central role in inflammatory diseases of the pancreas. Their results also indicate that CFTR modulators currently used in cystic fibrosis are not only suitable for correcting genetic defects but also show promise for treating alcohol-induced protein folding and activity disorders.
„The next step is to confirm these results in human clinical trials. If we succeed, we will be able to treat pancreatitis with the first truly specific therapy,” emphasized Dr. Péter Hegyi in his lecture.