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Dr. Éva Morava began her studies at the then Medical University of Pécs in 1986. She obtained her specialist qualification in paediatrics in 1994 and in human genetics in 1999. She fondly remembers her mentors, whose insights and advice she still recalls and applies to this day. Between 1996 and 1998, she completed training in clinical biochemistry and genetics at Tulane University in New Orleans, USA. Until 2002, she worked as a clinical geneticist and later as a paediatrician specialising in metabolic diseases at Radboud University in the Netherlands. She then returned to Tulane University and subsequently spent two years at the Mayo Clinic. She is currently a professor in the Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Together with her husband, Professor Tamás Kozicz, who also graduated from Pécs, she has maintained close ties with the Medical School in Pécs for several years and has also hosted and mentored students in the United States.

Written by Rita Schweier

- What was the Medical University of Pécs like in the 1980s in terms of its academic environment and atmosphere?

- I loved being a university student. We studied a lot and had excellent lecturers and teachers, though we were certainly afraid of the older professors. Social life was also great; we partied a lot, and those are memories I will never forget.

- Were there any teachers who had a particularly strong influence on you?

- Yes, several. Dr. Gyula Kulcsár in biochemistry, Dr. Magdolna Kulcsár from the language department, Professors József Belágyi and Miklós Kellermayer—Professor Belágyi was my mentor in the Undergraduate Research Society (TDK), while Professor Kellermayer served as its president—as well as Professors Károly Méhes, György Kosztolányi, Pál Kajtár, and Gyula Soltész from the Department of Paediatrics.

- To what extent did the years you spent here and the experiences you gained shape your career later on?

- Everything I know is built on the foundations I gained here. I was able to start working at the Department of Paediatrics immediately after graduating. I am grateful for that opportunity, because I was able to work alongside the people I respected most and from whom I learned the most. I still use the knowledge I acquired from them today.

- Do you keep in touch with your former teachers and fellow students?

- Yes, although it is not easy from another continent. I am in frequent contact with my former classmates, both in person and online.

- Why did you choose paediatrics and human genetics?

- I developed a strong connection with children very quickly, who trusted me and allowed me to help them. I still enjoy spending time with them today. Genetics is an incredibly fascinating and rapidly developing field. If we understand the precise cause of a disease, we can move closer to finding effective treatments for many childhood conditions. I am particularly interested in rare diseases, although, unfortunately, there are still relatively few of us willing to devote ourselves to this field with enthusiasm and over the long term.

- Your PhD thesis focused on studying the molecular cytogenetics of syndromes associated with intellectual disability. How did you come to choose this topic, and why this particular field?

- My mentor, Professor György Kosztolányi, was a recognised expert in this field. We studied many interesting cases together, from which I learned a lot. Professor Károly Méhes was another person who had a decisive influence on my career. In fact, I learned almost everything I know about paediatrics from him. Even today, when I face difficult cases, I often think of him and remember what he used to say and the advice he once gave me. They were both intelligent, good-humoured and enthusiastic people, and they served as role models for me. I continued my training in genetics in the United States, where Professor Emanuel Schapira, a world-renowned metabolic geneticist, mentored me between 1996 and 1998. He also contributed enormously to my professional development.

- How long did you work in Hungary?

- Until 2002. I first worked at the Department of Paediatrics in Pécs and then at the Department of Medical Genetics, which became an independent organisational unit after separating from the Department of Paediatrics around 1998.

- Why did you decide to continue your career abroad?

- I felt that I wanted to learn more, and at that time, metabolic genetics was still a relatively undeveloped field in Hungary. The newborn screening programme was excellent, but there were many other metabolic diseases that we were unable to diagnose. We also lacked the necessary facilities to establish a rapid diagnosis in acute cases because we had nowhere to send patients’ blood samples for testing. This would have been essential for determining the severity and type of the disease to ensure that patients received the appropriate treatment. I was delighted when I was invited to work as a paediatrician at a world-renowned mitochondrial centre in the Netherlands.

I spent ten years at Radboud University in Nijmegen, where I learned an enormous amount. From there, I returned to the United States, to Tulane University in New Orleans, where I had previously completed my training in genetics while still working at the Medical School in Pécs. Even then, the specialists there were highly regarded for their expertise in genetic and metabolic diseases. I was invited back to New Orleans after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Everything had been destroyed, and the genetic and metabolic healthcare services had to be rebuilt as well. It was a very exciting and rewarding challenge, since I was one of only three metabolic geneticists in the entire state who travelled to smaller towns to provide help to patients there.

- Where do you work now?

- I currently work at the Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, where I continue to specialise in rare diseases. In addition to leading the metabolic disorders group and providing patient care—both in the outpatient clinic and in the hospital—I teach and am also responsible for the specialist training. My husband, Dr. Tamás Kozicz, and I also jointly mentor a laboratory research team.

- Have you and your husband known each other since your university days?

- Yes, we were in the same class and even in the same group. He always knew everything better than I did—and he still does. At first, we argued a lot, then we became friends, and eventually got married in 1990.

- How different are American medical schools from those in Hungary? Was it difficult to adapt to the system there?

- In my field, the system is not fundamentally different from what I was used to at home. At the same time, I have greater access here to certain resources that are still not available in Hungary.

These resources are extremely important for physicians and researchers working in rare diseases to achieve results. I work at a world-renowned institution, where I have established a genetics programme through which I am currently training twelve young people in medical genetics. It is very rewarding to see the results we are achieving in both science and patient care. Our findings reach many people, greatly contributing to improving the care of patients with rare diseases.

- It proved to be the right decision to make the move then.

- I love travelling and learning new things, and I have gained an enormous amount of experience in both the Netherlands and the United States. The only way to truly understand another culture is to live in it, but I have never lost touch with home either. I go back to Hungary every month to visit my mother, and I regularly meet up with my university friends as well. Since becoming a professor, I have also made sure to return to Pécs at least once a year. This year, I will be giving a presentation at the Congress of Cardiac Rehabilitation.

- Since 2019, you have also collaborated with the Medical School in Pécs, in the frame of which you became a professor, while your husband, Dr. Tamás Kozicz, became a visiting professor, both of you at the Department of Anatomy. In the summer of 2023, Evelin Szabó and Inez Bosnyák, who were then sixth-year medical students at the Medical School in Pécs, also had the opportunity to undertake a research placement with you at the Mayo Clinic, where you were working at the time. Are you considering further opportunities for collaboration?

- We are very pleased with this collaboration. We consider it important and would like to continue it from New York as well. I hope that we will once again be able to host students next summer. The visiting students were talented, intelligent, and kind, and it was a real pleasure to have them with us. We also have a longstanding professional collaboration and friendship with Professor Dóra Reglődi.

- Do you also collaborate with Hungarian physicians living and working in the United States?

- Yes. Many Hungarian physicians worked at the Mayo Clinic, and we regularly met with them and were involved in scientific collaborations. We have not yet established the same kind of network in New York, as we have only been here for two years, but I am sure that it will develop over time.

- Do you keep in touch with Hungarian physicians working in other parts of the world as well?

- Yes, particularly with former university classmates who now live in Rochester, Cleveland, and New Orleans.

- Have you ever considered returning to Hungary?

- We have considered it several times, but our children live in New Orleans, and we also have two grandchildren, so it is not possible. We would not want to move to another continent and live far away from them. Of course, we are always very happy to return home, whether for professional or personal reasons.

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Dr Éva Morava