János Gausz

János Gausz
János Gausz in 2013
BornOctober 7, 1943
Novi Sad
DiedDecember 12, 2021(2021-12-12) (aged 78)
Szeged
CitizenshipHungarian Hungary
Alma materUniversity of Szeged
Known forDrosophila genetics
ChildrenPéter (1970), Ildikó (1972)
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsBiological sciences
Institutions

János Gausz (7 October 1943 – 12 November 2021) was a Hungarian geneticist and member of the academic staff at the University of Szeged. He worked for decades at the Institute of Genetics of the Biological Research Centre of Szeged, where he was a founding member of the Developmental Genetics Group in 1970 and later on became senior research fellow and scientific advisor, leading the Insect Genetics Group that initiated Drosophila research in Hungary. In addition to his research career, he was university lecturer at the University of Szeged and obtained the Doctor of Biological Sciences (DSc) degree from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Early life and education

János Gausz was born on 7 October 1943 in Novi Sad. After World War II, his family relocated to Szeged, where his uncle, Lajos Horváth, served as deputy principal of Szent Imre College and later on became a synod judge. Gausz attended the Madách Street Primary School, and completed his secondary education at Radnóti Miklós Secondary Grammar School, graduating in 1962.[1] He received a degree in biology and chemistry from József Attila University of Sciences (now the University of Szeged) in 1967.[2]

Career

After receiving his teaching degree, Gausz began working at the Department of Experimental Physics of József Attila University as a scholarship trainee, and later on as a research assistant at the Department of Zootaxy.[2][3] He defended his doctoral thesis in 1967. In 1970 he joined the Institute of Genetics of the Biological Research Centre of Szeged as a founding member.[4] Within the institute he worked in the Developmental Genetics Group, later on serving as senior research fellow and scientific advisor, and leading the Insect Genetics Group, which focused on Drosophila research in Hungary.[5] In 1982, he earned the Candidate of Biological Sciences degree, followed in 1995 by the Doctor of Biological Sciences degree from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.[6]

Educational activities

From 1989 onwards, Gausz taught genetics and related courses, including developmental biology, advanced genetics, developmental and cellular genetics, and the history of genetics, at the Department of Genetics of József Attila University of Sciences, and later on at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Informatics of the University of Szeged.[4][6] For his teaching activities he was awarded the Széchenyi Professorship Scholarship.[6][7] Following his retirement from the Centre for Biological Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Szeged, he continued to contribute to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching at the Department of Genetics of the University of Szeged between 2010 and 2020.[6] In 2015, he was awarded the honorary title of University Lecturer.[8]

Field of research

Gausz's early research dealt with the zoology and ecology of Orthoptera insects. At the Centre for Biological Research in Szeged he shifted his focus to Drosophila genetics. His studies addressed heat shock genes, genes influencing positional effect variation, homeotic genes, and protein phosphatase genes.[4][9] His publications appeared in journals including Cell, Nature, Genetics, The EMBO Journal and Development.

Research abroad

Gausz held research positions at several international research institutions. As a post-doctoral fellow, he worked in the laboratory of Walter Gehring at the Institute of Cell Biology, Biozentrum der Universität Basel.[6][7] As a senior researcher, he worked at the Institute of Animal Biology, University of Geneva, in the laboratory of Pierre Spierer.[6][7] Later on he was a visiting professor at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, in the laboratory of Paul Schedl.[6][7][10]

Memberships

Gausz served as a member of the Habilitation Committee of the University of Szeged for two years. He was a member of the (Batthyány Society of Professors)[11] and acted as an opponent and committee member in several doctoral procedures. For several years, he chaired the Genetics Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and was a board member of the Hungarian Geneticists' Association. He also served as president of the Biological Society of Szeged.[7]

Selected works

  • History of genetics. JATEPress, Szeged, 2012. 117 pp.[12]

Awards

References

  1. ^ Centenáriumi emlékkönyv : iskolánk száz éve. Szeged: Radnóti Miklós Kísérleti Gimnázium. 1998.
  2. ^ a b A József Attila Tudományegyetem évkönyve 1967/68 (PDF). Szeged: József Attila University. 1969. pp. 42., 118.
  3. ^ A József Attila Tudományegyetem évkönyve 1968/69 (PDF). Szeged: József Attila University. 1970. p. 49.
  4. ^ a b c A biológia fél évszázada a Szegedi Biológiai Kutatóközpontban [Half a Century of Biology at the Biological Research Centre in Szeged] (PDF). Szeged: Szegedi Biológiai Kutatóközpont (SZBK). 2023. pp. 78–80. ISBN 978-615-01-8678-8.
  5. ^ "A Genetikai Tanszék története | SZTE Genetikai Tanszék" (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2025-06-29.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Szegedi Tudományegyetem Tudásportál". 7 February 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Szegedi Tudományegyetem Szabadegyetem – Szeged University Open Academy". 7 February 2013.
  8. ^ "A Szegedi Tudományegyetem Szenátusának 2015. év június hó 01. napján tartott 2014/2015. évi XI. rendes ülésének határozatai" (PDF). Egyetemi Értesítő a Szegedi Tudományegyetem hivatalos és információs lapja. 101: 2584. 2015 – via University of Szeged.
  9. ^ 90 éves a szegedi természettudományi képzés (PDF). University of Szeged Faculty of Science and Informatics. 2011. p. 27.
  10. ^ "U.S.-Hungry Research on Molecular and Genetic Analysis of Drosophila GAGA Factor Protein". Princeton University. Archived from the original on 2024-12-21. Retrieved 2025-06-29.
  11. ^ "Professzorok Batthyány Köre". pbk.info.hu. Retrieved 2025-06-29.
  12. ^ Catalog of the University of Szeged Library. JATEPress. 2012. OCLC 909952671.

Sources

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