Ferenc Solymosy

Szolnok, 12 June 1932 – Szeged, 10 February 2010
Teacher of Biology and Chemistry

Director of the Institute of Plant Biology of the BRC of the HAS („MTA”):
1984 – 1988

Dr. Ferenc Solymosy was born in Szolnok on 12 June 1932. It was there that he finished elementary and secondary schools, after which he studied at the Faculty of Natural Sciences in József Attila University, Szeged, to become a teacher of biology and chemistry (1950–1954). He took his final examination at the University in 1954. He carried on his studies as a PhD student in the Plant Protection Research Institute (Ministry of Agriculture), in Budapest, between 1954 and 1958. He defended his PhD dissertation in 1958 and obtained his PhD degree at Szeged University (1958). The title of his dissertation was “The etiology and pathology of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)”.

He received his post-doctoral education abroad: 1. National Research Council, Ottawa, Canada, Agricultural Research Station, Vancouver, B.C., Canada (Dr. M.E. Reichmann) and Department of Biochemistry, Medical School, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada (Professor G.M. Tener) (1963-1964). 2. Department of Botany, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA (Dr. M.E. Reichmann) (1964-1965).

Ferenc Sonymosy worked with Professor Lars Ehrenberg in the Strålningsbiologi Institute of the Stockholm University (Wallenberg-laboratoriet, Lilla Frescati, Stockholm, Sweden) for 8 months in 1971, as an invited researcher.

He earned the Doctor of Sciences (DSc) degree in 1974. The title of his dissertation was “Elaborating a New Method To Isolate Non-degraded Nucleic Acids from Tissue Homogenates Using Diethyl Pyrocarbonate as a Nuclease Inhibitor and the Application of the Method in Biochemistry”. He received an Academy Prize from the HAS („MTA”) in the year 1974.

He spent another 16 months at the Radiation Biology Institute of Stockholm University as an invited senior researcher (Wallenberg-laboratoriet, Lilla Frescati, Stockholm, Sweden), working with Professor Lars Ehrenberg, in 1974 and in 1975. In the year 1978, he was elected Honorary Professor of Eötvös Loránd University.

Milestones and topics of the research career of Dr. Solymosy:

• 1954-1963: Plant Protection Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Budapest; Plant Physiology Laboratory, Hungarian Academy of Sciences („MTA”), Alsógöd.
  SUBJECT OF RESEARCH: Respiratory Metabolism of Virus Infected Plants.
• 1963-1965: Postdoctoral course.
  SUBJECT OF RESEARCH: The Primary Structure of Nucleic Acids
• 1965-1971: Plant Physiology Laboratory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences („MTA”), Budapest.
  SUBJECT OF RESEARCH: The Biochemistry of Nucleic Acids. Elaborating a New Method To Extract Non-degraded Nucleic Acids Using diethyl pyrocarbonate as a Nuclease Inhibitor and the Application of the Method in Biochemistry and Plant Virology.
• 1972-1975: Institute of Plant Physiology of the Szeged Biological Research Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences („MTA”).
  SUBJECT OF RESEARCH: The Biochemistry of Nucleic Acids. The reaction of diethyl pyrocarbonate as an electrophile agent with nucleic acids and nucleic acid building blocks as nucleophile agents.
• 1975-1981: Scientific advisor; Biochemistry Department #1 of Semmelweis Medical University, Budapest.
  SUBJECT OF RESEARCH: Chemical Mutagenesis.
• 1981-1984: Deputy Director; Institute of Plant Physiology of the Szeged Biological Research Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences („MTA”).
  SUBJECT OF RESEARCH: Structure and Function of Viroids and nuclear small RNAs.
• 1984-1989: Director; Institute of Plant Physiology of the Szeged Biological Research Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences („MTA”).
  SUBJECT OF RESEARCH: Structure and function of viroids and nuclear small RNAs.
• 1989-1997: Scientific Advisor; Institute of Plant Physiology of the Szeged Biological Research Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences („MTA”).
  SUBJECT OF RESEARCH: Structure and function of nuclear small RNAs and their genes and of nuclear small RNPs.