Krisztián Zichó wins Junior Prima Award!

There are many advantages to being in the right place at the right time! This luck is especially needed by those who—citing all sorts of other important things to do, of course—avoid not only reading the daily news, but even listening to it. With a little luck, I was able to see Krisztián Zichó holding the elegant glass plaque of the Junior Prima Award the day after he received it. I was momentarily speechless—but only because of the date of the award ceremony, which I remembered was later than I thought. In the case of a researcher who, by the age of 33, already had two first-authored articles in Science (and a first-authored paper in PLOS Biology) to his name, in addition to his participation in other prestigious publications, it would have been surprising if no one had thought to nominate him for this award, but not that he would receive it.

I immediately bombarded him with a series of questions, which he answered one by one. Because nowadays, this is increasingly expected of a successful researcher.

So let's start with the key moment of the nomination! 

- At the beginning of the summer, Tamás Freund, the president of the Academy (and former director of our institute), approached me to nominate me for the award. I was already very happy about the nomination. The real surprise came at the end of the summer when I found out that I had won the Junior Prima Award. At first, I couldn't believe it. I think this is the greatest recognition I have received in my life so far. 

- It's been about two weeks since you defended your PhD thesis. Your reviewers almost outdid each other with their words of praise and couldn't stop congratulating you on your achievements so far!

- I think the award is a nice conclusion to my university and PhD studies, as well as to the research work I acquired and developed during that time. I am particularly pleased that I received it right after defending my doctoral dissertation, as a kind of closure to this period of my life. 

 - Several people from our institute have already received it. Did you ever think about it, even after the two Science articles?

- Not really. I think research works best when you're not striving for recognition, but simply for the joy of discovery and the thrill of finding something new, trusting that what you've found will be exciting and recognized by both domestic and international audiences. Whether that means your discovery is published in a prestigious journal or your work is rewarded with a prestigious award or scholarship.

- You have had a part in this, even if not on the same scale. What does such a big award mean?

- I believe that this award also places a heavy responsibility on the recipient. When I look at previous winners, I see that they have all had very successful careers and continue to do so. In short, I feel that there is no stopping, no leaning back, because with the knowledge I have acquired and the recognition I have earned so far, I have a kind of responsibility to all those who believed in me. I want to continue to show at least this much, or even more in the future. 

- That sounds like a big challenge!

- I feel very lucky. On the one hand, because I'm really doing what I love. I have wanted to work on understanding how the brain works since I was in high school, and my experiences at medical school and KOKI have only reinforced this. On the other hand, with my faith in God, I am confident that I will be able to succeed in the future in the ever-deepening and methodologically expanding sea of science.

I also think it is important to emphasize how good our group community is. Even on weekdays when the experiments don't go as well as we would like, we are still able to support each other. 

- Would you like to mention any names?

- I am particularly grateful to Gábor (Nyiri) for his mentoring and for enabling me to develop my knowledge within the group. To all the members of our group, especially Réka, Boldizsár, Hunor, and Áron, with whom we not only support each other during working hours, but also enjoy each other's company in our free time, laughing at the occasional failed experiment.

- This is starting to resemble the end of your PhD defense  : )

- Finally, I am very grateful to my wife, parents, and friends for their support over the years. It was a great feeling that the company allowed them to accompany me to the award ceremony for this prestigious prize and share my joy, because I believe that success and the joy that comes with it are only real if you can share them with your loved ones.