Prof. Dr. Magdolna Vilma Dank

Prof. Dr. Magdolna Vilma Dank is a specialist in internal medicine, clinical oncology and clinical pharmacology, a professor of medicine, and currently Director General of the National Institute of Oncology in Hungary. She graduated as a medical doctor from the Faculty of Medicine of Semmelweis University in 1986. She began her professional career at the Department of Radiology and Oncotherapy of Semmelweis University, where she worked as an assistant lecturer and clinical physician between 1986 and 1993. From 1993 to 2003 she served as senior lecturer and head of department, and from 2003 to 2016 as associate professor and head of department. Between 2016 and 2020 she was Director of the Oncology Centre at Semmelweis University, and from 2020 to 2025 she served as Deputy Director of the Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology at Semmelweis University. Since 2017 she has been Professor at Semmelweis University, and since 2025 she has held the position of Director General of the National Institute of Oncology.

Her professional qualifications cover several fields of medicine and healthcare. She obtained board certification in internal medicine in 1991, in clinical oncology in 1993, and in clinical pharmacology in 2004. In 2014 she obtained a licence examination in palliative medicine. In addition to her medical and clinical qualifications, she completed training in mental hygiene at Kossuth Lajos University in 1999, earned a healthcare management qualification at Szent István University in 2009, and obtained a postgraduate legal qualification for physicians at the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd University in 2010. She received her PhD in 2003, completed her habilitation in 2010, and was awarded the DSc degree in 2026.

Her research focuses primarily on the investigation of predictive and prognostic factors in solid tumours, the identification of biomarkers relevant to targeted therapies, and the integration of modulated electro-hyperthermia into routine clinical care. Her main scientific fields include biomarker research and treatment-related studies in gastrointestinal and breast cancers. Together with her research group, she has identified several biomarkers that can be applied easily, rapidly and cost-effectively in routine clinical practice, including calculated and personalised blood count markers, serum vitamin D, homocysteine, PD-1 and PD-L1. In advanced pancreatic cancer, her group was the first to describe that modulated electro-hyperthermia treatments may extend patient survival by as much as twofold.

She has participated in numerous research grants as principal investigator, lead researcher or contributor. Within the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund’s National Competitiveness and Excellence Programme, she served as lead clinical researcher in the NVKP_16-1-2016-0042 and NVKP_16-1-2016-0004 projects. She has also acted as project leader or lead researcher in basic research projects, including the TÁMOP-4.1.2-08/2/A/KMR-2009-0019 programme and the Richter Anna Award-related research activity. She has contributed to the NKKP Advanced 150998 project as well as to the OTKA K-116128 and K-121510 grants. Her grant projects have been completed with excellent evaluations.

Her editorial and scientific public activities are also substantial. She has served, or continues to serve, on the editorial boards of several professional journals, including Pathology & Oncology Research, Physiology International, Oncology & Hematology, Innovation Management in Healthcare, Clinical Oncology, Hungarian Oncology and Lege Artis Medicinae. She is a member or chair of several Hungarian and international scientific bodies. She represents Hungary on the Central and Eastern European Regional Council of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, leads the Drug and Patient Safety Research Group at Semmelweis University, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Central and Eastern European Academy of Oncology. Previously, she served, among others, as chair of the Supervisory Board of the Hungarian Society of Medical Oncology Pharmacotherapy, chair of the Oncology Section of the Hungarian Society for Personalised Medicine, chair of the Supervisory Board of the Hungarian Society of Clinical Oncology, and vice-president of the Hungarian Oncocardiology Working Group Association.

She is an active member of numerous professional societies, including the Hungarian Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the European Association for Cancer Research, the European Society for Medical Oncology, the Hungarian Society of Senology, the Hungarian Society for Artificial Nutrition and the Hungarian Society of Oncologists. She has also been a founding and board member of the Hungarian Society for Personalised Medicine and a founding member of the Hungarian Society of Medical Oncology Pharmacotherapy.

Her teaching activity extends to undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral education. She regularly lectures at Hungarian higher education institutions and has also held seminars at foreign universities. She has supervised numerous TDK, BSc, MSc and PhD students. As a doctoral supervisor, she has guided the work of seven PhD candidates, several of whom have obtained absolutorium or scientific degrees.

Her scientific and professional achievements have been recognised with several prestigious awards. In 2008 she received the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, Civil Division. In 2011 she was awarded the Wiltner Prize. In 2013 she received the Semmelweis University Outstanding Employee Award and the Dr. Gyula Dollinger Memorial Medal as Oncologist of the Year. In 2015 she received the George Weber Award for her contribution to the development of the Hungarian Society of Gastroenterology, and in 2024 she was awarded the László Batthyány-Strattmann Prize.

Prof. Dr. Magdolna Vilma Dank’s scientific and professional career connects clinical oncology, internal medicine, clinical pharmacology, palliative medicine and healthcare management. Her work is characterised by the integration of patient care, teaching, research and scientific public service, with particular emphasis on the personalised treatment of cancer, the identification of clinically applicable biomarkers and the implementation of innovative oncological therapeutic approaches.