Imola Wilhelm

Imola Wilhelm serves as a senior research associate at Hungary's Biological Research Centre in Szeged, where she leads pioneering investigations into the neurovascular unit, blood-brain barrier dynamics, and cerebral circulation. Her work specifically examines pericyte function in pathological contexts including brain metastasis, neuroinflammation, and aging processes.

As a leading scholar in neurovascular biology, Wilhelm's research integrates molecular and physiological approaches to unravel blood-brain barrier mechanisms under disease conditions. Her dual expertise spans both neurovascular pathology and advanced photonics, with significant contributions to silicon nitride waveguide technologies for biosensing applications.

Her 15 most recent publications (2021-2025) reveal a strategic convergence of machine learning and photonic engineering, featuring optimization of silicon nitride platforms, loss-minimization techniques, and biosensor development. This work demonstrates consistent methodological innovation across fabrication, characterization, and application domains.

Wilhelm's exceptional contributions have earned prestigious recognition:

• Bolyai János Research Fellowship from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
• L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science national scholarship
• Junior Award for early-career research excellence

She actively mentors BSc, MSc, MD, and PhD students while directing multiple scientific grants as principal investigator. Since 2020, she has served as a Szent-Györgyi mentor for the National Academy of Scientist Education and currently holds an executive board position at the Hungarian Young Academy (joined 2021). Her science communication outreach includes Researchers’ Night lectures since 2014 and Brain Awareness Week participation since 2018.

Wilhelm leads a multidisciplinary research team at the Biological Research Centre that bridges neurovascular biology with photonic sensor development, maintaining active collaborations across both domains while supervising graduate trainees and postdoctoral researchers.