Pongor Sandor

Sandor Pongor is a Professor at Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary. He holds academic roles including Head of the Bioinformatics Group at the Biological Research Center (Hungarian Academy of Sciences), and has been a Senior Scientist and Group Leader at the ICGEB in Trieste since 1990. His career includes leadership positions in Hungary, Italy, and research stints at Cornell and Rockefeller Universities in the U.S.

Education:

• Diploma in Chemical Engineering (Biological Technologies), Technical University, Budapest (1974)
• PhD in Biochemistry, Technical University, Budapest (1978)
• Doctor of Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1989)
• Doctor Habilitatus, Szent István University, Gödöllö (1998)

Research Interests: Focuses on molecular recognition principles, bioinformatics applications (e.g., machine learning in classification, network models), protein/DNA interactions, disulfide bond formation, and signal transduction (e.g., Notch signaling). Also investigates knowledge representation in genomics and proteomics.

Teaching & Leadership:

• Organized over 1,100 student participations in bioinformatics summer courses since 1992.
• Szent-Györgyi Professor in Bioinformatics at University of Szeged (since 2001).
• Adjunct Professor in Biochemistry at Szent István University (since 1988).
• Editorial Board member of Databases (Oxford UP) and former Chairman of EMBnet.

Awards:

• Member of Academia Europaea (2007)
• Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Lab & Facilities: Leads the Protein Structure and Bioinformatics Lab at ICGEB, managing core facilities in bioinformatics and peptide synthesis.