She has been involved in the work of the Centre for Translational Medicine from the very beginning, currently she is the meta-analysis coordinator of the program. This year she was also appointed as an assistant lecturer at the university. In November, Engh Marie Anne was named Scientific Methodology Expert of the Month.
Dr. Marie Anne Engh graduated from the University of Pécs Medical School in 2021 but has been involved in translational medicine for years before. She became a project student at the Institute for Translational Medicine in 2017, after coming across the program at the Undergraduate Research Fair. After graduating as a medical doctor, she was looking for new career opportunities. In this period, the Centre for Translational Medicine (CTM) was established in Budapest, and it was a tempting time to join it.
“I was privileged enough to take part at some of the planning meetings, and visit Budapest. Till then I had already been working with meta-analyses for 4 years, had my own first author project, and had participated in a handful of projects as a co-author. When I saw what was being developed at Semmelweis University, I decided to come along for the ride. In Budapest, I became a methodology supervisor for 9 students in my first year, and it kind of snowballed from there. Currently, I am the meta-analysis coordinator, making it my responsibility to ensure that students are progressing adequately with their meta-analyses, to produce teaching materials, and to hold the practical courses for the students. Of course, quality control of the studies is my most important task. Most recently, starting this year, I was also appointed as assistant lecturer at the university.”
Dr. Engh's own research topic is pancreatic cancer and endoscopic interventions, including tissue sampling. It is a very interesting field and lies in a more practical area of internal medicine, which is what initially attracted her to it. However, her real interests lie in scientific methodology, and the field has always been somewhat secondary to her. Dr. Engh is not currently actively working as a medical doctor, she is dedicating essentially her full time to the CTM. She has many students, and the meta-coordination takes a very large part of her time. Plus, as one of the most senior methodological experts at the CTM, there are always additional tasks and opportunities that arise, so there is never a boring moment.
(Emese Szabó)