“I was offered the opportunity to serve as a junior supervisor, for which I am very grateful and excited about”

She joined the Centre for Translational Medicine’s Ph.D. program among the first and defended her thesis last November. Currently, she is a resident doctor at the Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Dermatooncology, and a science methodology advisor at CTM. In February, Dr. Fanni Meznerics was named SMA of the Month.

Fanni Meznerics joined CTM’s Ph.D. program in 2021, shortly after the centre moved from the University of Pécs to Semmelweis University. She had been thinking about obtaining a Ph.D. and already had a topic in mind. “I started research during my graduate years as a student researcher, under the supervision of my mentor, András Bánvölgyi. It was clear that I would like to continue my research as a Ph.D. student after graduation. At that time, the Ph.D. program of CTM was not well-known, but what we knew about it was appealing – a structured program, promising methodological support.”

After joining the program, Dr. Meznerics successfully completed her Ph.D. thesis in two years, and defended it in November. Her research comprised three meta-analyses aimed at advancing clinical practices in dermatology and rheumatology by promoting innovative disease-modifying and monitoring methods. These analyses specifically investigated the efficacy of the multi-biomarker disease activity (MBDA) score as a monitoring tool for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Additionally, they explored the effectiveness of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in treating two specific dermatological conditions, chronic wounds and alopecia areata (AA).

In 2022, as a second-year Ph.D. student, Dr. Meznerics became a scientific methodology supervisor in CTM's program. In this role, she assisted students from the Dermatology-Immunology-COVID-19 and the Gynecology-Urology Group, and worked as the deputy Ph.D. coordinator for first-year students. “I had the opportunity to start my dermatology residency training this September, and I also persisted in my role as a methodology supervisor for the new first-year Dermatology-Immunology Group led by András Bánvölgyi and Norbert Kiss. I was also offered the opportunity to serve as a junior supervisor for two first-year students in this group, a role for which I am very grateful and excited about. Simultaneously, I continued my responsibilities as the deputy coordinator for first-year Ph.D. students.” Looking ahead, Dr. Meznerics envisions gaining clinical experience while simultaneously pursuing her own research and assisting new students in their research work as well.

(Szabó Emese)