The ORFI work

My rheumatology career began and developed at the National Institute of Rheumatology and Physiotherapy (ORFI). I had the privilege of learning from outstanding figures in Hungarian rheumatology, including Ágnes Megyeri, Zsolt Balogh, and Professor Béla Gömör. I am especially grateful to Katalin Merétey, Doctor of the Hungarian Academy, for shaping my scientific mindset and research approach.

 

In 1995, I completed my PhD thesis at the Hungarian Academy. Two years later, in 1997, I was promoted to senior consultant in rheumatology, and in 1998, I was appointed deputy head of the 3rd Department of Rheumatology at our institute.

 

In 2004, I transitioned from the inpatient department to the outpatient department with the approval of Professor Gyula Poór, then head of ORFI. There, I continued my scientific, educational, and clinical work, leading the Department of Elderly Inflammatory Arthritides and contributing to biological therapy and general rheumatology outpatient care.

 

My primary field of research is polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), with a database of approximately 100 patients whose cases I have analysed. The findings have been published in numerous national and international scientific papers.

 

I am a permanent member of the American and European International Work Group on PMR and GCA and have participated in the prospective study for the new classification criteria and therapeutic recommendations for PMR. My notable international collaborations include Professor Eric L. Matteson of the Mayo Clinic and Professor Carlo Salvarani of the University of Reggio Emilia, Italy.

 

Thanks to my work at ORFI, I authored the first monograph on PMR in Hungarian (2022) and its English edition (2024), published in the USA.

 

Beyond inflammatory joint diseases, I have also reviewed and summarised intriguing miscellaneous rheumatic conditions in case reports. I have organised and delivered postgraduate and graduate courses and lectures on degenerative joint and spinal diseases, soft tissue disorders, and osteoporosis.

 

The foundation of my rheumatology career has always been the National Institute of Rheumatology and Physiotherapy, which, as of March 2025, has been integrated into Semmelweis University, Budapest, under the name Clinic of Rheumatology and Immunology.