An internationally renowned biochemist from Győr
An internationally renowned biochemist from Győr
With this post, we pay tribute to one of Győr’s celebrated sons, who made a lasting contribution to the field of cell and molecular biology in the USA. We must also mention his sister, Zsuzsanna Lóránd, paediatrician who practised in Budapest and, from 1973, in the USA, about whom we previously published a separate post on our website.
His life in a nutshell [1] [2]
László Lóránd was born in Győr on 23 March 1923 and passed away in Chicago on 6 December 2018. In 1953, he met Joyce Bruner, whom he later married. Joyce was also a scientist and researcher and collaborated closely with her husband on his biochemical research. His wife passed away in 2010.
His father was Dr Hugó Lóránd (née Löwinger), a much-loved paediatrician in Győr (Győr, 1891 – Auschwitz, 1944), and his mother was Margit Klein (1896 – 1998); his parents married in 1920. As mentioned above, two children were born, László and Zsuzsanna. His father did not survive, but his mother and his sister Zsuzsanna did survived Auschwitz, whilst László came home safe from forced labour camps. (see footnote 2)
László attended the Benedictine High School in Győr in the 1930s and took his school-leaving examination there in 1941. Due to the numerus clausus regulations introduced by the Horthy regime i Hungary, he was unable to pursue university studies. On his father’s advice, he trained in a manual trade at the Győr General Transport Company as an apprentice car mechanic and machine fitter. He completed his apprenticeship in June 1942.
Subsequently, with the help of the renowned mathematician Frigyes Riesz, a native of Győr, he gained admission to the Teacher Training College in Szeged, where he studied physics and mathematics whilst also attending the University of Szeged to study biochemistry. It was here, at the Szent-Györgyi Institute, that he met Professor Kálmán Laki. (see footnote 2)
In 1944, he was conscripted into a labour service unit. He served in Komárom and later in Győr. It was then that he saw his father for the last time. His labour service company was later marched from Győr towards Hegyeshalom (on the Hungarian-Austrian border – ed.), coinciding with the German retreat. He managed to escape at this point and returned to Győr, where several local families hid him. In the spring of 1945, he enrolled at the University of Szeged, whilst awaiting the return of his mother and sister from the concentration camp; they eventually arrived safely in Győr. In the meantime, László had transferred to the University of Budapest, where, through the mediation of Professor Kálmán Laki, he secured a post as a demonstrator under Professor Albert Szent-Györgyi. He graduated from the Budapest University of Medical Sciences in 1948. As a final-year medical student, he took part in a significant discovery: the identification of the so-called Laki–Lóránd factor, which plays an important role in the blood clotting process. He moved to England at the end of 1948, as Szent-Györgyi was planning to gather his favourite colleagues in the USA and had therefore obtained a passport for László Lóránd as well. (see footnote 2)
Between 1948 and 1952, he worked at the University of Leeds, where he was awarded a PhD for his thesis on the results of his research into biomolecular structures. From 1952 to 1955, he taught pharmacology and physiology at Wayne University in Detroit, USA, and from 1955 onwards he was a member of the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University, where he became a professor in 1961.
From 1971 to 1978, he was a member of the editorial board of “Thrombosis Research”, and from 1981 to 2000, of the journal “Inflammation”. From 1987 to 1991, he was a member of the US National Academy of Sciences. From 1990 to 1991, he was Deputy Director of the Basic Research Department at the Cancer Centre. In 1993, he was a research professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology. His research at that time focused on the biochemistry of blood clotting and the ageing process.
In 1995, he was elected an external member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Notable publications: Sol Sherry Lecture in Thrombosis: research on clot stabilisation provides clues for improving thrombolytic therapies (2000); Factor XIII and the clotting of fibrinogen: from basic research to medicine (2005); Crosslinks in blood: transglutaminase and beyond (2007)
His work has been recognised with numerous scientific awards: the James F. Mitchell Award (1973), the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (1983), the Lady Davis Award (1985), the NIH MERIT Grant (1989–1998), the American Health Research Lifetime Achievement Award (1993), and the American Heart Association’s Sol Sherry Award for Excellence in Public Speaking (1998).
Remembering Laszlo Lorand, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Cell and Molecular Biology [3]
This obituary was written by Anna Williams, a researcher at Northwestern University, on 18 December 2018
Laszlo Lorand, PhD, professor emeritus of Cell and Molecular Biology and a distinguished scientist whose career spanned more than 60 years at Northwestern, passed away on December 6. He was 95.
Lorand was an internationally recognized biochemist known for his landmark discoveries into blood clotting mechanisms, a highly respected educator and mentor, and a devoted husband, father and grandfather.
“Laszlo was an exceptional scientist, as well as an extraordinary colleague, mentor and friend,” said Robert Goldman, PhD, the Stephen Walter Ranson Professor of Cell Biology and chair of Cell and Molecular Biology. “He was a pillar of the scientific community at Northwestern, and his discoveries have had an enduring and very significant impact on the broader field. He will be sorely missed, but he has left a lasting legacy. Personally, I will never forget our fascinating discussions which began over 40 years ago and ended a few weeks ago when Anne and I visited Laci a few days before he passed away.”
Lorand was born in Győr, Hungary in 1923. He obtained an absolutorium in medicine from the University of Budapest and a PhD in biomolecular structure from the University of Leeds in England in 1951. He taught physiology and pharmacology at Wayne State University School of Medicine prior to joining Northwestern in 1955.
… He is credited with helping to strengthen biomedical collaboration across campuses, as well as recruiting many prominent scientists to the university.
Lorand was the author of more than 200 scientific publications. His research in the area of thrombosis, protein associations and calcium ions is considered to have had a major impact in the field of blood coagulation. In particular, he was a co-discoverer of factor XIII (formerly referred to as Laki-Lorand factor and fibrin stabilizing factor), a protein that plays a critical role in blood clotting.
Lorand was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1987. He was also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a foreign member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and the recipient of numerous other awards and honorary degrees throughout his career.
Lorand was preceded in death by his wife, Joyce Bruner-Lorand. He is survived by his daughter, Michele Lorand, MD, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Feinberg School of Medicine [3]
The Feinberg School of Medicinewhere Lorand was engaged as a professor and researcher for many decades is located in the neighborhood of Chicago. It is one of Northwestern University‘s 12 schools and colleges. The medical school offers a full-time Doctor of Medicine degree program, multiple joint degree programs, graduate medical education, and continuing medical education.
This private institution was established in 1859, its Academic staff is 3400 and the endowment is US$1.9 Billion.
Lóránd’s academic reputation and recognition in Hungary
In 2012, Lóránd gave a video presentation as a keynote speaker at a University of Debrecen (Hungary) conference, organised by the European Organisation for Thrombosis Research. [4]
In October 2015, a conference entitled ‘The Hungarian Clotting Factor’ was held again in Debrecen [5]. A total of 65 researchers from fifteen countries took part.
Coagulation factor XIII is also commonly referred to as the ‘Hungarian coagulation factor’, as its discovery was based on the work carried out in Hungary by the Hungarian researchers Kálmán Laki and László Lóránd, and it was once known as the ‘Laki-Lóránd factor’. Factor XIII plays an important role in haemostasis, wound healing and foetal development, explained Academician László Muszbek. If patients with Factor XIII deficiency do not receive regular factor replacement as a preventative measure, they often suffer life-threatening connective tissue haemorrhages and, in some cases, fatal cerebral haemorrhages.
Four years later, in November 2019, following Lóránd’s death, the ‘László Lóránd Memorial Conference’ was held at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, honouring Professor László Lóránd, an internationally recognised researcher in the field of thrombosis and haemostasis, an external member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, and co-discoverer of coagulation factor XIII. [6]
Sources
[2] István Nagy: Stories of Survivors – Memories of Győr Jews who survived the Holocaust, Győr, 2024
[4] Search Alchetron
[5] Pharmindex
[6] Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Edited and translated: P. Krausz