Mihály Kovács - Biography#

Mihály Kovács and his research group explore the functioning and biomedical implications of motor enzymes and protein-nucleic acid complexes driving cell division, cellular movements, genome metabolism and cellular stress response. He elucidated the mechanism of action of the myosin 2 inhibitor blebbistatin, which has since been utilized in a wide range of cell biological, physiological and pharmacological applications. He showed that the enzymatic properties of myosins are significantly changed by external forces acting on the molecules, enabling a mechanosensory and responsive function. He discovered a new mechanism for the vital process of DNA recombination quality control, whereby cells can prevent harmful recombination and, hence, cell death and carcinogenesis. He also demonstrated the central role in genome metabolism of a recently emerging cellular organizational principle based on phase separation of proteins and nucleoprotein complexes.

Earlier he served as Co-chair of the Motility Subgroup of the Biophysical Society, USA. At Eötvös Loránd University, he is head of the Department of Biochemistry and leader of the Structural Biochemistry Doctoral Program. He is vice-president of the Hungarian Biochemical Society, and served as chairman of the “Molecular and Structural Biology, Biochemistry” review panel of the National Reseach, Development and Innovation Office of Hungary.