Abstract
My memories of Steve go back over 50 years. While precise dates are no longer in my memory bank, circumstances and emotions remain alive and easy to recall. These memories tell the story of a remarkable human being, a true practitioner of his craft always, faithful to the basic principles of scientific pursuit, with integrity, honesty, and enthusiasm well beyond the norm. We had a professional symbiotic relationship that lasted over 20 years, resulting in over 50 publications in scientific journals and meeting abstracts. During that time, our fortunes rose in tandem, and when it was time to go our separate ways, he was more than ready to flourish on his own. Our personal friendship remained constant, and we enjoyed sharing meals and stories with family and friends over the years. In retrospect, I take pride in having played a role in a portion of his remarkable scientific journey. A few key anecdotes will illustrate some aspects of this summary. By way of a disclaimer, this is not a comprehensive review of the vast field of viral oncology and the selection of references is intentionally narrow. No slight is intended to the many outstanding investigators that were our contemporaries and at times collaborators during the period from the early 70s to the mid-80s.
Highlights
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On arrival in the USA, under the auspices of the American Academy of Sciences, he attended 6-week orientation and language courses. He was admitted to Georgetown University, where he earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology. He never lost his connection to his home country, and in later years established a number of scientific collaborations with Hungarian scientists, and in turn was honored for his contributions, receiving an honorary degree from the University of Debrecen and membership in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
My background in immunology coming from a fellowship at Cal Tech, in the laboratory of Ray Owen, and 2 years at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia working with several DNA tumor viruses [1], was a good foundation for this project
Summary
Steve was born in 1927 in a small town in Hungary, Nagtilav, close to the Austrian border. The location is significant in that when in 1956 Russian tanks approached the town as they crushed the Hungarian uprising, he was able to quickly find sanctuary across the border, eventually reaching the USA in 1957. Prior to this turning point in his life, he had earned a chemical engineering degree in 1950 at the technical university in Budapest. On arrival in the USA, under the auspices of the American Academy of Sciences, he attended 6-week orientation and language courses He was admitted to Georgetown University, where he earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology. He never lost his connection to his home country, and in later years established a number of scientific collaborations with Hungarian scientists, and in turn was honored for his contributions, receiving an honorary degree from the University of Debrecen and membership in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
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