In memoriam von Dr. Mihály Németh-Csóka (1927-2020)

Professor Mihály (Michael) Németh-Csóka MD died on August 16, 2020, after his 93rd birthday. He was a distinguished chemist, histochemistry and molecular pathologist. Between 1954 and 1958, he was employed at the University Pécs as a co-worker of professor Romhányi. In the first period of his career, he performed polarization optical analysis of elastic- and collagen fibrils combined with elastase- and collagenase digestion techniques. Later with his colleagues, he demonstrated the helical structure of polysaccharides by ORD and CD techniques. Furthermore, they explained the direction of rotation of these helices as determined by the structure and the level of their sulfate saturation. The helical structure and the direction of rotation showed a close correlation with their biological properties like the fibril forming effect and the effect on haemostasis. He was an enthusiastic educator, scientist and referent too. He organized and managed the training of laboratory/pathology technicians in Hungary for 30 years.