E-mail: zsolt.illes@rsyd.dk
Department:
Department of Neurology, Department of Molecular Medicine
Biography:
Zsolt Illes MD, PhD, DSc is a professor at the University of Southern
Denmark (Department of Clinical Research, Department of Molecular Medicine, and BRIDGE: Brain
Research Guided by Interdisciplinary Excellence). He is also a neurologist consultant at the
Department of Neurology, Odense University Hospital in Denmark. He graduated at the Medical
University of Pecs, Hungary and obtained his PhD degree based on studies exploring NKT, MAIT
and myelin-specific T cells in multiple sclerosis (MS) at the National Institute of Neuroscience in
Tokyo, Japan. After being a postdoc in the same institute, he did postdoctoral experimental research
in immune tolerance at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston. He has
been professor/visiting professor and head of Clinical and Experimental Neuroimmunology at the
University of Pecs, Hungary since 2010, and professor at the University of Southern Denmark since
2012.
1988: Medical University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary
▪ MD
2000: University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary
▪ PhD
2011: Hungarian Academy of Sciences
▪ DSc
1988-1992: Markusovszky University Hospital, Szombathely, Hungary
▪ residency in neurology
1994-1995: Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
▪ visiting scientist (neurochemistry, leukodystrophies and lysosomal storage disorders)
1995-2000: National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry,
Tokyo, Japan
▪ visiting scientist and postdoctoral fellow (molecular biology, multiple sclerosis)
2000-2004: Harvard Medical School, Center for Neurological Diseases, Harvard Institutes of
Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital
▪ postdoctoral fellow (cellular/molecular immunology and animal models of MS)
Medical doctor and neurology specialist (specialist license numbers in Hungary and Denmark)
Although being neurologist consultant by training, Zsolt Illes has been extensively trained also in
basic sciences, molecular biology, cellular immunology, and experimental animal models at different
institutes. He obtained his PhD degree based on research in T cell receptor diversity in MS at the
National Institute of Neuroscience, Tokyo, Japan. He was postdoctoral research fellow in the same
institute, and then at the Harvard Institute of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, where he
did research in immune tolerance mechanisms and novel molecular treatments by using genetically
modified animal models. He has been a leader of translational research groups in Hungary and
Denmark since 2008 and 2012, respectively. His teams consist of basic scientists and clinicians
(postdocs, PhDs, masters): they do neuroimmunology research by combining multi-omics, animal
models, in vitro models, biomarker studies, database/registry research, and population-based,
national, head-to-head epidemiology studies. His team´s translational research at SDU/OUH covers
molecular mechanisms of MS by using tissue- and single-nucleus multi-omics and animal models.
His clinical team’s interest is biomarker research and epidemiology of neuroimmunological diseases
including NMOSD and MOGAD, and pathogenesis and diagnosis of progressive/smoldering MS.
The team has nationwide and worldwide collaborations with research groups doing omics,
experimental research, computational biology and bioinformatics. Zsolt Illes has also participated in
establishing international guidelines, expert opinions, and consensus statements in
neuroimmunological diseases. He and his students received several international, Danish and
Hungarian awards.