Virologist Ferenc Jakab has died suddenly at the age of 46, announced the Virológia Pécs Facebook page and the University of Pécs.
Jakab was a professor and the Vice-Rector for Innovation at the University of Pécs, as well as the head of the National Virology Laboratory.
"The University of Pécs regards Professor Ferenc Jakab as its own departed and will preserve his memory with respect and reverence," the university stated on its website. Arrangements for his funeral will be made at a later date.
During the
coronavirus pandemic, the researcher gained national recognition when he frequently spoke out on issues related to the spread of the virus and vaccinations.
Ferenc Jakab was born in 1977 in Marcali and graduated from high school in Kaposvár. He obtained his degree in biology and chemistry from the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Pécs in 2002. He spent a considerable amount of time in virus research laboratories in the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States, as per the information provided on the University's website. In March 2020, he became the leader of the
coronavirus research group.