Péter Pál Varga, MD

Personal details

• Date of Birth: 12 July 1951
• Family status: married to Erika Litkey
• Children: Péter, Tamás, Dorottya, Anna, Bálint, Melinda, six grandchildren
• Language skills: English, Italian

Education, qualifications

• 1969. Teleki Blanka Grammar School, school - leaving exam with excellent results
• 1973-1979. Semmelweis University of Medicine, university level programme
• 1979. Semmelweis University of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, medical degree 
• 1983. Semmelweis University of Medicine, qualifying exam in orthopaedics with excellent results
• 1986-1993. Scholarships for studying abroad: in Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, the United Kingdom and in the United States of America. Seventeen times altogether, including a neurosurgery training alongside Prof. Ralph Cloward (Queen Mary Hospital, Honolulu, Hawaii)

Professional experience in medicine

• 1979-1986. Junior Doctor, Szent János Hospital, Department of Traumatology and Orthopaedics 
• 1987-2004. Clinical Lecturer, Semmelweis University of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedics
• 1995-2005. Head of Department, Senior Doctor, Semmelweis University of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedics, Department of Spinal Disorders and Rehabilitation, Military Hospital Health Centre, Buda Division
• 1997-2018. General Director, National Center for Spinal Disorders, Hungary
• 2000-2021. CEO Buda Health Center

Professional and society positions in medicine

• 1989. Professional Association of Orthopaedics, Hungary, member
• 1989. Hungarian Orthopedic Association, board member
• 1993. Hungarian Spine Society, member of the presidential board
• 1995-1999. Professional Association of Neurosurgery, Hungary, member
• 1995-2000. Medical Research Council, Hungary, member
• 1996-1998. Hungarian Spine Society, president
• 2004-2005. Spine Experts of South-East Europe, president
• 2005. 2008 Hungarian Orthopedic Association, president
• 2010-2015. AOSpine Hungary, president
• 2010-2018. AOSpine Intl. Tumor Knowledge Forum board member
• 2010. 2013 European Spine Society, member of the Education Committee
• 2010. Hungarian Football Federation, president of the Medical Committee
• 2015-2018. Hungarian Spine Society, president, re-elected for the second time 
• 2014. Hungarian Spine Journal, founder and editor-in-chief

Prizes, awards

• 2012. AOSpine „Excellence in Education” Award
• 20 August 2013 - Officer’s Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit, Civil Division
• 2016. Honorary Citizen of Budapest
• 2016. Grand Prize of the Hungarian Obesitology and Movement Therapy Association (MOMOT), lifetime achievement award for the achievements in medicine
• 2016. Special Award of the Hungarian Orthopedic Association – lifetime achievement award for the work in the field of spinal disorders
• 2018. Dennis Gabor Award
• 2025 March 14 – Széchenyi Prize