Medical and Health Sciences Section
Section Call
Call for Papers
38th National Student Research Conference
Medical and Health Sciences Section
1. General Information, Organizers
Organizer of the event:
University of Debrecen
Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences
| Address: | 4032 Debrecen, Nagyerdei krt. 98. |
| Phone: | +36 52 258 086 |
Section website address: www.oetdk.hu/otdk2027
Section e-mail address: otdk@med.unideb.hu
Date of the event: April 20-23, 2027
| Chair of the Organizing Committee: | Prof. Dr. György Panyi Full Professor |
| Co-Chair of the Organizing Committee: | Prof. Dr. Margit Balázs Professor emeritus |
| Secretary of the Organizing Committee: | Dr. Balázs Horváth Associate Professor |
| Secretary of the Organizing Committee: | Dr. Miklós Fagyas Associate Professor |
| Deputy Secretary of the Organizing Committee: | Dr. István Bak Associate Professor |
| Deputy Secretary of the Organizing Committee: | Dr. Norbert Szentandrássy Associate Professor |
| Deputy Secretary of the Organizing Committee: | Dr. Krisztina Szarka University Professor |
| TDK Administrative Officer: | Izabel Sándor-Tokaji |
| Student delegate: | Rosemary Kothalawala |
| Deputy student delegates: | Anna Zsófia Kádár, Anna Viktória Sándor (Faculty of Pharmacy), Laura Mária Papp (Faculty of Dentistry), Vanessza Hadar (Faculty of Health Sciences) |
The National Association for Student Research (OTDT), the Medical and Health Sciences Section Committee of the OTDT and the organizing Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, and Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Debrecen hereby announce the 38th National Student Research Conference (OTDK) Medical and Health Sciences Section under the conditions of the following call.
The conditions for participation and registration in the Medical and Health Sciences Section of the 38th OTDK are specified in the General Call of the 38th OTDK and in this Call of the OTDT Medical and Health Sciences Section Committee.
2. Eligibility Criteria
2.1 Who is eligible to participate
In the 38th National Student Research Conference (OTDK), presentations and authors that meet the conditions specified in the General Call for the 38th National Student Research Conference may participate (details are provided in Supplement 2 of the General Call for the 38th OTDK). Presentations may only be delivered with in-person attendance. Only one author is entitled to give the presentation – namely the author who presented the work at the institutional conference – and, in case of a first prize, this author is eligible to apply for the Pro Scientia Gold Medal. A TDK presentation may have a maximum of two authors and two supervisors. A student may participate with only one presentation as first author. As the official language of the conference is Hungarian, participants who are native Hungarian speakers and are enrolled in Hungarian-language programs may not give a presentation in a foreign language. However, if a Hungarian student has a supervisor who does not speak Hungarian, the presentation may also be delivered in English.
Study circles from cross-border universities and colleges may participate in the 38th OTDK under the same professional conditions as those in Hungary. Details are provided in the General Call for the 38th OTDK.
The conference is also open to secondary school students in Hungary and across borders who present their research results at conferences organized by higher education institutions or national secondary school science student conferences (for details see Supplement 4 of the General Call for the 38th OTDK) and are nominated for participating at the OTDK. A detailed description of the participation of secondary school students is available in the General Call for the 38th OTDK.
A thesis produced in the course of continuous TDK activity during BA and BSc studies may be entered to the 38th OTDK, if it meets the requirements of the Call and its Supplements and has been presented at a student research conference either during the BA/BSc or during the subsequent MA/MSc program, where it was nominated for the OTDK.
2.2. Participation quotas
| Integrated medical degree programs: | |
| University of Debrecen | 103 presentations |
| University of Pécs | 84 presentations |
| Semmelweis University | 166 presentations |
| University of Szeged | 88 presentations |
| Pázmány Péter Catholic University | 5 presentations |
| University of Veterinary Medicine | 5 presentations |
| Two-cycle health sciences programs: | |
| University of Debrecen | 15 presentations |
| University of Miskolc | 14 presentations |
| University of Pécs | 22 presentations |
| Semmelweis University | 13 presentations |
| University of Szeged | 11 presentations |
| Széchenyi István University | 5 presentations |
| Quota for cross-border applicants: | 20 presentations |
2.3. Content and format requirements for abstracts
The content and formal requirements of the abstract (summary) to be uploaded during the application process are set out in Supplement 1 to the Section Call.
3. Sessions/topics
3.1. Planned sessions/topics
Theoretical computer science
- Anatomy, morphology, developmental biology
- Functional molecular and cellular imaging
- Bioinformatics, computer modelling
- Biochemistry
- Electrophysiology
- Physiology
- Pharmacology
- Genetics, genomics
- Experimental immunology, microbiology
- Experimental cardiology
- Experimental oncology, signal transmission
- Pathophysiology
- Molecular biology
- Pathology, histology, forensic medicine
- Cell biology, cell physiology
Conservative medicine
- Endocrinology, nephrology
- Gastroenterology
- Paediatrics
- Infectology, pulmonology
- Cardiovascular medicine
- Diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine
- Clinical immunology, rheumatology, dermatology
- Laboratory medicine, clinical microbiology
- Neurology, neurovascular medicine
- Oncology, radiotherapy, haematology-haemostaseology
- Psychiatry
Operative medicine
- Anaesthesiology and intensive care, emergency care
- Otorhinolaryngology, head and neck surgery, ophthalmology
- Experimental surgery
- Thoracic, cardiac, vascular, abdominal and plastic surgery, transplant surgery
- Obstetrics and gynaecology, urology
- Traumatology, orthopaedics, neurosurgery
Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Pharmacology, clinical pharmacy
- Pharmaceutical chemistry, drug analysis, pharmacognosy
- Pharmaceutical technology, pharmacovigilance, quality assurance
Dental sciences
- Theoretical and experimental dental sciences
- Conservative dental science
Health sciences
- Health organization and management, health insurance, health policy, health informatics
- Physiotherapy and rehabilitation
- Imaging diagnostic analytics
- Primary prevention, public health nursing prevention, dietetics and food science
- Secondary prevention, family medicine, preventive medicine
- Tertiary prevention, nursing and patient care
During the application process, students must indicate which session would be the most suitable for giving their presentations, as well as an alternative session that may also be appropriate. The organizers nevertheless reserve the right to reassign the submission to a different session.
3.2. Rules for the establishment of the final session assignment
The fundamental rules for the establishment of the final session assignment are included in the General Call of the 38th OTDK. Based on the number and topics of the OTDT Medical and Health Sciences Section Committee may merge certain planned sessions/topics or create additional ones, so that the presentation may be assigned to a session different than the one indicated by the authors during registration.
An independent session may be established if at least 5 papers are expected to be presented at the OTDK, from among the 6 to 15 papers submitted papers. If fewer than five presentations are to be presented in a given session, that session may be merged with another session at the discretion of the Chair of the Section Committee.
With the approval of the Section Committee, the organizing institution reserves the right to redirect submissions whose does not correspond to the academic field of the Section to another section of the National Student Research Conference that is more appropriate for the topic, with thanks for the application for their submission.
The Medical and Health Sciences Section Committee will make the final decision regarding sessions and the classification of presentations. Students will be notified of this decision through the OTDT online system no later than March 26, 2027, at the latest.
4. Application procedure
4.1. Steps of registration for applicants
4.1.1. Pre-registration
Following the institutional TDK conference, the selection of the section must be completed within 30 days of the email specified in point 4 of Supplement 2 to the 38th OTDK General Call being sent. (The sending of the email takes place in consultation with the institutional TDK Referents during the period preceding the application deadline.)
Participants who will be eligible to submit a presentation at an institutional/faculty student research conference held within 30 days before the application deadline for the Medical and Health Sciences Section of the OTDK must complete both the pre-registration and application procedures no later than 16:00 on Monday, February 22, 2027.
ATTENTION! The pre-registration does not constitute an entry to the OTDK, applications must be submitted during the registration period, following the steps described in the next section.
4.1.2. Application
Registration period: November 16, 2026 – February 22, 2027, 16:00 (CET)
Students’ tasks during this period are:
- Filling data required for the application.
- Uploading the abstract.
- On the abstract upload page, providing five keywords that do not appear in the title of the paper.
- After completing the data entry and uploading the abstract, the student can finalize the registration in the OTDT online system.
After the registration deadline for students (February 22, 2027, 16:00, CET) it will no longer be possible for students to upload application documents in the OTDT online system.
4.2. Additional responsibilities for students who have obtained a pre-degree certificate or are expected to obtain a pre-degree certificate in the semester of registration
Students who obtained a pre-degree certificate between the qualifying institutional TDK conference and the 38th OTDK must declare the date of obtaining their pre-degree certificate in the OTDT online system during the application process (those who are expected to obtain their pre-degree certificate in the semester of application, after the application deadline, must indicate that they are expected to obtain it in the semester of application).
In the case of students who qualified at ETDK, FTDK, KTDK, or VMTDK conferences, the expected date of finalizing the application to the 38th OTDK must be indicated as the date of the pre-degree certificate, as this has already been verified upon their acceptance to the qualifying conference.
5. Responsibilities of the TDT Chairs in relation to the 38th OTDK
5.1. Following the student research conference:
Uploading the documents of the student research conference and sending them to the OTDT Office in accordance with point5 of Supplement 2 of the General Call for the 38th OTDK.
5.2. Following the participants’ registration deadline:
A) Approval of participant registrations in the OTDT online system (all registrations are automatically approved in the system; therefore, action is required only if the institution/faculty does not wish to delegate a submitted presentation to the OTDK).
B) Approval in the OTDT online system of the consolidated list containing the approved applications of presentations and their authors submitted to the Medical and Health Sciences Section, and/or its generation from the online system and signature with a qualified electronic signature, or printing and signing, followed by electronic upload to the OTDT online system. By approving/signing the consolidated list, the TDT Chairs also declare that all presentations and their authors included therein meet the requirements set out in Supplement 2 to the General Call of the 38th OTDK.
Deadline for institutional and faculty TDT Chairs to upload documents to the OTDT online system: February 26, 2027 (Friday) 16:00 (CET). After the deadline it will no longer be possible to upload application documents in the OTDT online system.
Applications submitted individually are invalid.
6. Registration fee
The registration fees for the 38th OTDK will be determined at a later stage, subject to the availability of funding.
7. The awards that can be granted at the OTDK and the Special Prize of the Session Panel
A certificate of participation in the OTDK will be awarded to all authors and supervisors of each paper presented. In addition, up to one third of the papers presented in each session may be awarded one of the first, second and third prizes per section with the restriction that no more than one paper per session may be awarded first place/prize. The Section Panel may also award a Special Prize to those papers that do not achieve ranking but are considered by the Session Panel to be worthy of recognition based on their professional merit, and which are considered to immediately follow the winning presentations. The authors of the prize-winning papers and those of the papers receiving the Special Prize of the Session Panel will each receive a certificate acknowledging this..
The total number of winning papers and papers awarded the Special Prize of the Session Panel may not exceed 50% of the total number of papers presented in a section. Further rules on prizes are set out in Supplement 3 to the General Call.
8. Submission of Pro Scientia Gold Medal application
The presenting (first) authors of presentations that have been awarded first place at the national conference may apply for the Pro Scientia Gold Medal, provided they meet the additional criteria set out in the call. Details are given in Supplement 5 of the 38th OTDK General Call.
We warmly invite and welcome all interested students and their supervisors!
Budapest, April 21, 2026
| Prof. Dr. Zoltán Rakonczay | Prof. Dr. György Panyi |
| University Professor | University Professor |
| Chair of the OTDT Medical and Health Sciences Section Committee | Chair of the Organizing Committee of the 38th OTDK Medical and Health Sciences Section |
Supplement 1
SUPPLEMENT 1 TO THE CALL FOR PAPERS 38TH OTDK
MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES SECTION
In the Medical and Health Sciences Section, only an abstract must be submitted; no written TDK paper is required.
Rules for the abstract:
- Only the main text must be uploaded to the OTDT online system, the other data (names of authors, institution, names and titles of supervisor(s) etc.) are generated by the online system.
- Content requirements: a structured format is recommended (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion)
- Length: minimum 500 and maximum 2,500 characters, including spaces.
- Language: Hungarian or English.
At the conference, participants will have 10 minutes to the oral presentation of their TDK paper (presentation), followed by a 5-minute discussion.
The language of the presentation must match the language of the abstract.
Evaluation criteria for the TDK presentation:
| 1. Results, professional content, presentation (maximum 20 points) | Score |
| Abstract, formal requirements, scientific information content | 0-5 |
| Explanation of the background of the research; emphasis on the importance of objectives and hypotheses; presentation of the methods used and the research process; scientific interpretation of the results, methodology of evaluation, description of issues encountered during the research; connection between the conclusions and the objectives; outline of future research directions. | 0-15 |
| 2. Performing style, quality of the presentation (maximum 10 points) | Score |
| The presentation follows the structure of scientific presentations; the presenter appropriately uses the terminology of the field when presenting their results; the presenter avoids unnecessary use of foreign-language technical terms; incorporates national and international scientific findings into the presentation; the presenter’s style is confident, the language of the presentation is easily understandable, and the structure is logical. | 0-10 |
| 3. Use of visual aids, demonstration (maximum 10 points) | Score |
| Use of available visual aids; the quantity, quality, and informational content of the figures; the figures maximally contribute to the understanding of the presentation. | 0-10 |
| 4. Debate skills and professional competence (maximum 10 points) | Score |
| The presenter’s responses to questions are confident, professionally accurate, and focused on the questions asked; the presenter is informed about the field’s achievements and maintains a connection with the audience. If the presentation exceeds the allotted time by more than 30 seconds, a maximum of 5 points can be awarded for the discussion. If the presentation reaches 15 minutes, the discussion cannot begin, and no points can be awarded for debate skills. | 0-10 |
| 5. Own work/Appendix slide | Score |
| Reviewers pay special attention to the extent to which the results presented in the presentation can be considered the student’s own work. It is expected that an appendix slide be shown as the last slide of the presentation, in which the student briefly lists their own contributions to the results. In the evaluation (i.e., point allocation), only the student’s own work is assessed. Accordingly, a presentation without an appendix slide detailing your own work will not be scored. On the appendix slide, the student must declare whether they used AI tools in preparing the presentation and, if so, in what manner. | Without an appendix slide, the presentation cannot be scored! |