Person
Törk, Istvan Joseph (1939 - 1992)
- Born
- 14 February 1939
Budapest, Hungary - Died
- 21 November 1992
Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia - Occupation
- Anatomist and University Administrator
Summary
Istvan Törk was an anatomist and pioneer in the study of brain chemistry whose research, before he came to Australia in 1976, centred on the comparative anatomy of a variety of vertebrates and resulted in the publication of over 30 papers. On being appointed to the University of New South Wales his focus became more centred on neuroanatomy (particularly the distribution of neuropeptides and monoamines in the brainstem), leading to the work for which Törk is best known: on the serotonin raphe nuclei. This had significant implications for the treatment of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Törk's research was notable for his extensive collaboration with colleagues. With George Paxinos, Törk published the landmark Atlas of the developing rat brain (1991), a work widely-used for many years. Törk was also respected for the broad range of his teaching skills. He is commemorated by the Istvan Tork prize for University of New South Wales neuroscience students.
Details
Chronology
- 1957
- Education - Doctor of Medicine, Budapest (Semmelweis) University of Medicine, Hungary
- 1963 - 1969
- Career position - Lecturer in anatomy, Budapest (Semmelweis) University of Medicine, Hungary
- 1969 - 1976
- Career position - Senior Lecturer in anatomy, University of Zambia
- 1971 - 1976
- Career position - Professor of anatomy, University of Zambia
- 1976 - 1984
- Career position - Senior lecturer in anatomy, University of New South Wales
- 1979
- Life event - Became an Australian citizen
- 1984 - 1991
- Career position - Associate Professor in anatomy, University of New South Wales
- 1988 - ?
- Career position - Head, Department of Anatomy, University of New South Wales
- 1991 - 1992
- Career position - Professor of anatomy, University of New South Wales
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Paxinos, George; Valentino, Karen L.; Törk, Istvan; and Teccot, Lawrence H., Atlas of the developing rat nervous system (Academic Press, 1991), 304 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Watson, Charles, 'Törk, Istvan (1939-1992), professor of brain anatomy' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 19: 1991 - 1995 A-Z, Melanie Nolan, ed. (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 2021), pp. 834-835, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/tork-istvan-16278. Details
Journal Articles
- Azmitia, Efrain C., 'Istvan Törk 1939 - 1992', Journal of comparative neurology, 333 (2) (1993), 149-50. https://doi.org/101002/cne.903330202. Details
- Paxinos, George, 'Obituary: Professor Istvan Törk', Uniken - The University of New South Wales, 340 (20 of 1992) (1992), 4, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-253838884/. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q47523519. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/294145857076122921534. Details
- 'Törk, István (19390214-19921121)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-480004. Details
See also
- Tracey, David J., Paxinos, George and Stone, Jonathan eds, Neurotransmitters in the human brain (New York: Plenum Press, 1995), 243 pp. Details
Rosanne Walker and Helen Cohn
Created: 30 June 1997, Last modified: 14 April 2022