In 2023, MATFIN’s Founder, Professor Ferenc Krausz, together with Pierre Agostini and Anne L’Huillier, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering experimental methods for generating attosecond pulses of light, enabling scientists to study electron dynamics in matter. The potential of these methods, however, extends far beyond fundamental physics: when applied to molecules in human blood, the resulting measurements may reveal subtle changes that provide early signs of developing health conditions long before symptoms appear.

‘Thanks to the H4H (Health for Hungary – Hungary for Health) long-term cohort study we have been conducting, we have now obtained the first evidence that this approach can detect signals of developing chronic diseases several years before they become symptomatic. These results open, for the first time, the prospect of cost-effective monitoring of human health’, Krausz said in connection with his lecture at the annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting at the end of June.

Krausz’s global initiative, protecting.health, aims to establish a network of standardized studies based on the H4H concept – initially in Hungary, Hong Kong, and Germany – to develop individualized reference ranges for blood parameters in tens of thousands of participants and monitor how they evolve over a period of ten years.

The resulting collection of more than half a million blood samples, together with their molecular profiles, is expected to support the development of the world's first screening algorithm for the early detection of common non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In the coming years, the protecting.health network is expected to expand to Africa and, ultimately, to other regions around the world.

Watch the full lecture on the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings website.

Further reading: The Future of Fighting Disease May Start Before We Feel Sick