Exploring the Antibacterial and Anti-biofilm Potential of Helichrysum italicum Essential Oil in Respiratory Infections

Györgyi Horváth earned her degree in biology at Janus Pannonius University in Pécs (Hungary). Between 1999 and 2002, she was a PhD student at the Biological Doctoral School of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Pécs.
From 2002 to 2006, she worked as an assistant professor at the Department of Pharmacognosy, and in 2005 she obtained her PhD degree. In 2012, she completed her habilitation in the field of pharmaceutical sciences.
She is currently an associate professor and head of the Department of Pharmacognosy at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Pécs. With 24 years of experience in university teaching and research, her scientific work focuses on the investigation of the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects of essential oils using both in vitro and in vivo models.
She is the author or co-author of 83 original research articles, 5 book chapters, and 183 abstracts. Her Hirsch index is 28, with 2222 independent citations. Since 2018, she has served as Chair of the Pharmaceutical Working Committee of the Pécs Regional Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Her achievements have been recognized with the Sigma-Aldrich Hungary Junior Researcher Award and the Young Scientists Award of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pécs Committee. In September 2025, she received a certificate and a silver badge from the National Council of Undergraduate Students’ Research Associations in Budapest for her decades-long commitment to talent development.
She teaches pharmacy, biotechnology, and medical students, supervises PhD candidates, serves as an opponent on PhD committees, and works as an invited reviewer for several scientific journals. She is a member of the editorial boards of Acta Pharmaceutica Hungarica, Journal of Essential Oil Research, and BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, and currently holds the position of Vice-Chair of the Permanent Scientific Committee of the International Symposium on Essential Oils (ISEO).