While Professor Zaborszky’s scientific achievements are extraordinary, his legacy as a mentor is just as remarkable. Throughout his career, he has been committed to nurturing the next generation of neuroscientists, providing guidance and support to countless students and postdoctoral fellows.

My personal journey with Laszlo also began in 2003 in Budapest, Hungary, where I started my PhD in the laboratory of Prof Laszlo Detari, a long-term collaborator and friend of Laszlo, already working on the electrophysiological properties of the cholinergic basal forebrain. I have joined the Detari lab with the purpose to master in vivo electrophysiology using juxtacellular recording and labelling of individual cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain, while trying to also figure out information about their afferents and efferents, simultaneously recording cortical EEG and stimulating the putative input from the prefrontal cortex. It was a monumental task, especially for someone who had very little electrophysiological training (Gyengési et al. 2008).

To speed up my progress, Laszlo became my co-supervisor, and I had the opportunity to spend five months in his lab at Rutgers in 2004. By that spring, Alvaro Duque, the expert in in vivo juxtacellular labeling, had completed his PhD and moved to Yale (Duque et al. 2007). However, I was fortunate that Elizabeth Hur, his talented PhD student, was still in the lab (Hur and Zaborszky 2005). On this second meeting, Laszlo picked me up from Newark Airport, NJ. I distinctly remember the ride to the hotel; it was so harrowing that I barely recall how we arrived safely. The fear I felt sitting next to him in a car any time while driving never quite faded over the years.

I spent the entire duration of this stay trying to master histology and immunohistochemistry and simultaneously earn Laszlo’s approval. For months, nothing seemed good enough until one day, I finally presented a staining that impressed him. From then on, I received nothing but positive reinforcement. The shared microscope sessions, during which he was taking notes on his yellow note pads with his favourite Uni-ball pens, became even more appreciated as I now understand the demands of leading a lab.

Since then, we have co-authored papers, book chapters, and grant proposals (Zaborszky et al. 2012; Gamage et al. 2023). He has been a key reference for my job and promotion applications, and we have maintained a strong connection over the years. I would not be where I am today without his unwavering support, and I am deeply grateful for our enduring friendship.

You cannot fully appreciate someone’s good qualities without acknowledging at least one flaw, as no one is perfect. Laszlo is quite possibly one of the most stubborn people I have ever met. However, this stubbornness has served him well. The resilience and determination required to move to a new country, to establish a lab, not only to secure funding, but to continuously maintain it over the decades is an achievement that couldn’t have been accomplished without a strong will. The perfection he demanded in every aspect of his work resulted in the extraordinary quality of scientific research he has produced throughout his career.

If I had to describe Laszlo in one word, it would be generous. He is remarkably generous with his time, his knowledge, and his care for those around him. I have never met anyone else who can cite papers with such precision—recalling authors, years, and exact details effortlessly. His generosity extends to how he treats his students, lab members, friends and guests. As a mentor, he creates opportunities and forges paths for others. I would like to think I have been fortunate enough to learn these traits from him—how to mentor and shape future generations. Since I cannot possibly repay him, I am paying it forward.