A Multi-Generational Legacy Story
Magdalena’s life was shaped by survival, reinvention, and scientific achievement — including as a researcher at MSK. To honor her incredible legacy, Magdalena’s daughters established an endowed fellowship at MSK in her memory.
Highlights
- From surviving war and displacement to building a life in science, Magdalena’s journey led her to MSK, where her determination shaped a decades-long career in cancer research.
- At MSK and beyond, Magdalena became a hands-on mentor and scientist, inspiring generations of researchers through her curiosity, rigor, and unwavering commitment to others.
- Today, Magdalena’s legacy lives on through an endowed MSK fellowship established in her honor by her daughters — supporting future scientists and advancing research.
She succeeded, she thrived
Magdalena’s life was extraordinary in many ways, shaped by survival, reinvention, and scientific achievement. Those who knew her say what made her story truly exceptional was her commitment to others. She poured her energy into mentoring young scientists, encouraging them to pursue research, ask bold questions, and build careers of their own.
Born in Czechoslovakia in 1937, Magdalena and her mother survived the Nazi invasion by hiding in Hungary and Slovakia. Years later, she endured a communist Czechoslovakian regime, and when the Soviet Union invaded in 1968, she and her husband emigrated to Vienna, and then to the United States. Her daughters, Katarina and Jana, were five and two years old at the time.
“I think determination and strength were common themes throughout her life,” Katarina remembers. “I really admired her for that. She succeeded; she thrived.”
That determination and strength were fully evident when Magdalena began her work at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in 1969. From lab tech to research scientist, her contributions over her 21 years at MSK had a profound impact. “She was always proud of her work at MSK,” Jana says. “She absolutely loved working there.”
After leaving MSK, she worked at Lederle Laboratories and from there she joined Johnson & Johnson, where she ran her own lab. Magdalena’s passion for science extended beyond her own research. She was a deeply engaged mentor to postdocs, students, and lab techs who remember her as someone who was fully present working alongside them and modeling what it meant to be both rigorous and creative. “People loved her in the lab,” her daughters shared. “She wasn’t an absent professor. She was hands‑on, supportive, and genuinely invested in the people she trained.”
Establishing a legacy
To honor their mother’s scientific career and her impactful work, Katarina and Jana have established an endowed fellowship at MSK in her memory. The choice was intentional. Their mother believed in the importance of basic science and research, and she always encouraged young scientists to pursue their research and build labs of their own. “We want to support the kind of work she dedicated her life to,” Katarina explains. Her daughters hope the fellowship will help future researchers generate new ideas, advance scientific understanding, and improve lives. “She was always supportive of the institution,” Jana states. “Which is why we’re so happy to do this. This was really her wish.”
An extraordinary life forever remembered with an extraordinary gift. Magdalena thrived, and because of a gift in her honor, MSK’s mission of ending cancer for life will continue to thrive too.
