April 11, 1963 – Feb. 5, 2021
Westborough – Janos Pitlik of Westborough, passed away from COVID on Feb. 5, 2021 at UMass Memorial Medical Center Belmont St. Critical Care Unit. Born in Kemecse, Hungary, Janos was the only child of the late Janos Pitlik Sr. and Margit Ballai of Tiszabercel, Hungary.
Janos attended high school in Tiszavasvari and graduated from Lajos Kossuth University as a chemist and English-Hungarian translator in chemistry. He later obtained his PhD in organic chemistry at the University of Debrecen, Hungary, and then conducted postdoctoral studies at the Dyson Perrins Laboratory at University of Oxford, England and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md.
Janos was employed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, where he led a group of chemists developing protease inhibitors, including Telaprevir for the potential treatment of hepatitis C virus infections. During his career, Janos authored dozens of research articles and patents related to beta-lactam antibiotics and viral protease inhibitors.
Janos was an avid reader, loved history, and was passionate about basketball. He was also a lover of nature and enjoyed hiking and fishing. Throughout his life, Janos supported causes around wildlife conservation and Native American culture.
Janos leaves behind his two children, Peter and Viktoria Pitlik; their mother, Edit Tarcsa; and numerous family members in Hungary.
A celebration of life will be held in Hungarian on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 11 a.m., via Zoom:
Meeting ID: 969 461 3479
Passcode: 5atnwH
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to UMass Memorial Hospital Covid-19 Response Fund to support other COVID patients and the staff who took care of Janos during his final weeks.
