He is the co-author with John Maynard Smith of The Major Transitions in Evolution, a seminal work which continues to contribute to ongoing issues in evolutionary biology.
Together with his mentor, John Maynard Smith, he has published two important books which serve as the main references in the field (The Major Transitions in Evolution, Freeman, 1995, and The Origins of Life, Oxford University Press, 1999).
Professor Szathmáry was awarded the New Europe Prize in 1996 by a group of institutes for advanced study.
He was invited to prestigious institutions, including the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin and the Collège de France.
Professor Szathmáry's main achievements include: Apart from the aforementioned co-authored books, he has also published numerous papers in important journals, including Nature, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, and Journal of Theoretical Biology.