Preface

In the seventies and eighties the profile of the Institute crystallized, particularly in the period when most of the laboratories were transferred to a building on Legerova street and subsequently when Professor Jiři Elis was appointed director (1984–1990). Research areas broadened to include the electron microscopic investigation of the cell nucleus and nucleolus, particularly in blood cells; the morphological tracing of nucleic acids; the morphology and immunocytochemistry of the thyroid gland and pancreas; mechanisms of local immunity, cancer immunity and graft-versus-host reaction; biochemistry and histochemistry of the eye; corneal pathology and the testing of contact lenses; the morphology of the inner ear and its changes under the influence of noise; the electrophysiology of the central auditory system; the basics of genotoxicity and teratology; the mechanisms and epidemiology of craniofacial malformations; and the testing of mycotoxins. While several groups and individuals succeeded in reaching a high standard of scientific work, the Institute as a whole suffered from scattered topics, a lack of internal communication and many other obstacles characteristic of life in the seventies and eighties.

In the beginning of the nineties, several parallel processes led to the harmonizing of the scientific orientation of the Institute as well as of its human capital. These processes comprised not only the change in the political situation in the country but also a significant rejuvenation of the Institute. In 1990, Professor Jelinek, Head of the Laboratory of Teratology, was appointed director of the Institute (1990–1994). The structure of the Institute was reorganized on the basis of a free competition of internal projects and further strengthened by its success rate in the competition for grants from the Grant Agency of the Academy of Sciences. The involvement of members of the Institute in both the teaching of medical students and in ecologically oriented research increased, particularly concerning the adverse effects of exogenous factors on the organism.