The goal of the Fund is to support Ph.D. students and postdocs in natural sciences who are seeking to combine a successful career in science with quality child care for their preschool children.

To this end, selected researchers are awarded the Martina Roeselová Memorial Fellowship in the amount of 120,000 CZK per annum. The Fellowship was established to commemorate Dr. Roeselová's life and work. She was an eminent scientist who before her untimely death raised three children and actively worked towards improving conditions for young scientist-parents.

Who was Martina Roeselová Martina Roeselová was a Czech physical chemist. After graduating in 1990 from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (MFF) of the Charles University, Prague, with majors in biophysics and chemical physics, she pursued a Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry and chemical and macromolecular physics at the Jaroslav Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry and MFF, where her advisor was Prof. Pavel Jungwirth. When she finished her Ph.D., she took a postdoctoral position at University of California, Irvine. A year later, she came to IOCB, where she worked until her early death. In the course of her fruitful scientific career, she and her husband Marek raised three children. She encouraged young scientists and worked hard to create conditions in academia for young scientist-parents to successfully combine family life with a career in science. Martina, who was an internationally recognized scientist, a popular lecturer, Ph.D. advisor, and colleague, died of cancer in February 2015 at age forty-nine.

History of the Martina Roeselová Memorial Fellowship

After Martina Roeselová's passing, Prof. Pavel Jungwirth and a number of other friends and colleagues initiated establishment of the Martina Roeselová Memorial Fellowship, under the auspices of IOCB. It was intended to support Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers who care for a small child while pursuing a career in science.

The idea of the Fellowship was to provide Ph.D. students and starting scientists with financial support to cover the costs of the child care. The Fellowship has been sponsored from the beginning by Martina Roeselová's family and by a number of other donors.

In 2017, Prof. Pavel Jungwirth, Martina's husband Marek Roesel, and IOCB Director Zdeněk Hostomský launched the Martina Roeselová Fund to guide the growth and development of the Fellowship.

People in the Fund

Founders

• Mgr. Marek Roesel
• RNDr. PhDr. Zdeněk Hostomský, CSc., IOCB Prague Director

Director

• Ing. Bohumír Valter, CSc. (valter@nfmr.cz)

Board of Trustees

• Mgr. Marek Roesel
• RNDr. PhDr. Zdeněk Hostomský, CSc.
• Ing. Iva Pichová, CSc.

Auditor

• doc. Dr. Ing. Jana Hodačová