Martina Roeselová Foundation aims to encourage life scientists to balance out competitive scientific work with good quality care of pre-school children.

To this end, the Foundation awards a financial contribution – the Martina Roeselová Memorial Fellowship – to selected scientists to commemorate Martina Roeselová whose life embraced not only a short but excellent scientific career but also raising three children and active effort to improve professional environment conditions for young scientists–parents.

Who was Martina Roeselová Martina Roeselová was a Czech scientist working in the field of physical chemistry. She graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague in 1990, earning a RNDr. title in biophysics and chemical physics. She completed her doctoral studies in biophysical chemistry, chemical and macromolecular physics in the Jaroslav Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry and at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics under Prof. Pavel Jungwirth’s supervision. Her dissertation thesis was defended in 2003. Then, Martina completed post-doctoral program at the University of California, Irvine and a year later she joined the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences where she worked till her untimely death. In the course of her prolific scientific career, Martina and her husband Marek raised three children. Besides, she encouraged junior researchers and strived to create conditions in the academic environment to facilitate a reasonable balance between family life and scientific work. Martina, who was not only an internationally acclaimed scientist but also a popular lecturer, mentor and well-liked colleague, died of cancer in February 2015 shortly before her fiftieth birthday.

History of the Martina Roeselová Memorial Fellowship

After Martina Roeselová’s death, Prof. Pavel Jungwirth and a number of other friends and colleagues initiated the establishment of a Martina Roeselová Memorial Fellowship with the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS (IOCB Prague) as a fellowship for Ph.D. and post-doctorate students who look after young children while actively pursuing scientific research.

The fellowship aimed to provide financial support to students or junior researchers–parents to cover child care services. The fellowship received financial support from Martina Roeselová's family and a number of other donors.

In 2017, Prof. Pavel Jungwirth, Martina’s husband Marek Roesel and IOCB Prague Director, Zdeněk Hostomský, initiated the establishment of the Martina Roeselová Foundation which took over the affairs of the future fellowship development.

People in the Foundation

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