Zdeněk Drahota and Alena Sumová Awarded Honorary Medals of the Czech Academy of Sciences (3.2. 2020)

On 29 January 2020, two prominent scientists from the Institute of Physiology, Zdeněk Drahota and Alena Sumová, received honorary medals awarded by the Czech Academy of Sciences from the hands of the President of the CAS, Eva Zažímalová.

Zdeněk Drahota received the Jan Evangelista Purkyně Honorary Medal for Merit in the Biomedical Sciences. Zdeněk Drahota significantly contributed to the development of the study of animal metabolism with a focus on the processes of energy conversion in the cell. Highly respected in the international biochemical community, his research into the basic mechanisms of mitochondrial energy function laid the foundation for the development of the study of mammalian bioenergetics. Knowledge of the structure, function, and biogenesis of mitochondria has become one of the main and highly successful research directions of the Institute. It has led to the establishment of several new laboratories, which carry out first-rate research into mitochondrial issues, from molecular structure to translational aspects of metabolic disorders.

Alena Sumová received the Vojtěch Náprstek Honorary Medal for Merit in Science Popularisation. Her research focuses on the study of biological clocks and time systems in mammals, including humans, which affect both physical and mental abilities and the overall setting of the organism. The primary goal of Alena Sumová and her group is to understand the impact of disruption of time regulation on human health during early development, in adulthood, and at old age. Alena Sumová often discusses this topic in the media; she gives interviews and commentaries on television and radio. She also works as a teacher, conducting seminars at universities and developing programmes for secondary schools. More

Martin Zápotocký Elected the Vice-president of the Organization for Computational Neurosciences (16.1. 2020)

Martin Zápotocký became the Vice-President of the Organization for Computational Neurosciences. on January 1, 2020. The organization has more than 2000 members from around the world and organizes annual conferences with 500-600 participants. The 2015 conference was held in Prague under the co-hosting of the Institute of Physiology.

Ladislav Vyklický Awarded the Prize of the Minister of Health (8.1. 2020)

Ladislav Vyklický received the 2019 Prize of the Minister of Health for Medical Research and Development on December 17, 2019. The Minister awards the prize for extraordinary results achieved within specific grants or institutional support in research and development provided by the Ministry of Health. Ladislav Vyklický was recognized for his project “Genetic and functional study of NMDA receptors focused on possible diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia”. The co-researchers are Aleš Balík (Institute of Physiology);  Jiří Horáček (National Institute of Mental Health); and Eva Kudová (Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry). Full report 

Vojtěch Kumpošt Awarded the Prize of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (5.12. 2019)

Vojtěch Kumpošt, who worked at the Laboratory of Developmental Epileptology of the Institute of Physiology since his bachelor studies, was awarded the 2019 Prize of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in Higher Education, Science, and Research in the category of Master Studies. He received the prize from the hands of Minister Robert Plaga for achieving results that contributed to discoveries in research into the mechanisms of epileptic seizures and were published in the prestigious journal Nature Neuroscience. Vojtěch Kumpošt was a student of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Czech Technical University; now he works at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.

Excellent Student Results in the Project "Open Science 2019" (22.11. 2019)

Two students who completed their study stays at the Institute of Physiology were recognized at the closing conference of the Open Science project on November 21, 2019.

Natálie Pořízková from Grammar School Postupická in Prague won first place in the category of Living Nature / Medical Sciences and Biochemistry. At the conference, she presented the results of her project "Study of the structure and function of Na+/H+ antiport systems in eukaryotic cells", which she completed at the Laboratory of Membrane Transport during her one-year study stay under the leadership of Olga Zimmermannová.

Veronika Musílková took third place in the same category for her project "Monitoring of growth, behaviour, and differentiation of smooth muscle cells in static and dynamic systems", which she completed at the Laboratory of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering under the leadership of Jana Musílková.

Congratulations to both students!