2nd Bilateral meeting with the Nencki Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw (17.10. 2022)

Seven scientists from the Institute of Physiology CAS, including the director of the Institute, dr. Kopecký, participated in the 2^nd Bilateral meeting with the Nencki Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw on 10-12 October 2022. The staff of the Institute of Physiology presented the results of their research, especially in the field of metabolism and neurosciences. The aim of the conference was to mutually present selected scientific topics addressed at the individual institutes, whether they were topics addressed within the framework of ongoing joint grants or possibilities of future cooperation, including services (e.g. metabolomic analyses).

above, from the left: Jerzy Duszyński, Agnieszka Dobrzyń, Jan Kopecký; lecture of Tomáš Čajka

bottom photo on the right: Adam Szewczyk 

Visit of the International Advisory Board in the Institute of Physiology (17.10. 2022)

The meeting of the International Advisory Board of Institute of Physiology of the CAS with the management of the Institute took place on 13 and 14 October 2022.  During the meeting, the members of the Board got acquainted with the organizational structure of the Institute, scientific and pedagogical activities, as well as the overall budget and the economic model of financing individual laboratories. During the discussions and visits to selected scientific and service departments, the questions of research strategy and further development of the Institute, start-up programme for the establishment of new departments or the possibility of participation in European research projects were raised.  The Advisory Board will help further with improving international cooperation and increasing the prestige of the Institute, with evaluation criteria for the quality of individual laboratories and with improving of the leadership of the institute.

from the left: Jan Kopecký, Bryndis Birnir, Adam Szewczyk, Pontus Persson, Marianne Schultzberg, Jiří Paleček

Enrico Patrono won the national round of the international competition Falling Walls Lab (6.10. 2022)

Enrico Patrono won the national round of the international Falling Walls Lab competition in Wroclaw, Poland. The aim of the project is to connect the next generation of scientists and innovators and come up with a breakthrough idea - a scientific project, a business plan or a social initiative that breaks down all walls and barriers. Enrico has advanced to the global final in Berlin, which are regularly held on the day of the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, 7 November 2022.

His project is about an innovative trans-disciplinary approach to Neuroscience. "With the collaboration of a physicist from the University of Hamburg, we are implementing a new in-vitro device called Brain-on-a-Chip (BoC), reproducing specific brain areas in a plastic chip. This new tool will allow us to model any potential features of psychopathology and to study in-depth and, on time, the specific neurotransmission. Furthermore, coupling with optogenetics methods, we can tackle the “spatial-temporal resolution” problem in Neuroscience, which is critical in detecting the main brain actors playing in the drama of psychiatric disorders", explains Dr. Patrono.   

Michal Pravenec received G. J. Mendel Honorary Field Medal (16.9. 2022)

On Wednesday 14 September 2022, Ing. Michal Pravenec, DrSc. received the Gregor Johann Mendel Honorary Field Medal for Merit in the Biological Sciences. Michal Pravenec investigates which genetic variants cause common diseases such as diabetes. He has gained international recognition especially in the field of genetics of complex traits in animal models. The recognition worldwide is also evident from the list of prestigious foreign grant projects he has received. In 2015, he received the highest award of the Academy of Sciences - the Academic Award. This was tied to a project in which Michal Pravenec and his team investigate how excess salt does or does not cause hypertension. He has also played a key role in the development of unique biological models and analytical approaches to unravel the genetic determinants of multifactorial metabolic and cardiovascular phenotypes at the molecular level in animals, and in using these results to understand the pathogenesis of similar traits in humans.

Dalibor Košek received Otto Wichterle Prize (27.6. 2022)

Twenty-five outstanding young scientific talents have received a prestigious award of the Czech Academy of Sciences: Otto Wichterle Prize 2022. The future generation of scientists under the age of 35 received the award from the President of the Czech Academy of Sciences Eva Zažímalová during a ceremony on 20 June 2022. One of the awardees is Dalibor Košek from the Institute of Physiology of the CAS. Dr. Kosek studies DNA transposons, which are mobile genetic elements present in the genome of almost all organisms. Among other things, they are involved in the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Dr. Košek has contributed significantly to the elucidation of a number of questions and is an expert in addressing the molecular mechanisms involved in DNA recombination. He has also described a mobilisation system that may have future applications in genetic medicine.