New senior scientific groups will be established at IOCB Prague at the start of next year. Following recommendations from the International Advisory Board, the institute’s director, Prof. Jan Konvalinka, has decided to promote three junior group leaders. This move underscores the recognition of their research as both excellent and impactful. With the promotion, the newly appointed senior group leaders will receive increased financial support from the institute as well as more stable positions, while remaining subject to regular evaluations by top international experts.
The promotions specifically apply to the research groups of Hana Cahová (Chemical Biology of Nucleic Acids), Zuzana Kečkéšová (Tumor Suppressors), and Tomáš Slanina (Redox Photochemistry). Dr. Cahová and Dr. Slanina are recipients of the prestigious ERC grants, while Dr. Kečkéšová has secured significant funding from private investors. Additionally, a new senior scientific group, Chromatin Structural Biology, led by Václav Veverka, has been operating at IOCB since November.
The IOCB leadership supports promising researchers from the very start of their careers. By enabling them to establish their own junior research groups, the institute maximizes their potential for professional growth and scientific impact. “This strategy is a key priority for us,” explains IOCB’s director, Prof. Jan Konvalinka. He continues: “In selecting and evaluating junior group leaders, we work closely with our external advisory board, which is composed of leading international scientific experts. A key rule is that we do not support ‘inbreeding.’ Only candidates with extensive international experience and completely independent research projects can become junior group leaders. To establish a group at IOCB Prague, one must first succeed abroad. This path is challenging for young researchers, but it is the only way to achieve excellence.”
In addition to these efforts, IOCB is advancing its plans to set up joint laboratories at other scientific institutions. A new lab, created in collaboration with the Faculty of Science at Charles University, will soon open under the leadership of Czech-Israeli immunologist Prof. Jakub Abramson. The goal is to leverage IOCB’s resources to support top-level science and foster mutually beneficial collaborations with the best research institutions in the Czech Republic.
