<p><strong>Vinicius Santana, a Brazilian scientist exploring the area right between physics and chemistry, specifically the application of electron spin resonance (ESR), has been part of the Magneto-Optical and THz Spectroscopy group at <a href="https://lcms.cz/companies/36">CEITEC</a> BUT led by Petr Neugebauer since 2018. The talented young scientist explains how he got into this highly interdisciplinary research and speaks about his plans now that he has been awarded the prestigious JUNIOR STAR 2024 grant by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (GAČR).</strong></p>
<h3><strong>How long have you been in Brno and how did you get here?</strong></h3>
<p>I arrived in Brno in January 2018 to join Petr Neugebauer’s group. He had just gotten his ERC Starting Grant to develop a high-frequency high-field electron spin resonance (HF-ESR) spectrometer, the only of its kind in the Czech Republic and, to some extent, with worldwide unique capabilities of fast frequency sweeps for studying spin dynamics. It was an incredible journey where I participated in the construction of the new spectrometer from scratch. Before coming, in September 2017, I submitted a project to the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MCSA) for the mobility of international researchers. The project was not selected, although it was considered excellent. Therefore, it was funded by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports via the European Social Fund. Since then, I have dedicated my time to the application of ESR to solve problems in different scientific fields with a focus on molecular magnetism.</p>
<h3><strong>Could you describe your current research projects?</strong></h3>
<p>I collaborate with different groups and projects to use ESR for tracking radicals in chemical reactions and in the study of charge transfer in catalytical processes. This technique is sometimes the only resource to explain mechanisms that lead to the optimization of systems with relevance in everyday life, such as new drugs, water treatment, and novel technological materials. I also participate in collaborations where I help to characterize defects and dopants in oxides with different purposes, such as dyes, piezoelectrics and catalysts. I am currently a team member in a GAČR EXPRO project aimed at enhancing the NMR techniques using ESR, with an impact on medical diagnostics, and in another GAČR Standard aimed at preparing, characterizing, and depositing new single-molecule magnets (SMMs) on surfaces. These compounds are promising candidates to substitute large magnetic domains in storage devices with molecular units capable of storing one bit of information, drastically improving the storage density and efficiency. I have a bachelor, master and PhD in Physics. However, I have always worked at the intersection of physics and chemistry, characterizing new materials and particularly interested in the signatures of magnetic phenomena in electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra. My focus is on molecular crystals, particularly those where arrays of spins in molecules give rise to different quantum phases that can be controlled externally by the application of a magnetic field.</p>
<p><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/CEITEC_VUT_Vaclav_Konicek_Vedu_delaji_lide_a_lidi_pohani_vasen_Vasen_sama_ale_pro_dobrou_vedu_nestaci_rika_Vinicius_Santana_1_a95bcef368.jpg" alt="CEITEC/BUT/Václav Koníček: Science is made by people and people are driven by passion. However, passion alone is not enough, says Vinicius Santana"/></p>
<h3><strong>You have been awarded the JUNIOR STAR 2024 grant for one of your projects. What does that mean to you and your project?</strong></h3>
<p>It is a great opportunity to push forward my career from a junior postdoc researcher to a junior group leader. I really enjoy the laboratory work and data analysis and I intend to keep performing these tasks. But it is great to be able to coordinate a team that will work with me towards the aim of the project, which is related to the production and characterization of suitable molecular crystals with weakly coupled spins to demonstrate/reveal exotic phenomena, quantum entanglement and phase transitions. I am proposing to modulate the interaction between molecules in a crystal by varying the magnitude of the interaction among them, creating different networks of entangled molecules. This will be done by pushing forward methodologies in ESR in a wide range of frequencies and at high magnetic fields. What motivates me in my work, which is actually what got me to come to this field in the first place, is to explain unexpected features in the classical ESR spectra of magnetic materials. The outputs can also be helpful to people working in the field of molecular magnetism, providing new methodologies in ESR to explain the behaviour and the observed data in novel compounds. We will also develop new sample holders, so the project is a synergic interaction between engineering, physics, and chemistry. One of the goals of the project is to show that there are quantum phases in these molecular crystals that can be tuned by the orientation of an external magnetic field and to study the spin dynamics in these phases to demonstrate that they have an enhanced coherence time, with a potential application of these systems as quantum bits.</p>
<h3><strong>Could you describe the potential practical applications of your research?</strong></h3>
<p>The long-term goal and my vision with this project are to produce and characterize new molecules that can have a potential application as quantum bits (qubits), which are the basic units of a quantum computer. This technology will transform various aspects of society by enabling faster and more efficient computation, secure communication, and precise sensing. Materials for that purpose must have an enhanced coherence time, which is the time it can hold a given quantum state, enabling logical operations. We will design and characterize many new compounds that could eventually reach benchmark results.</p>
<p><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/CEITEC_VUT_Vaclav_Konicek_Vedu_delaji_lide_a_lidi_pohani_vasen_Vasen_sama_ale_pro_dobrou_vedu_nestaci_rika_Vinicius_Santana_2_27245d9024.jpg" alt="CEITEC/BUT/Václav Koníček: Science is made by people and people are driven by passion. However, passion alone is not enough, says Vinicius Santana"/></p>
<h3><strong>Last but not least, what do you think is most important in a researcher’s work?</strong></h3>
<p>It is important to remember that science is made by people, and we are all driven by passion. However, passion alone is not enough to attract good people to the project. Having a work-life balance and enough time to think deeply about the problems we face in research is just as important as working hard. The conditions around the work are extremely relevant when it comes to our well-being as well as our performance. <a href="https://lcms.cz/companies/36"><strong>CEITEC</strong></a>, for example, provides an excellent environment, it has an excellent infrastructure so that we can focus mostly on our research work, and this is really great. I see a trend that is now getting a lot of attention about the mental health of postdocs around the globe, to improve working conditions, salaries and so on. The Nature group has published a series of articles on that (<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03298-7">Postdocs are pushing back against low pay and conditions - more institutions must take heed</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03296-9">Falling behind: postdocs in their thirties tire of putting life on hold</a>). And I believe that is an important topic to discuss if we want the young new generations to feel attracted to do basic and applied research, as it is the only way to push society forward.</p>
<p>Another very important thing is cooperation. Excellent work can only be achieved by means of collaboration. Big and complex problems usually require various expertise that is often spread among different groups, which can be in different cities or countries. High-level publications are usually the output of these interactions. I value this a lot and that is why, in my project, I have engaged many collaborators from different backgrounds to help guarantee the success of my team’s outputs.</p>


Science is made by people and people are driven by passion. However, passion alone is not enough, says Vinicius Santana

<p><strong>One of the <a href="https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/actions/postdoctoral-fellowships"><strong>Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA-FP)</strong></a> schemes that supports the training of early career scientists with an emphasis on comprehensive professional and career development helped <a href="https://www.ceitec.eu/william-shakespeare-morton-ph-d/u94475"><strong>William S. Morton</strong></a> from <a href="https://vacha.ceitec.cz"><strong>Robert Vácha’s research group</strong></a> to fund his research at <a href="https://lcms.labrulez.com/companies/36"><strong>CEITEC</strong></a> Masaryk University. The new call for MSCA-FP applications opens on April 10, 2024, so we wanted to learn first-hand from both William and Robert about pros and cons of this funding and find out more about this young American scientist’s motivations to do science in Brno, as William travelled across half of Europe from his last posting, and money did not play a major role.</strong></p>
<h5><strong>William, when we met you told me you were doing “fake biology” and “fake physics”. Can you explain what you mean by “fake”?</strong></h5>
<p>If we wanted to see what happens when we drop a plate of spaghetti on the floor, we could use pasta. Instead, we could use pieces of string that are the same size, or maybe cut up elastic bands. These wouldn’t be the same as using pasta, but it would be an approximation. We could then control the conditions by tuning the exact length or material. My job is similar. Scientists at CEITEC perform a lot of cutting-edge research on proteins, and I make representations to isolate a specific property. Then we figure out if theories about our fake proteins are comparable to the real thing.</p>
<h5><strong>How did your journey to Brno and CEITEC begin?</strong></h5>
<p>I came here for an internship in 2022, during peak COVID times. My supervisor had worked with Robert when they were both at Cambridge and thought he would be the expert to help me with some computer simulations. Later, Robert mentioned the possibility of me coming to CEITEC for a postdoc. I was halfway through writing up my thesis when we called for the interview. We talked for a while and eventually I asked when he would like me to start this project. We were chatting on Thursday, and he said, ‘Monday would be great’. I thought he was kidding; he wasn&#39;t.</p>
<p> <strong>Robert Vácha:</strong> Recommendations within the scientific community are extremely important. I always try to find new members of my group through someone I can rely on to recommend a good candidate. At that time, William was working with Stefano Angioletti-Uberti, who was doing simulations with polymers and nanoparticles. William had become interested in nanoparticles in contact with membranes and we have a lot of experience with that. Stefano put us in touch so that William could learn how to simulate such systems and so he came to us for an internship. A year later, we were starting a project in which the experiments were already done but the simulations with a model at the level William was working on were missing. Therefore, he was an ideal candidate and it was also an opportunity for him to get involved in an already running project. But we needed to get the simulations done as soon as possible, so I was in a hurry for his arrival.</p>
<h5><strong>What was the one thing that made you decide to come to Brno?</strong></h5>
<p>There were multiple aspects: The first one was being able to work continuously with Robert and his group, a collection of fantastic scientists. I already knew that I liked the culture and environment around Brno, everything here is very accessible, and there’s plenty of outdoor activities. The last aspect was that moving here terrified me. To put myself in the middle of a whole bunch of real biologists who are all speaking Czech? But eventually I thought, ‘cool, I think I can do this’.</p>
<h5><strong>At what point did the MSCA funding come into play?</strong></h5>
<p>It will likely come in May, I&#39;ve not signed the contract yet, the European Union still has it. But to be precise, my research will be funded by European Research Agency (ERA) as part of the Horizon Wider Area Talents program. The MSCA-PF reviewers give your grant a score from 0–100. If your score is above the cutoff for the category you’ve applied to, you earn the MSCA. This year for life sciences, the cutoff was 94.4%. If you receive above 90% on an application for the Czech Republic (the exact value varies in each area), then your grant will be funded by the ERA as part of the Horizon Wider Area Talents program. And that was my case.</p>
<h5><strong>How did you learn about the MSCA grant?</strong></h5>
<p>As soon as Robert hired me, he mentioned this. He had so many ideas of things that I could do. He pushes his group to do more for ourselves, and for CEITEC – like developing and teaching courses. It’s a great quality in a supervisor because it&#39;s hard to remember to care about all of those things at the same time, so it’s good to be reminded.</p>
<p><strong>Robert Vácha:</strong> There were several reasons why I recommended the MSCA-FP grant to William. First, the MSCA-FP grant is a &quot;brand&quot;, so in addition to getting funding for his own research, the grant is a visible item on any scientist&#39;s CV, and second, it gives a young scientist a taste of what grant writing is like (and writing a first grant is always the most difficult). William and I talked about the time it would cost him, but I knew it would be time well invested because I was convinced that William had a very good chance of getting the funding. In addition to his talent and knowledge, I knew he would be a great fit for the group on a personal level. That&#39;s why I&#39;m thrilled that he has received the grant and will be able to work with us here. After all, my goal is not only to have a group of great scientists, but to make a great team that will be a pleasure to work with.</p>
<h5><strong>Was it difficult to administer the application?</strong></h5>
<p>Actually, I wasn&#39;t going to apply for the grant, originally. I didn&#39;t have enough time because I started this position while finishing my PhD. I also didn&#39;t know if I would still want to be here after a year. Then a week before the deadline, I was applying for a different grant, and thought I was already writing one anyways – so I wrote it up quickly and e-mailed the grant office. Thankfully the grant office wasn’t too mad at me, but I know it put them under extra pressure. But the whole team there is amazing, and I’m still thanking them for helping me out.</p>
<h5><strong>What will be covered by the funding besides your relocation?</strong></h5>
<p>It covers my salary, which is probably the most important part for researchers considering this grant. But the great thing is you get a pool of resource money for research. With computer simulations, it can be easy to build something bespoke: custom. When it comes time to purchase something, say a peptide, that could mean that it is expensive. Having your own resources allows you to make these purchases, without the fear that your experiment may take away funds from someone else&#39;s.</p>
<p>Along the way, we can also help support master students who work for us by giving them some stipend. It&#39;s something that we can do to help the community at CEITEC – bring in master students to start learning these skills.</p>
<h5><strong>What are the requirements you must fulfill for the funding?</strong></h5>
<p>To meet the requirements, I must make good on everything I promised in my application. Writing the grant feels like a fever dream, so I had to look up what I wrote once I got the news. Apparently, I promised to publish three papers but also share my research at various levels throughout the scientific and local community. Reaching out to the local community is much harder but so much more worth it, and CEITEC offers a lot of opportunities for that. I think that is going to be the goal that I care about the most. I&#39;m really excited about the Sip of Science events in TED-talk style here at CEITEC MUNI. Me and my other colleagues were already talking about how to put our research into simple terms because that is the key to a good scientific speaker. And that, I think, is often unfortunately the last thing on anyone&#39;s priority list.</p>
<p>I also leaned into one of the stated goals for the horizon project, which is translation to industry. Opening this type of communication can be difficult in practice but is also part of my engineering background, so it doesn’t feel uncomfortable. I’m excited to start a project from scratch with the intention of making it translatable to an industrial field. Usually that’s an afterthought. I think this helped to set my application apart from the others.</p>
<h5><strong>Is being “different” an advantage for getting a grant?</strong></h5>
<p>In every example I saw, the focus is always on the scientific part, which intuitively makes sense. But there are other questions to consider: Is the research impacted by any gender issues? Do underrepresented populations have any place in your research? These aspects tend to get marginalized. I tried to produce arguments for how my research could impact and recognize different people. This is the hardest part to write because you want to be genuine but not pandering. I sent this part to most of my friends, academics or not, just to get as much feedback as possible. Getting their feedback won’t hurt, and even if there’s nothing you can change, you can at least be aware.</p>


Scientists should ask themself what impact science has on different people, says applicant for prestigious MSCA-FP funding

<p><strong>It is not his dream to be a Nobel laureate, he says he no longer sets goals. He says he is happy and has no regrets, and if an award comes, it will be a pleasant surprise, not the fulfillment of his desires. The highly successful scientist Martin Pumera, who heads the Future Energy and Innovation research group at <a href="https://icpms.labrulez.com/companies/36">CEITEC</a> BUT, celebrated his jubilee this January. And so, in a nearly three-hour long but energetic and very open interview, he also takes stock. What is the journey of the most cited chemist working in the Czech Republic? What does he have in common with the fairytale character Elsa from Frozen? And does an exceptionally talented man who has published a remarkable 900 scientific papers in his career even have time for a private life?</strong></p>
<h5><strong>Prague, Brno and Ostrava are all proud of your work. How far can we say the “Pumera Group” stretches?</strong></h5>
<p>Let&#39;s start with the hard stuff. Well done (laughs). I have to explain it a little more broadly. I am, of course, Czech. I have a Czech passport, and I consider myself Czech, but when we talk about the Czech academic system, I am more of a foreigner who speaks Czech. I don&#39;t understand it, even though it is expected of me as a professor. And I don&#39;t mean that in a bad way. As a student, I didn&#39;t understand the system, and right after I got my PhD., I left for America with my wife. Spain, Japan, and Singapore followed, and some 20 years later, we returned to Prague. So I am more familiar with the foreign academic system where this “octopus” style with tentacles everywhere is common in various institutions and labs. My boss in Japan, for example, had five positions in five universities. For me, it’s the fact that I care more about the people I work with than the position I hold.</p>
<h5><strong>However, your main work base is in Brno at CEITEC BUT. Despite the fact that you live near Prague. Is it worth the trip down the D1 highway?</strong></h5>
<p>It is. If I didn’t like it here, believe me, I wouldn’t be here. I don’t work where I don’t like, and I don’t work with people I don’t like. There’s nothing wrong with that, that’s my mindset. CEITEC is a rather unique institution in the Czech Republic, offering great facilities and, above all, freedom, which is not common. It’s more of a foreign model of operation. So I am glad that Director Vrba is running it this way. Although he is probably laughing now that I complain a lot otherwise (laughs).</p>
<h5><strong>What do you complain about?</strong></h5>
<p>It’s not even things I want for myself as much as for my research group. There are thirty of us now, but we have so many projects that I have to take on another twenty people. And I don’t have the space for them without us having to be spread out over three buildings. I need them to be together. So this is what we are discussing now, for example.</p>
<h5><strong>In Japan, they wanted to keep you after two years of your work. You were guaranteed a lifetime position, why didn&#39;t you take advantage of it?</strong></h5>
<p>That was a noteworthy achievement, even for the Japanese, and I could have stayed until retirement. It was the National Institute for Materials Science. I just didn’t enjoy the work. I thought, what am I really bringing to the company besides patents and papers? I missed the interaction with the students.</p>
<h5><strong>I’m sure you had and still have many tempting job offers. What makes CEITEC so special that you turn down other, even better-paying positions?</strong></h5>
<p>CEITEC is run in a great way, basically the American way. The group leader has his research and when he leaves, the research goes with him. No one replaces him in his work. The lab is offered to someone else who brings in a new topic. In contrast, the system that is common elsewhere in the Czech Republic, but also in Austria, for example, is that there is a professor and many associate professors. And they practically have to wait for the professor to retire so that one of them can become a new professor. By that time, they might be 55 years old and they don’t have the “drive” that they might have had when they were younger. For me, the most important thing is that my end “product” is people who leave my group and find success. They don’t have to wait until I retire, or die, to be in the top positions.</p>
<p><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/CEITEC_Kdo_je_Martin_Pumera_jeden_z_nejcitovanejsich_vedcu_sveta_1_e8ffc8de7c.jpg" alt="CEITEC: Who is Martin Pumera, one of the most cited scientists in the world?"/></p>
<h5><strong>Roughly how many people are we talking about?</strong></h5>
<p>I’ll tell you exactly. Nineteen former members of the group are now heads of research groups or professors. I’m very proud of that because the usual scenario would be to produce just one, pat him on the back, and send him to Germany, for example, and someone else takes his place. Piece for piece. I’ve got 19 of them, and I’m not done yet. I’m proud of it.</p>
<h5><strong>Are you still in contact with them? Do you know who’s working where and what they’re doing?</strong></h5>
<p>I have a map in my office with pins where my stars are. In addition to the group leaders, there are postdocs and other students of mine. All in all, I have about 60 stars around the world, and the rest are still here. And we do keep in touch, we call each other. I’ve also had a lot of people send me birthday greetings for my 50th birthday, and I was very touched by that. I don’t want to sound sentimental, but I have it set up so that I am responsible for all my students. At the same time, I see their success as my success – that I taught them something, and they didn’t end up unemployed. That charges me up.</p>
<h5><strong>And do you call them stars?</strong></h5>
<p>No, that&#39;s a new word for me now (laughs). I call them kids. They&#39;re all our kids (laughs). I have two kids myself, so it&#39;s the same at work. I try to make sure they grow up to be good people professionally.</p>
<h5><strong>Where specifically are your former students working now?</strong></h5>
<p>My first student, who had a Chinese passport, was a vice president in Australia, and now he’s the president of a big pharmaceutical company in China. My second student, with a Singaporean passport, is now the vice president of a pharmaceutical company in Singapore. When I travel to those countries, I always text them to see if we can grab a beer together. The last time, the Singaporean student and her husband invited me to dinner and thanked me. After my initial protests that I had basically done nothing and it was all her work and effort, she countered that my leadership had prepared her well for whatever she encountered professionally. And that’s the most telling thing and the biggest award for me. Not the articles or the research, but the accomplishments of my students.</p>
<h5><strong>Do you have Czech students in your group?</strong></h5>
<p>I had a group that was 50-50. Half Czechs, half foreigners. And it didn&#39;t work for me, because then they logically switched to their native Czech. I found that I worked better with foreigners, but not exclusively. I also have Czech students or postdocs in my group. But statistically speaking, there are a billion people in China, and the Czech Republic has ten million people, so what are the chances of a Czech applying to me? And that we will select him? Especially if I’m not offering a lifetime position? All I’m guaranteeing is that in four years, they&#39;ll have great CVs and, most importantly, the skills to be accepted anywhere.</p>
<h5><strong>There are people of different nationalities, cultures, and religions in your group. Is it difficult to unite them? At first, the only connection they have is their interest in science and English.</strong></h5>
<p>It’s true that I have people here from different parts of the world, and I don’t think there is a research group in the Czech Republic where there are so many nationalities. At the beginning they seem strange to each other – that’s logical – they seem strange because they are different. But then they get to know each other, enrich each other, and find out that they are normal people experiencing the same problems – they have families, children, and health concerns, too. That’s what I love about it. There’s a lady from China and a lady from India sitting here and they’re best friends, which probably wouldn’t normally happen to them. We live in a bubble of our own here with no outside pressures.</p>
<p><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/CEITEC_Kdo_je_Martin_Pumera_jeden_z_nejcitovanejsich_vedcu_sveta_2_575b2e0df8.jpg" alt="CEITEC: Who is Martin Pumera, one of the most cited scientists in the world?"/></p>
<h5><strong>What does a student learn with you?</strong></h5>
<p>The BUT specifically, but also the city of Brno, allows students to apply for junior grants, which is a great thing, and again, it’s not common everywhere. It’s like in sports. The student trains at these small races to see how the race works. He can prepare for it and then we increase his benefits. By the time he leaves, he’s a top athlete – he can write a grant. My PhD students can do a whole project based on an assignment – measure it, analyze it, and then assemble the whole product, that is, the paper, and sell it. And once you’ve mastered the process, you just keep copying it. That’s my strategy.</p>
<h5><strong>Who inspires you?</strong></h5>
<p>I am inspired by people from other fields. I started with Jim Rohn, a successful American speaker, then Jan Mühlfeit, former Microsoft CEE Director, and finally, I started listening to Warren Buffett, whom I quote most often. These are all people at the top of the industry who have a very wise approach to life. I learned from them and adopted a lot of things from them. Specifically, only working where I like and with people that I like. But I have also been asking successful people from scientific circles at various conferences what advice they could give me.</p>
<h5><strong>What’s the first piece of advice that comes to mind?</strong></h5>
<p>I mostly remember advice that went against my expectations. This happened at a party in Japan, and there was a famous scientist – now retired – Sumio Iijima. I introduced myself to him at the time, saying that I was a young group leader, and asked what advice he had for me for my life. And he told me to make contact, but not with old people like him, but with young people (laughs). That’s what a famous successful scientist is telling me! But on the contrary, I thought, you want to keep in touch with successful people. So I thought at that time, what is this nonsense? But it sticks in my head, and I&#39;ll appreciate the advice in five, ten years.</p>
<h5><strong>How did he explain himself?</strong></h5>
<p>The way he described it to me was that although he was a Japanese scientist, he had several contacts with scientists his age from Korea. And even though Japanese-Korean relations are at zero, he can call them anytime and ask them anything. He told me honestly. And that’s what I tell my people: I will always support you if you want anything, want me to connect you with somebody – I’ll do it, but the main value is not me, it&#39;s the people, the colleagues who are here with you. In a few years, when you’re elsewhere, higher up, you can turn to these colleagues, and you’ll know what to expect from them. You don’t have to talk all the time but keep track of where they are.</p>
<h5><strong>You can tell that mentoring students is charging you because we still haven’t got to your articles and research. Is that on the back burner?</strong></h5>
<p>Of course, I’m also charged by research because we’re doing interesting things. I like my job because I can do whatever I want. For example, we’ve now decided to 3D print structures out of lunar basalt for space applications. Do I have a grant for that? No, I don’t have a grant. But I have the money and I want to invest in it. And what’s it gonna be? Probably a couple of articles... but maybe the student who’s one of the few people to 3D print structures for future constructions on the Moon will be hired by Elon Musk or some multinational construction company. I don’t know, it’s a new field for us. We’ll see how it goes. But the point is, I can do what I choose to do. And there are many ideas.</p>
<h5><strong>You’re working on a wide range of topics, from nanorobots to electrochemical research, and now you’re talking about space applications. Do they have a connection?</strong></h5>
<p>Let me explain my research philosophy. Everyone just asks about nanorobots – what they do, how they work – and I’m tired of it. We’re not doing anything unique. We’re combining familiar things like Legos – but in a new way.  For example, every kid can 3D print today, but try printing an electrode. To actually make it conductive? We spent two years on that. So it’s always about how you use the skills you have and connect them in another field. And that’s a challenge that I enjoy. Similarly, we’re looking at generating electricity from vibrations (from noise, when walking), producing hydrogen, and storing it as ammonia; hand in hand with that, we are producing ammonia in a way that won’t consume too much energy. To summarize and get back to the nanorobot thing – if I were to just focus on that, I’d obviously invent a better nanorobot that moves better, but without applications, and that’s useless to me. Speaking of nanorobots, we’re, for example, focusing on detecting microplastics in water and upcycling them or removing bacterial biofilm. We’ve also been working on nanorobots for a space mission for four years. By combining research directions – such as 3D printing, nanorobots, space, microplastics, biomedicine, and energy – we are getting knowledge into places where few people can go, and we are benefiting tremendously from the combinations within the group.</p>
<h5><strong>You have authored an incredible 900 scientific papers, which is unique. What’s your driving force?</strong></h5>
<p>When I was still in Singapore 15 years ago, I had ambitions to complete as many projects successfully as possible. More like I needed to prove to myself that I could do great research. I know I can, and I know that there are better people than us – that’s okay. Now I really don’t care if I have twenty more. Warren Buffett doesn’t care about having twenty million more either (laughs). I’ve been told that I can’t have that many articles and that it’s a scam. It isn’t. I worked with students during the day and wrote articles and grants late into the night to fund the whole thing.</p>
<h5><strong>Do you have time for any hobbies?</strong></h5>
<p>I read a lot, mostly science fiction stories. Luckily, I have already created my sci-fi (laughs) – with those nanorobots and 3D printing structures out of lunar magma rock, so I don’t have to read anymore because I live my own sci-fi story. I also enjoy running and cycling.</p>
<h5><strong>How long did it take your wife to stop complaining about your working late?</strong></h5>
<p>That’s a touchy subject. About six or seven years. I’m really sorry, and if I could give anything back, it would be more time with my family. When I was writing those articles and grants at night, my wife had to watch the movies alone. And that’s how it was every night, unfortunately. Now, I often watch TV with her and the kids, and I don’t work until two anymore. I’m too old for that now, too.</p>
<h5><strong>Do your kids want to go into science too?</strong></h5>
<p>I don’t make them, nor is it something I would wish. I want them to be happy with their lives. Both kids are in secondary school now. But it’s funny how they hold up a mirror to you. They take on both positive and negative qualities (laughs). Oliver is going to be 18 soon, I went to see him at 10 PM and I told him: Oliver, stop it, it’s late, it will work out with the exam. And he said: But Dad, I have to, isn’t this what life’s about? Performance?” (laughs) Where did he get that rubbish from? (laughs) I don’t tell him, of course, but he can see for himself what Dad does in the evenings. So that’s why I try to slow down, too, so he doesn’t think a man has to work all the time.</p>
<h5><strong>You have celebrated your 50th birthday. Did you take stock?</strong></h5>
<p>In several ways. As Warren Buffett says, life is like a snowball – everything you’ve done adds up. And now the snowball has just started rolling, sometimes too fast, and you have to run away from it (laughs). So my wife and I made a deal that I would work for another 50 years and then we would enjoy retirement for 20 years (laughs). Then, I also mistakenly thought that my wife and I had just been jumping from an ice floe to an ice floe, not knowing whether we would land on an ice floe or fall into the water. We just moved from Spain to Japan, and we didn’t know what was going to happen. And I realized that it’s not like that, that I’m like Elsa from Frozen. It’s funny to be comparing myself to a fairy tale princess, but she was able to wave her hand and create ice. We all make our own way. As successful people say, we create our future ourselves.</p>
<h5><strong>What’s your biggest accolade? Besides your successful students?</strong></h5>
<p>When Richard Compton from Oxford went to get me a beer, despite his diabetes and difficulty walking, he said: Martin, I want to tell you that you do great science, and better than us. Even when I protested, saying they do it differently and brilliantly, too, he insisted. He finished by telling me that he would go and get me a beer, not wanting to hear any more contradiction. The human tribute is the greatest reward for me. He could have told the waiter or one of his colleagues. The most famous electrochemist in the world, my idol, is getting a beer for me – that’s all I need in life.</p>


Who is Martin Pumera, one of the most cited scientists in the world?

<p><strong>In April this year, the American cell biologist and Nobel Prize winner Randy Schekman visited Brno to give a presentation on intercellular transfer of proteins and RNA at the renowned Mendel Lectures. Before sharing his research with the audience in Mendel Refectory, he gave us an interview on the topic of science communication.</strong></p>
<p><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/CEITEC_Nobel_Prize_Winner_Randy_Schekman_Teaching_undergraduates_helps_researchers_learn_to_explain_science_dcf4d715ae.jpg" alt="CEITEC: Nobel Prize Winner Randy Schekman: Teaching undergraduates helps researchers learn to explain science."/></p>
<h5><strong>Mr. Schekman, in your speech at the Nobel Blanket in 2013, you mentioned that no one could have predicted the practical application of botulotoxin in the beauty industry. But if someone did, it could have been a great story that would have attracted peoples’ curiosity to the research. So, how bad is it when science communicators “speculate” about results in basic research?</strong></h5>
<p><strong>Randy Schekman (RS):</strong> You can always speculate but it would be better to go back to discoveries that we have now and anticipate the benefits. There are untold stories like that one. Besides, the practical application is not what motivates scientists. Scientists are motivated by curiosity of the natural world and it is this curiosity that brings these stories to the world. If microbiologists hadn‘t been studying how bacteria fight viruses, no one outside of the academic community would know about the technology that has led to cures to genetic diseases. But as a result, we&#39;ve developed the new technology of genome editing which will lead to a revolution in medicine and agriculture.</p>
<p>When I won the Nobel Prize, I was often asked what’s the practical application. But my work was entirely basic science. I only cared about how yeast cells work, and I believed that what I learned in yeast would apply elsewhere but I didn’t really care. But as a result of what I found, yeast turns out to be so similar to human cells in the way it manufactures and exports proteins that the biotech industry which was growing up in San Francisco Bay area was able to use yeast as a production platform.  Many years later, we now know that one-third of the world’s supply of human recombinant insulin and hepatitis B vaccine is made in yeast. Although I consulted for the company that did this, I never did any of the experiments to do the application in my lab because that would not have uncovered the basic cellular processes that fascinated me.</p>
<h5><strong>As a kid, you liked to go to science fair and explain what you discovered to other people. So, is it the personality that determines whether a scientist will be a good communicator?</strong></h5>
<p><strong>RS:</strong> No, it&#39;s not given. Most scientists are quite awkward [laughs] and not good at public communication. But those who are good really should be asked to help in that respect. There are some fantastic people who’ve given up on their own science to be public communicators – they should be respected and valued.</p>
<h5><strong>What helps you personally to find a way to the general public when you are supposed to explain what you do?</strong></h5>
<p><strong>RS:</strong> For me, it’s been teaching undergraduates at a public university. I think it’s really important to teach undergraduates. People who are smart but don’t have the knowledge base yet. And then, it’s a challenge to explain to them in a way that maintains their interest and understanding. And so, I think, all academics should be teaching and not just teaching professionally. They should stretch their skills explaining their thrill for research to uninitiated undergraduate students. I feel that all the time that I&#39;ve put into this has really helped me to be able to explain myself better. It was a struggle at first because I wasn&#39;t good at explaining but later on, I gained experience and now I enjoy it. But it’s not only about practice, it’s also about the right audience – intelligent people who just don’t know the basics and you get them excited about the process of discovery. We should all be teaching. Not only because it serves a purpose, but it helps the individual to learn how to explain things.</p>
<p>Communication both oral and written is very important. When I was in university, all I cared about was working in the lab. I didn&#39;t take classes where I would have enhanced by verbal or written communication skills. And at first, it was really tough. I was very awkward because I hadn’t developed my communication skills.</p>
<h5><strong>Scientists are usually so absorbed in their work in the labs that they don’t think about the importance of communicating to the general public…</strong></h5>
<p><strong>RS:</strong> That, unfortunately, will have negative consequences. If they don’t communicate what they’re doing to the general public, then the politicians who determine budgets won’t be willing to give them funding.</p>
<p>In the US, the scientific societies have done a great job. We have something called the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus in Congress, which was organised by groups of biological science societies. And they have a regular seminar series that the Congress people, but usually their staff, come to learn about what&#39;s going on. And they pick the best people in the country to go and give talks about work that obviously has a practical application and as a result, the National Institutes of Health has enjoyed steady growth all the time. Even during the Trump regime, every year Trump would put in for a big cut in the federal budget for biomedical science and every year that he was overruled even by Republicans in Congress because they see the benefit of an investment in basic science. And they wouldn’t be aware of it if scientists didn’t communicate with them.</p>


Nobel Prize Winner Randy Schekman: Teaching undergraduates helps researchers learn to explain science

<p><strong>Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. According to alarming expert predictions, its incidence is expected to rise by almost half within 20 years. The main problem is not the aggressive growth of cancer itself, but rather the invasion and metastasis that are responsible for most deaths. A research project led by Daniel Zicha within the Experimental Biophotonics research group and the Biophotonics Core Facility at CEITEC BUT is therefore investigating whether some of the drugs approved for other purposes have the side effect of slowing or even stopping the spread of cancer cells.</strong></p><p>For this purpose, they use a holographic microscope that allows them to follow the migration of these cells with high precision. The advantage of using already approved drugs is that they can be given to the patient immediately, bypassing the lengthy approval process.</p><h5><strong>You are collaborating with the BIOCEV Centre on a project funded by the GAČR; how did you come to it?</strong></h5><p>I have been working on this topic since 1985, so for forty years. My colleagues at the centre and I have a common interest in the study of metastasis, and our scientific approaches, such as light microscopy, overlap. We complement each other, and our collaboration has led to the idea of applying for a grant. At BIOCEV, they focus on 3D fluorescence methods, while we use 2D holographic interference microscopy for quantitative phase measurements. This technique allows us to measure cell behaviour more accurately, albeit on a smaller scale. What it means is that they do the larger screening, pick out the candidates for us, and we verify them in detail. We then delve into researching the mechanisms – how it works.</p><h5><strong>When we talk about holographic imaging, should I think of it as showing you the tumour? Do you see a hologram of it?</strong></h5><p>A tumour is three-dimensional; we can’t do that routinely yet. What we can do very well, however, is image individual cells that are detached from a tumour fragment and are on a solid substrate – a coverslip. The cell is spread out and we image it in a two-dimensional projection. We can see the exact contours, the distribution of the mass, and thanks to this microscopic method, which is compatible with living cells, we can observe their dynamics – how the cell moves and divides. Since we measure the mass distribution with precision, we can integrate the total mass of the cell and see how it grows and increases in mass.</p><p><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/CEITEC_Scientists_aim_to_stop_tumours_from_metastasizing_They_are_using_approved_drugs_1_8ebda473f6.jpg" alt="CEITEC: Scientists aim to stop tumours from metastasizing. They are using approved drugs." srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/thumbnail_CEITEC_Scientists_aim_to_stop_tumours_from_metastasizing_They_are_using_approved_drugs_1_8ebda473f6.jpg 235w," sizes="100vw" width="1600" height="1067"></p><h5><strong>You want to use drugs for this research that are used to treat other diseases. How many are you going to test? And what types?</strong></h5><p>Since both groups have been working on the topic of cancer cell migration for a long time, we know from the literature and our own research what the molecular mechanisms required for migration are. We have, therefore, tried to identify drugs that have at least some indications or are known to influence these processes. We have also consulted with pharmacology experts. We have identified 180 drugs, some of which are more likely to be effective, others less so. If the project is successful, we can expand the study.</p><h5><strong>Why have you decided to test drugs that are already approved?</strong></h5><p>There are cases where some drugs have been shown to have positive effects beyond what they were primarily intended for. For example, the drug Antabuse, which was originally developed to treat alcoholism, has side effects that are now used to treat cancer. This principle is well known and has benefited mankind on several occasions. The concept of using drugs to influence the migration of cancer cells came from our collaborator, Professor Jan Brábek. He coined the term migrastics, analogous to cytostatics. Professor Brábek came up with the term and is the leading figure in this field. We are co-investigators in the project.</p><h5><strong>At what stage is the research?</strong></h5><p>We have already started testing the drugs –we are first testing them on established cell lines that are easy to work with. These are cancer cells that were taken from a patient a long time ago and are established in cell culture, so they are immortal and grow pretty much all the time. Now, for example, we’ve worked with tumour cells from the 1970s.</p><h5><strong>So, the aim of the project is not to destroy the tumour with drugs but to slow down, ideally stop, the spread of the tumour and, therefore, the formation of metastases?</strong></h5><p>Exactly. As far as I know, this is the only project, which is surprising because it’s quite a simple idea, and very useful! Once we find something, the doctor can immediately give it to the patient. We can avoid that lengthy process of approving a new drug, which would take 10, 15 years and millions and millions of dollars.</p><p><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/CEITEC_Scientists_aim_to_stop_tumours_from_metastasizing_They_are_using_approved_drugs_2_39ab1dda33.jpg" alt="CEITEC: Scientists aim to stop tumours from metastasizing. They are using approved drugs." srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/thumbnail_CEITEC_Scientists_aim_to_stop_tumours_from_metastasizing_They_are_using_approved_drugs_2_39ab1dda33.jpg 235w," sizes="100vw" width="1600" height="1067"></p><h5><strong>Why are you focusing on metastasis?</strong></h5><p>When the cells are just dividing, growing, and forming new ones, the tumour only gets bigger in one organ in one location. This scenario is less dangerous for the patient, and the surgeon can address it by removing the tumour. The most dangerous scenario, which kills most patients with tumours, is metastasis. When the tumour begins to spread, the surgeon can no longer remove all of the metastases, especially if they are scattered and diffuse. That is why we are focusing on the migration and spread of tumour cells in our project; this is not sufficiently taken into account in treatment. It is surprising that all the development of chemotherapy is focused on stopping cell division and destroying cells, but no one cared whether the drugs affect migration. And no one cares even today, which is surprising but, unfortunately, true. It is much easier to develop something that will kill a cell than something that will affect its migration because you need a very subtle intervention. It’s not like hitting a cell with a hammer to make it die. It only takes a small modification to make the cell move slower or faster.</p><h5><strong>So these drugs could be used as supportive therapy? The patient finds out he has a tumour and starts taking the drugs to prevent its spread?</strong></h5><p>Yes, that’s the idea. And it could also be the other way around, that existing treatments would complement this important aspect because metastasis is more dangerous and can actually get worse during standard treatment. The surgeon doesn’t know exactly how far the tumour extends in surgery. He tries to remove as much as possible but mustn’t affect important organs nearby. So, there may be some cancer cells left behind. The operation creates a wound, like a knife cut at home. The wound has to heal, which stimulates the proliferation and migration of cells to heal the wound. However, this healing process is bad for a person with cancer because if any cancer cells remain, they will be further stimulated to grow and migrate. So, if we had a drug that would stop the migration, it would certainly be interesting to cover the surgery with it. Maybe administer it before the surgery.</p><h5><strong>How do you ensure that the drugs target the migration of cancer cells, not healthy ones?</strong></h5><p>That’s the subject of our research. Because it is an approved drug, we know that it will not have a dramatic effect on the migration of the cells that we want to migrate. Migrating cells in the body are primarily part of the immune system. When an infection gets into a wound, white blood cells have to come in to clean it up. We don’t want to inhibit the white blood cells, which unfortunately chemotherapy does because it kills them. White blood cells are cells that rapidly divide in the bone marrow, and chemotherapy destroys them. It’s basically a game of whether the patient or the tumour lasts longer. And this might be less drastic.</p><p><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/CEITEC_Scientists_aim_to_stop_tumours_from_metastasizing_They_are_using_approved_drugs_3_9e529cf237.jpg" alt="CEITEC: Scientists aim to stop tumours from metastasizing. They are using approved drugs." srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/thumbnail_CEITEC_Scientists_aim_to_stop_tumours_from_metastasizing_They_are_using_approved_drugs_3_9e529cf237.jpg 235w," sizes="100vw" width="1600" height="1067"></p><h5><strong>Do all cancers migrate the same way? Or will it be necessary to target different drugs for each type?</strong></h5><p>It could be different because cancer is a collection of diseases that have common features but also some differences. So specialisation is to be expected. Potentially different combinations of drugs could be needed. Everything is moving towards personalised treatment, which is another huge field we would like to enter in the future – where you find out what type of tumour it is, what type of person it is (= genetics) and prescribe a cocktail of drugs. In the meantime, we want to record some basic, general mechanisms that would cover a fairly large proportion of cases.</p><h5><strong>You are the head of the new </strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ceitec.eu/biophotonics-core-facility/cf391"><i><strong>Biophotonics Core Facility</strong></i></a><strong> at CEITEC BUT. What makes it special?</strong></h5><p>Our main instrument is a holographic microscope with an incoherent light source. This means that the source is not a laser as in the case of cheaper versions, but an LED illuminator, which allows for interference images more precise than in the case of a laser. This is key to eliminating the effect of dust and optical inaccuracies on the final image. This unique microscope developed in Radim Chmelík’s laboratory is the only one of its kind in the world. We have been using it since the first prototype and are now working with the latest model, which is also used in Prague, Germany, England and Greece. In the group, we are interested in living cells – how they behave and migrate. Our lab is also a service lab, we support other people’s projects, too, both in the academy and the commercial sphere.</p><blockquote><h4><strong>Project</strong></h4><p>Drug repurposing for anti-invasive anti-metastatic treatment - the pipeline development and elucidation of mechanisms (24-11903S), Grantová agentura ČR, Czech Science Foundation, 2024 - 2026</p></blockquote>

Scientists aim to stop tumours from metastasizing. They are using approved drugs

<p><strong>Researchers from CEITEC Masaryk University in Brno have made significant strides in understanding how plants adapt to genotoxic stress and subsequent mutations, specifically through changes in DNA folding. They discovered that when Arabidopsis plants lack certain auxiliary proteins, called histone chaperones, the plants adapt and adjust the composition of proteins that are necessary for the correct arrangement of DNA in the nucleus. This discovery may have implications for biotechnology and agricultural innovation.</strong></p><p>The nucleus of a plant cell is the control centre where DNA is stored and arranged in a structure known as chromatin. This is achieved by wrapping DNA around proteins called histones, similar to winding a string around spools. Auxiliary proteins, called histone chaperones, ensure that the DNA is properly wrapped by helping the histones fold and transport correctly.</p><p><i>“We discovered that when these chaperones are missing, it leads to errors in histone deposition. Plants adapt to this situation by incorporating alternative variants of histone proteins and modifying their chemical properties, so they mimic the original pattern occurring before the mutation,”</i> says Michal Franek from the research team at CEITEC Masaryk University. Defects in chromatin assembly are usually lethal, but plants are exceptional in this respect, having developed skills for adaptation. The researchers are trying to understand what triggers this adaptation as these changes help to keep the plant’s genetic information stable, ensuring proper growth and development.</p><p><i>“It was already known that errors in histone deposition lead to changes in chromatin properties and impact plant health. We are contributing to this knowledge by understanding how such altered chromatin incorporates specific (epigenetic) marks that are essential for regulating physiological processes,”</i> adds Franek’s colleague Martina Nešpor Dadejová on the research that was recently published in<strong> </strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcpro.2024.100795"><strong>Molecular &amp; Cellular Proteomics</strong></a>.</p><p><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/CEITEC_Plants_cope_with_histone_chaperone_deficiency_by_adapting_histone_chemistry_1_9cc875249c.jpg" alt="CEITEC: Plants cope with histone chaperone deficiency by adapting histone chemistry." srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/thumbnail_CEITEC_Plants_cope_with_histone_chaperone_deficiency_by_adapting_histone_chemistry_1_9cc875249c.jpg 245w," sizes="100vw" width="1280" height="720"></p><p>The researchers used sensitive mass spectrometry-based proteomics and fluorescence microscopy to delve deeper into this phenomenon. Proteomics allowed them to comprehensively analyse histone proteins, while fluorescence microscopy provided detailed visualizations of histones at the level of individual cells. The high-quality infrastructure of CEITEC Core Facilities played a key role in their research.</p><p>Given the sessile nature of plant life, adaptation to adverse conditions is essential and represents a key evolutionary tool. If research is to contribute to the development of more resilient crops, it is important to understand how plants cope with mutations and genotoxic stress and to what extent they are able to withstand environmental challenges.</p>

Plants cope with histone chaperone deficiency by adapting histone chemistry

<p><strong>Structural virologist Pavel Plevka, a two-time ERC grant holder and head of a research group at CEITEC Masaryk University, is looking for new colleagues to join his team. Even if you are not a structural virologist seeking an inspiring research environment, this interview is worth reading. Pavel Plevka explains his focus on studying human viruses and bacteriophages, his approach to team leadership, and the opportunities available for students and postdoctoral researchers who want to work in CEITEC's international and interdisciplinary research environment.</strong></p><h5><strong>Most people fear viruses and see them as something that causes problems. However, you look at viruses very closely in the lab, literally. What is so fascinating about structural virology that you have been awarded two ERC grants for research in this field?</strong></h5><p>Studying viruses through structural methods—nowadays primarily cryo-electron microscopy—fascinates me because it allows us to uncover previously unknown biological landscapes. Each virus is a precisely assembled nanoparticle, honed by millions of years of evolution to infect host cells with remarkable efficiency. By examining viral structures and their interactions with host cells, we can dissect the key steps of the infection cycle: how viruses enter cells, hijack their machinery, and ensure the production of progeny virions. Investigating these processes at molecular or even atomic resolution not only satisfies my scientific curiosity (laughs) but also holds promise for developing novel antiviral therapies.</p><p>I received ERC grants thanks to a combination of advanced structural biology methods and a strong focus on studying human pathogens. The scientific questions we address go to the heart of viral life: What does a viral particle look like, and how does it function? How does a virus penetrate a host cell and deliver its genetic material? How does it ensure the replication of its genome? How does it evade the host's defence mechanisms? How are new viral particles assembled from individual components? Structural biology enables me to answer these questions, and our findings may contribute to the fight against viral infections—an ongoing motivation for my work.</p><h5><strong>What was your path to structural virology?</strong></h5><p>I became interested in viruses in high school. When I found out that there was a virology group led by Associate Professor Jitka Forstová at the Faculty of Science at Charles University, it was an obvious choice for me. During my PhD studies in Sweden, I learned to use X-ray crystallography to determine viral structures, and as a post-doc in the U.S., I applied cryo-electron microscopy for the same purpose. Thanks to technological advances, cryo-electron microscopy and tomography are now the main techniques used by my research group.</p><h5><strong>CEITEC of Masaryk University is known for its state-of-the-art research equipment. What laboratory methods and technologies do you use to study virus structures?</strong></h5><p>As I mentioned earlier, we use primarily cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), which allows us to examine the structure of viruses at atomic resolution. Additionally, tomography enables us to observe the infection process within cells. Since CEITEC is part of the Czech Infrastructure for Integrative Structural Biology (CIISB), we have access to cutting-edge equipment that facilitates our research and allows us to keep up with the world's leading laboratories.</p><p>Beyond cryo-EM, we also use molecular biology methods for recombinant protein production, CRISPR-Cas systems for modifying host cell and viral genomes, and biochemical techniques that help us understand the interactions between viral proteins and their receptors or antibodies.</p><h5><strong>What is the future direction of structural virology, and what innovations can we anticipate in the coming years?</strong></h5><p>Structural virology is shifting from simply characterizing viral particle structures to describing the molecular mechanisms of viral infection. From a technological standpoint, cryo-electron microscopy is indispensable, as its continuously improving resolution allows for increasingly detailed insights into virus interactions with cellular components. Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) enables us to reconstruct three-dimensional structures of infected cells and observe the impact of viral infections in situ. For instance, observing how enteroviruses exploit membrane vesicle rupture during infection to enter the cytoplasm was fascinating.</p><p>I am also particularly interested in studying bacteriophages, which function as remarkable molecular machines. Our research explores bacteriophages as a potential therapeutic alternative to antibiotics, particularly for treating infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Their ability to selectively target specific bacterial strains without affecting other cells makes them a promising tool for future personalized medicine, opening exciting opportunities for integrating virology with medical research.</p><h5><strong>What do you consider to be your team's most significant achievement so far? Is there a specific discovery that you are particularly proud of?</strong></h5><p>I am always delighted when someone in our group makes a discovery, regardless of its perceived significance, as the importance of a finding is often subjective. This makes it difficult to single out any one discovery. However, I am particularly proud of our research on enteroviruses, where we demonstrated how they enter host cells and release their genome from the viral particle into the cytoplasm. Our work on bacteriophage structures and their intricate mechanisms for hijacking bacterial cells to produce progeny is equally fascinating.</p><h5><strong>Your team gives the impression of being a well-tuned machine. How do you collaborate?</strong></h5><p>I place great importance on ensuring that my research group functions effectively. Selecting the right collaborators is crucial; I strive to bring in students and post-docs who are internally motivated and capable of working constructively with colleagues. Clear communication within the group is essential, so I try to be accessible and approachable. As a team, we meet twice a week. One meeting is dedicated to discussing articles relevant to our research, while the other features two group members presenting updates on their projects. After this meeting, I hold one-on-one discussions with each presenter to address challenges related to their work and set future directions.</p><p>Additionally, as part of CEITEC's annual staff evaluation process, I meet individually with each group member to discuss their working conditions and professional development. To foster a positive team environment, we organize a non-work-related, one-day teambuilding event twice a year and hold several group dinners throughout the year, often accompanied by board games, movie nights, or barbecues.</p><p><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/CEITEC_Pavel_Plevka_Zadavam_kolegum_z_tymu_jen_takove_projekty_na_kterych_bych_chtel_sam_pracovat_8fda0a1b81.jpg" alt="CEITEC: Pavel Plevka: I only give my team colleagues projects that I would be happy to work on myself" srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/thumbnail_CEITEC_Pavel_Plevka_Zadavam_kolegum_z_tymu_jen_takove_projekty_na_kterych_bych_chtel_sam_pracovat_8fda0a1b81.jpg 234w," sizes="100vw" width="1920" height="1280"></p><h5><strong>What qualities and skills do you look for in new team members? Who are you currently looking for?</strong></h5><p>My group's research focuses on the structural characterization of viruses and their replication cycle within infected cells. Ideally, I seek colleagues with experience in virology and cryo-electron microscopy; however, such specialists are rare worldwide. Therefore, I am interested in motivated and curious individuals eager to learn structural biology and unafraid of working with human pathogens. I value prior international research experience, as my time in Sweden and the U.S. has shown me how it broadens one's perspective, though it is not a requirement. We are looking for PhD students and post-docs to join our team.</p><h5><strong>What opportunities do you offer to candidates who want to join your team?</strong></h5><p>Our team offers the opportunity to participate in studies on viral structures and infection mechanisms. I believe it is essential to assign only those projects that I would personally find engaging. While projects are assigned individually, I encourage team members to collaborate and assist each other in solving specific methodological challenges. A major advantage of CEITEC is access to state-of-the-art technologies housed in shared laboratories. The experts in these facilities have extensive experience with instrumentation and data analysis, significantly accelerating our research. The most relevant facilities for our group include cryo-electron microscopy, light microscopy, macromolecular characterization, and mass spectrometry labs.</p><p>In addition to research work, I expect each group member to attend one or two conferences or training courses annually. My group is currently involved in ERC-Consolidator BioPhage, the National Institute of Virology and Bacteriology (NIVB), and NETPHARM projects.</p><h5><strong>The fundamental trait of a good scientist is natural curiosity, the drive to "go just a little further." What scientific challenges do you plan to tackle in the coming years?</strong></h5><p>I mentioned my group's current research topics earlier in this interview. Our new projects build upon them and include characterizing bacteriophage spread within biofilms using light-sheet fluorescence microscopy and genetically modified phages; describing bacteriophage replication directly in cells using a novel system that allows us to bypass the need for complex preparation of ultrathin samples for transmission electron microscopy; studying the mechanisms of tick-borne encephalitis virus neutralization and activation by antibodies; determining the mechanism of endosomal membrane rupture and its role in non-enveloped virus cell entry; and we also work to resolve the structures of viruses that infect less-studied organisms, such as ciliates.</p>

Pavel Plevka: I only give my team colleagues projects that I would be happy to work on myself

Petr Viewegh’s Microcosm and Macrocosm

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Since its establishment in 2011, CEITEC has quickly developed into a cutting-edge infrastructure for research which performs highly alongside the best institutes in Europe. Among the main priorities of CEITEC are the promotion of a motivating and dynamic international scientific environment, the provision of state-of-the-art research infrastructure, and the policy of open communication and equal opportunities.

Petr Viewegh’s Microcosm and Macrocosm

Pavel Plevka: I only give my team colleagues projects that I would be happy to work on myself

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