awards
Jaroslav Doležel Receives the Ministry Award for Research Jaroslav Doležel, the Science Director of the Centre of the Haná Region for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, received the Czech Ministry of Education Award for Outstanding Research, Experimental Development and Innovation. The globally renowned scientist was awarded for his extraordinary achievements in plant genome mapping.
“I knew about my nomination by Palacký University, but never expected to be chosen as one of the five finalists. All the greater was my delight. This is really recognition of our entire team’s long-term systematic work,” Doležel told Žurnál. He focusses on the study of the plant genome, its structure and changes throughout the evolution of plants, and development of new species. He and his team worked out new methods enabling
analysis of more complex genomes. He is the founder and pioneer of chromosome genomics to support mapping and sequencing of complex genomes and isolation of individual chromosomes. The research findings may have immediate practical application in agriculture. They are a foundation of new breeding methods that may increase yields as well as resistance to diseases and pests. (srd)
Immunologists Awarded for Collaboration in Development of Lyme Disease Vaccine
Karel Indrák Receives Prestigious Scientist of the Year Prize in Dubai
Experts from the Department of Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine succeeded in the Best Co-operation of 2014, a competition involving co-operation between companies and the research sphere. They took third place for their development of a vaccine against Lyme disease together with their colleagues from the Veterinary Research Institute in Brno, the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Institute of Physics at the Academy of Sciences in Prague, and Bioveta Inc. The competition is organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic, the Association for Foreign Investment, and the Czech Innovation project along with the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic. Michal Křupka, the Vice-Head of the Department of Immunology, said that the achievement is an impulse for further work. The most demanding task, clinical testing and registration, is still ahead. (srd)
The Minister of Culture and Social Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, sheik Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, awarded Prof. Karel Indrák from the Faculty of Medicine in Olomouc with the international Scientist of the Year prize in September in Dubai. His was rewarded Karel Indrák compared the prize to an for his research of congeni- Olympic medal. tal genetic disorders. “It is a prestigious prize and for me, it’s like an Olympic medal,” said Indrák upon his return to Olomouc. He appreciated the fact it is an acknowledgement by the international community and the decision of an independent committee which evaluated 24 candidates. “It is noteworthy that they acknowledged research findings from a country where this disorder is rare and had been considered non-existent until we began our research in 1990,” he added. Indrák and his Olomouc colleagues described the new mechanisms causing thalassemia and have identified new haemoglobinopathies. (caf)
The awards ceremony. Milan Raška, the Head of the Department of Immunology, is 2nd from the left. 28
žurnál 2015