Jan Dobeš
Jan was born in Valašské Meziříčí and grew up in Moravian Wallachia, located in the Czech Republic. He pursued his Ph.D. studies at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Prague, where he worked in Dominik Filipp’s laboratory, focusing on research related to immune tolerance and intestinal autoimmunity. Subsequently, he continued his academic journey by joining the laboratory of Jakub Abramson at the Weizmann Institute of Science for his postdoctoral training. During this period, his research revolved around studying the interaction between hosts and pathogens and examining how innate lymphoid cells regulate adaptive immune responses.
In the year 2021, he achieved the position of principal investigator at the Department of Cell Biology within the Faculty of Science at Charles University.
Tomáš Brabec
Tomáš was born in Prague, Czech Republic, and he remained in Prague for both his undergraduate and Ph.D. studies. He initially pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in general biology, followed by a Master of Science degree in immunology, both at the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague.
During his undergraduate studies, he became a part of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics of Development at the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, working under the guidance of Lenka Libusová. Subsequently, for his Master’s studies, he transitioned to the Laboratory of Immunobiology at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, led by Dominik Filipp. This is where he also completed his Ph.D. studies.
Tomáš’s primary research interests revolve around mucosal immunology, exploring host-microbe interactions, and investigating the role of the intestinal epithelium in both host defense and the modulation of immune responses.
Jarmila Sekerešová Králová
Jarmila was born and raised in Třebíč, Czech Republic. She earned her Master of Science degree in Pharmacy at Charles University in Hradec Králové. Following this, she moved to Prague to undertake her Ph.D. studies in Immunology. During this period, she conducted her research at the Laboratory of Tomáš Brdička, situated at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
Driven by her passion for studying mononuclear phagocytes, she embarked on a postdoctoral journey by joining the laboratory of Professor Steffen Jung at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.
Her primary research interests encompass investigating the roles of mononuclear phagocytes in both health and disease, exploring host-fungal interactions, and delving into the regulation of immune responses.
Katarína Kováčová
Katarína hails from Prešov, Slovakia, where she spent her formative years. Her academic journey started with a Bachelor of Science degree in general biology, followed by a Master of Science degree in genetic and molecular cytology. She pursued these studies at the Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Slovakia.
Her professional career as a laboratory technician took off at Loschmidt Laboratories in Brno, where the focus was on specialized research in protein engineering. Later, she moved to Prague, where she assumed the role of a research assistant in Zbynek Kozmik’s laboratory at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Under the guidance of Ondřej Machoň, their research centered on the transcription factor Meis2 and its functions in the embryonic development of both zebrafish and mice.
Martina Dobešová
Following her studies at the Faculty of Science in Prague, she commenced her career as a lab technician in Dominik Filipp’s Laboratory of Immunobiology. Her tenure there spanned 13 years, with the only interruption being a period of maternity leave and the work in Noam Stern-Ginossar’s lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. Upon returning to Prague, her desire to spend more time with her husband led her to join his lab :-).
Tomáš Dvořáček
Tomáš was born in Slaný, Czech republic. As a pre-gradual student, he studied Biology and then Immunology at the faculty of Science of Charles University in Prague. During this time he was working in the Laboratory of Tomáš Brdička at the Institute of molecular genetics, where he wrote his diploma thesis about phosphorylation of adaptor protein PSTPIP2 and it’s role in the regulation of neutrophils. In 2022 he joined the Laboratory of Jan Dobeš, where he started his PhD studies. Now his main research aim is the regulation of cooperative antigen transfer during the development of T cells in a thymus.
Helena Böhmová
Helena is from Prague, Czech Republic. She studied molecular biology as a BSc student and then immunology as a MSc student at the Faculty of Science of Charles University in Prague. She wrote her bachelor’s thesis in the Reproductive Biology research group in BIOCEV, and has joined our laboratory for her MSc studies, where she now continues for her PhD studies. Her main research interests include anti-fungal immunity, host-microbe interactions and mucosal immunology.
Evgeny Valter
Evgeny was born and raised in Moscow, Russia. He moved to Prague to study medicine at the First Faculty of Medicine of Charles University. During his studies he joined up Dominik Filipp’s research group at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, where he had developed a keen interest in mucosal immunity.
Jan Věcek
Jan was born in Jablonec nad Nisou and spent his childhood in a village near Hradec Králové. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and pursued his Master’s degree in Immunology, both at the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague.
During his Master’s program, Jan conducted research in the group of Jiří Hrdý at the Institute of Immunology and Microbiology at the First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague. He also gained valuable experience through an internship in the laboratory of Mihai Netea at Radboudumc in the Netherlands.
Jan is a core member of the Czech Young Immunologists. His primary research focus revolves around gaining a comprehensive understanding of host-microbe interactions in tissue contexts.
Iva Pacáková
Iva was born and raised in Brno, Czech Republic. She moved to Prague, where she started studying general biology at the Faculty of Science of Charles University. She completed her BSc studies in the laboratory of Jan Dobeš, where she wrote her bachelor thesis. Now she continues her MSc studies in immunology.
Alumni
Jana Liberdová (2021 – 2023)
Jana, a former master’s student, conducted research in a laboratory where her focus was on studying how B-cells respond to Candida albicans. She has since moved on to her current position at SZÚ, where she works in the Department of Epidemiology and Microbiology.
Photos: Petr Jan Juračka