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An introductory word from the Dean
Before we all head off for the holidays for some well-deserved rest and inspiration, let me offer of what lies ahead of us in the academic year ahead.
The current debate on the state of public finances, in which I am actively involved in various professional forums and platforms, does not bring much optimism. So, even during the holidays, I will continue to devote all my efforts to ensuring that the savings planned by the government do not affect the sciences, which are key to the critical infrastructure of the state. Unthinking budget cuts in science and research would reduce the ability to respond to major societal challenges, increase vulnerability to future threats and reduce the Czech Republic's overall prosperity and competitiveness.
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Support our video The Secret of the Drying Stream in the Czech Polymath competition
In a short video, Petr Pařil reveals the secrets of a hydrobiologist's work in the period when watercourses are drying up. He also introduces you to the DryRivers app, with which you too can map drying streams.
The Czech Polymath (Český Vševěd in Czech) 2023 is a popularization competition of the Night of Scientists, whose main goal is to introduce Czech scientists and their workplaces to the public.
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From July, ten departments at our faculty will be led by newly appointed male and female directors.
At the beginning of this week, the Dean of the Faculty handed over mandates to perform the function of Department Director, effective from July 1, 2023.
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AZ 800, a new university telescope, will be used mainly for teaching students of astrophysics and for astronomical observations. It is a joint project of the town of Ždánice and the Department of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics of the MU Faculty of Science.
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In the prestigious international QS World University Rankings, which were published on June 27, 2023, Masaryk University achieved a historic success by being ranked among the top 400 universities in the world.
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Dean Tomáš Kašparovský has presented awards to the best students of the MU Faculty of Science. This year’s Dean’s Awards were presented to a total of nine laureates in the Best Student category in a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree programme, and to eleven promising scientists in the Best Student category of the Doctoral study programme. Moreover, the award was also presented to a team of seven outstanding students of the pregraduate and postgraduate programmes. Congratulations to all the winners!
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President Petr Pavel appointed new professors
President Petr Pavel and Minister of Education, Youth and Sports Mikuláš Bek handed over appointment decrees to new professors, including Robert Vácha, who works at the Department of Condensed Matter Physics, the National Centre for Biomolecular Research (NCBR) and the Central European Institute of Technology CEITEC MU. Congratulations!
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The lawns on the Bohunice University Campus are currently blooming in yellow and magenta colours. This is due to two hemiparasitic plants, Rhinanthus alectorolophus and Melampyrum arvense, which not only bloom beautifully but also reduce the growth of otherwise dominant grasses and other plants. Research by scientists from the Department of Botany and Zoology at the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University has been focused on hemiparasitic plants and their application in nature conservation.
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A team of 23 scientists from Brno has come significantly closer to answering the question of how to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common cause of dementia and leads to gradual dependence on the daily help of another person. Experts from the Faculties of Science and Medicine at Masaryk University, the International Clinical Research Center and the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute believe that the research results will help develop other highly effective therapeutic agents for this 21st century threat to civilisation.
“A key role in the development of Alzheimer’s dementia is played by apolipoprotein E (ApoE), also found in brain tissue. We have discovered the molecular basis of the undesirable accumulation of this apolipoprotein and, at the same time, shown a way to suppress this accumulation of ApoE with a potential drug that is already in advanced clinical testing with expected approval in 2025” as a molecular biologist Martin Marek summarised the primary significance of the research. Martin Marek works in the Loschmidt laboratories of the RECETOX Centre at the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University and at the International Clinical Research Centre (ICRC), which is a joint workplace of St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno and the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University.
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My book shows that cooperation for the good of the whole and other principles that govern the functioning of cells in the human body are meaningful
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Jana Šmardová received her RNDr. degree after graduating from Masaryk University’s (MU, earlier known as UJEP) Faculty of Science . Between 1989 and 1993, she worked at the Institute of Entomology of the Academy of Sciences in České Budějovice. In 1991, she moved to the USA for two years, where she worked at the State University of New York. After returning to the Czech Republic, she worked at the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute in Brno from 1996 to 2003, and from 2003 to 2019 she was the head of the Molecular Pathology Laboratory at the Department of Pathology, University Hospital Brno-Bohunice. Since 2005, she has been working at the Faculty of Science MU. After her habilitation in Molecular Biology and Genetics in 2005, she was promoted to the Associate Professor and appointed Professor in 2010. Her scientific work focuses on the study of aberrations in selected molecular mechanisms related to the development of tumours.
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A workshop with useful tips and recommendations to prepare for the Renewal of the HR Excellence in Research Award was organized at the Faculty of Science MU by the HR Award Office. The main speaker and honorable guest was Mary Kate O'Regan from University College Cork, Ireland.
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Jana Klánová and Julie Dobrovolná, scientists at Masaryk University’s (MU) Faculty of Science, have been included in the prestigious selection of 23 most important Czech female scientists of 2023 compiled by Forbes magazine.
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Mary Kate O'Regan leads the successful HR Excellence in Research programme for the University College Cork and acts as Lead Assessor for the European Commission in HR Excellence in Research. Mary Kate is also a Principal Investigator on the Horizon Europe funded project CARDEA, focusing on the Role of Research Managers. She shared her experience and new trends in human resources management in research in a workshop held at the Faculty of Science at Masaryk University, including a workshop on preparing for faculty’s HR Excellence in Research Award renewal.
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According to the Research.com rankings, which evaluate universities and their prominent experts, Masaryk University (MU) excels in the field of natural sciences, and especially in Physics or Environmental Sciences, both in comparison with other Czech universities and internationally. MU also holds an important position in the fields of Plant Sciences and Agronomy and Ecology and Evolution.
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Today, the Karel Engliš Great Hall at the MU Faculty of Law hosted the Dies Ademicus Assembly of the Academic Community associated with the presentation of the Masaryk University Rector's Awards. The MU Silver Medal was awarded to Ludvík Kunz, the MU Rector's Award for Outstanding Achievement in an International Grant Competition to Pavel Plevka, the Rector's Award for Outstanding Students in Doctoral Programmes to Martin Toul, and the Rector's Award for Outstanding Dissertation to Barbara Kubičková. Congratulations to all the winners!
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Professor Jana Klánová, Director of the RECETOX Centre at the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University, was awarded an honorary doctorate (doctor honoris causa) at Örebro University in Sweden. On this occasion, she presented her research at a public lecture and discussed collaboration with several research teams.
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The Learned Society of the Czech Republic at its XXIX General Assembly on 15 May 2023 awarded medals for merit in science development and prizes to distinguished scientists, educators and talented university and high school students. The medal was also awarded to Jiří Damborský, head of the Loschmidt Laboratories of the MU Faculty of Science.
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Peter Fabian, a researcher at the Faculty of Science at Masaryk University, has been awarded the prestigious 2023 Chi-Bin Chien Award by the International Zebrafish Society (IZFS). This international award, recognizes Dr. Fabian's outstanding scientific work in the field of zebrafish research.
Dr. Fabian joined the Department of Experimental Biology as a new research group leader last year.
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In the spring semester, the world-leading scientists have delivered ten lectures - four were held under the umbrella of the Mendel Lectures at the Mendel Museum, and six were held at the MUNI University Campus Bohunice under the auspices of the Life Science Seminar Series. Researchers from MUNI have hosted a diverse range of scientists from the field of biology, medicine, neuroscience, and botany, as well as cell biology, genetics and biochemistry.
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Some departments regularly communicate with employees by sending a mass email or web news. These emails are sent irregularly and, in some cases, to a select group of employees. But what if you're not in that group, or if the information is not relevant to you? During the holiday season, it can easily happen that an important message is "stuck" among the newer ones.
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The first of the fabled first swallows to graduate from the MUNI Mendel Doctorandus (MMD) programme was a student of the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University Martin Toul.
Martin completed the program, fulfilled all the requirements and defended his dissertation in the European Doctorate mode. In addition to the diploma and the International Certificate, thanks to the support of the Dean Tomáš Kašparovský, he received an incentive scholarship for successful MMD graduates.
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IT services traffic lights
A new app has been added to the MU Employee Portal landing page to show the current status of university-wide IT services. In the case of an outage, you can check the MU Portal to see if the unavailability of service is already being solved. In the case of faculty services being down, we recommend using https://it.muni.cz/en/sci/the-traffic-light-outages, where you can also find planned outages with a link to the IT administrators at departments of the SCI.
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MUNI Day sets whole university in motion
Sports, fun and knowledge – this was the motto of the now traditional MUNI Day event organised for students and employees of Masaryk University.
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Ongoing Competitions and Awards
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Česká hlava
Every year, the Česká hlava company with the Government of the Czech Republic announces the Česká hlava competition for Czech scientists, engineers and talented university students. The winners are decided by an independent jury composed of representatives of universities, the Academy of Sciences and experts from practice. The prizes are awarded to the winners at a gala evening broadcast by ČT in prime time. The deadline for submitting nominations for all categories is 14 July 2023.
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9 Jan 16:00
Join us for an insightful lecture of Professor Robert A. Harris from Karolinska Institutet.
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25 Jan
Do you enjoy science and mathematics? Do you long for a scientific career? Do you dream of becoming a recognized professional in your field? Or do you want to teach the next generation of high school students? Then the MU Faculty of Science is right for you!
Come on Saturday 25 or Monday 27 January 2025! You will visit our state-of-the-art laboratories and meet your future teachers. You will learn more about entrance exams and how to avoid them.
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27 Jan
Do you enjoy science and mathematics? Do you long for a scientific career? Do you dream of becoming a recognized professional in your field? Or do you want to teach the next generation of high school students? Then the MU Faculty of Science is right for you!
Come on Saturday 25 or Monday 27 January 2025! You will visit our state-of-the-art laboratories and meet your future teachers. You will learn more about entrance exams and how to avoid them.
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13 Mar 17:00
 MELINA SCHUH
Mendel´s refectory in the Mendel Museum Brno
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20 Mar 16:00
PIERRE STALLFORTH
Lecture will be held in English
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3 Apr 17:00
REINHARD LÜHRMANN
Mendel´s refectory in the Mendel Museum Brno
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The editorial deadline for the next employee newsletter is September 30, 2023. Please send your articles in Czech and English to pr@sci.muni.cz and we will be happy to publish them.
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