Mufarrah Mehboob, a PhD student from the Institute of Microbiology of the CAS and the Faculty of Science of Charles University, is one of this year’s recipients of the Martina Roeselová Memorial Fellowship, which financially supports young scientists caring for preschool children. The IOCB Tech Foundation has awarded ten new grant recipients for 2025 who will receive a scholarship of CZK 150,000 next year.
The fellowship is aimed at postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers actively working in the field of natural sciences at universities and non-university research institutions in the Czech Republic who are also caregivers to preschool-aged children. This financial support is intended to cover childcare services, enabling these scientists to continue their studies or research without losing touch with the global scientific community during early parenthood.
“The IOCB Tech Foundation aims to support the development of science, which inherently requires supporting scientists, including those at the start of their careers. Preparing for a future in science or launching a research career often coincides with starting a family and raising small children. It’s a shame and a failure of our society that better conditions aren’t created for young scientists to successfully combine both. Through this fellowship, which annually supports ten promising talents in Czech science, we aim to help address this gap,” explains Barbara Eignerová, Chair of the Managing Board of the IOCB Tech Foundation.
One of this year’s recipients of the Martina Roeselová Memorial Fellowship is Mufarrah Mehboob, originally from Pakistan, who works at the Institute of Microbiology of the CAS and is a PhD student at Charles University. She currently lives in Prague with her elder child, while her younger son remains in Pakistan, awaiting reunification. Her research examines the role of ABCF proteins in Streptomyces, a genus of antibiotic-producing bacteria. She focuses on ABCF proteins encoded within biosynthetic gene clusters and their role in antibiotic signaling cascades. The aim is to uncover how these proteins mediate communication between ribosome-bound antibiotics and gene expression, influencing antibiotic biosynthesis. Her key goal is to clarify the function, environmental significance, and prevalence of ABCF-mediated antibiotic-responsive signaling pathways.
Congratulations on receiving the fellowship and we wish you many successes in your scientific career!
Source: NF IOCB Tech