Two IMIC scientists received Otto Wichterle Award. Congratulations to Tomáš Brabec a František Sklenář!

The awards ceremony took place on Wednesday, June 24. Radomír Pánek, President of the Czech Academy of Sciences, presented the awards to the laureates. A total of twenty-three researchers were honored, and we extend our heartfelt congratulations to all of them!

“At the beginning of their careers, our young, talented researchers need strong support and room to develop,” says CAS President Radomír Pánek. “Many past recipients of the Otto Wichterle Award are now recognized experts who are pushing the boundaries of their fields. This year’s laureates also have the potential to build on their success and become leading figures of Czech science,” adds Pánek, who himself received the award in 2009.

Among the young scientific talents are Tomáš Brabec and František Sklenář from the Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IMIC CAS).

Tomáš Brabec – Laboratory of Bacterial Virulence, IMIC CAS

How can you tell the difference between good and bad bacteria? Common gut bacteria are very beneficial, but distinguishing them from the dangerous ones that try to penetrate from the gut into the body is not easy at all. The human body manages this with fascinating precision. Immunologist Tomáš Brabec from the IMIC CAS studying how a child’s immune system copes with a Salmonella infection. The mechanism is better understood in adults, even though this disease is more dangerous for children.

Tomáš Brabec graduated from the Faculty of Science at Charles University and received the Česká hlava award for his groundbreaking discovery of a new type of immune response to bacteria in the gut. During a postdoctoral fellowship at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, he investigated how antibodies in breast milk teach a child’s immune system to communicate with gut bacteria. After recently returning to the Czech Republic, he began new research that draws on his previous experience.

František Sklenář – Laboratory of Fungal Genetics and Metabolism, IMIC CAS

Fungi of the genus Aspergillus are useful in many industrial sectors, but they also cause serious diseases. To reliably distinguish between them, a precise “map” of their phylogenetic relationships is needed. Mycologist František Sklenář from the IMIC CAS specializes in the taxonomy of these filamentous fungi and has made significant contributions to modernizing their classification. In his studies, he employs advanced methods of genomic data analysis and species delimitation.

He has already described 26 new species and has also helped simplify the classification of the entire genus. Accurate species identification is crucial not only for basic research but also for applied fields such as medicine, industry, and biotechnology.

František Sklenář graduated from the Faculty of Science at Charles University. He was part of the research team that won the Bedřich Hrozný Award, and he is also a recipient of the Purkyně Foundation Award.

Source: Press release – Prémie Otto Wichterleho 2026; Photo: Czech Academy of Sciences