ANNUAL
REPORT
2017
1Annual Report 2017    Foreword
Foreword
Dear CEITEC Friends,
During this last year we have been able to
realize our achievements which were based on
a foundation developed during the very early
stages of CEITEC. Two key steps come to mind,
the first being the development of a culture
and support system which values international
grants. CEITEC has been very successful as
a recipient of both domestic and international
grants, and 2017 is no exception - to name
a few examples of very competitive European
grants: FET-OPEN, ERC, first phase Teaming,
and others. The second step is the continued
dedication of our International Scientific Advisory
Board (ISAB), and the willingness of the CEITEC
community to embrace their recommendations.
Each year our ISAB members spend several
days in Brno, which provides the eyes, ears and
wisdom of outside feedback to help us improve.
The value of such input is several-fold: it fosters
greater international connectivity, advises our
scientists on how we can be more impactful,
and has stimulated the recruitment of new group
leaders. We are very happy that within this year,
CEITEC has recruited and filled 8 new Group
Leader positions, which is detailed within this
report.
As we see the first of our PhD students
graduating, it reminds us of the development of
our alumni relations, and the legacy that CEITEC
will have through those who have spent part of
their research careers with us. Our goal is that
the training and experience gained at CEITEC
will serve those well, no-matter where their
career takes them. Our ability to foster relations
with other research institutes and universities
throughout the world, and R&D intensive
companies is vital to building a positive legacy.
Please find many of the 2017 highlights
contained in this annual report, which we feel
have contributed to a very successful year
for CEITEC.
Markus Dettenhofer
CEITEC Executive Director
Central European Institute of Technology2
Contents
1	FOREWORD
4	 ABOUT CEITEC
8	 BENEFITS TO THE REGION
9	 PARTNER INSTITUTIONS
9	FINANCING
10	 2017 – A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF CEITEC
24	 RESEARCH GROUPS
30	EMPLOYEES
36	 BUDGET OVERVIEW
38	PUBLICATIONS
44	GRANTS
46	 CORE FACILITIES
50	 CEITEC PHD SCHOOL
4
10
3Annual Report 2017    Contents
24
36
Central European Institute of Technology4 Central European Institute of Technology4
Central European Institute
of Technology (CEITEC)
In 2008, the Brno universities began
preparations for a project which would
concentrate high quality scientific teams under
one label. The idea was born to create a critical
mass of scientists and their teams, to encourage
higher standards of research performance and
PhD training, while encouraging interdisciplinary
investigations in the fields of life and material
sciences. The founders of this idea to join
forces are Masaryk University, Brno University
of Technology, Mendel University, University of
Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno,
Institute of Physics of Materials of the Czech
Academy of Sciences and Veterinary Research
Institute, which are all located in Brno.
Within each of these 6 institutions, locally embedded
teams were chosen and affirmed through an international
assessment. The teams which were deemed to have
the competitive potential for research at European
levels became part of the CEITEC project. The main
initial financial resources came from the European
Commission, with additional support from the Czech
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, where CEITEC
received 208 M € to found a Centre of Research
Excellence. This grant allowed for the construction and
development of new laboratory buildings within Masaryk
University campus in Bohunice and within Brno University
of Technology campus in Královo Pole, as well as the
purchase of a vast array of state-of-the-art instrumentation.
The project build-up phase of CEITEC was completed
in 2015, and thus an institute was created with ultra
modern laboratories which has also attracted new scientific
talent to Brno.
Within the individual institutions participating in CEITEC,
autonomous departments were established (CEITEC MU,
CEITEC BUT, etc.) which are financially independent of the
other CEITEC partners, but still operate under one brand,
cooperate mutually on interdisciplinary subjects, and are
linked to each other through the international CEITEC
PhD School. Research activities within the area of life
sciences includes structural biology, molecular medicine,
research of plant systems, and brain and mind research.
5Annual Report 2017 About CEITEC
material research. A concentration of scientific
instrumentation is housed within 12 core facilities
and technologies. These laboratories work as shared
worksites, not only for all CEITEC scientists and researchers,
but also within an Open Access system which allows access
for external users as well.
CEITEC, despite its short existence, has managed to push
the levels of its science to achieve greater impact, and has
built on a solid foundation which has become visible within
the European research landscape.
HEADQUARTERS
Markus Dettenhofer, Executive Director
Jaroslav Koča, Scientific Director
CEITEC MASARYK UNIVERSITY
Jiří Nantl, Director
Karel Říha, Deputy Director for Research
Radimír Vrba, Director
Pavel Krečmer, Deputy Director
Jiří Očadlík, Deputy Director for Innovation and Strategy
Radim Chmelík, Deputy Director for Science and Study Affairs
Vilém Reinöhl, Director
PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES BRNO
Jiří Smola, Director
Luboš Náhlík, Director
CEITEC VETERINARY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Martin Anger, Director
Central European Institute of Technology6 Central European Institute of Technology6
Science for Society
at CEITEC
CEITEC is a centre focused on fundamental
research often involving topics with high
potential of future breakthrough application that
contribute to the improvement of quality of life
and human health. Here are some examples
of cross-cutting themes where interdisciplinary
research has social relevance:
NATURE-INSPIRED MATERIALS
AND NANOTECHNOLOGIES
Nature-inspired materials are synthetic materials whose
structure, properties or function mimic those of natural
materials or living matter. At CEITEC, researchers develop
novel composite biomaterials that can induce the growth
of connective tissue on the surface of implants and thus
accelerate healing and improve the strength and biological
stability of the implant tissue connection. An example is
an invention of Lucy Vojtová’s team, who have developed
a unique degradable hydrogel that can effectively heal
burns, can be used to fill the bones, or even help with
the gradual release of drugs or chemotherapeutics and
thus influence the treatment of cancerous growth.
TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS
IN BIOMEDICINE
Inventions in biomedicine can vastly improve healthcare
worldwide. A unique method for the rapid diagnosis
of methanol poisoning by determining levels of formic acid
in blood serum, a new method which will help doctors to
estimate how patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia
and B-cell lymphomas will react to the latest treatment
or a new method for more precise surgical treatment
of epilepsy based on very high-frequency oscillations.
These are some of the innovations that have been
launched by CEITEC researchers (teams of František Foret,
Marek Mráz and Milan Brázdil respectively). And others are
still to come. For example, the team of Petr Neugebauer
is working on a revolutionary method of paramagnetic
resonance, which could help complete the scanning
of a patient and knowing the diagnosis in advance before
the patient enters a surgery room.
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
AND HEALTHY FOOD
Mainly research programmes Genomics and Proteomics
of Plant Systems and Molecular Veterinary Medicine aim
to tackle the problem of food security in the face of climate
change and other global changes. Research is focused,
for example, on understanding the evolutionary-based
strategies of plants. For instance, molecular mechanisms
in plants are studied to identify the possibilities of crop
engineering for better performance under limited nutrient
and water availability. Other examples involve studies
on causes, mechanisms and methods of spreading
infectious animal diseases with a special focus
on zoonoses, food-borne pathogens and hygiene and food
safety of animal origin.
7Annual Report 2017    About CEITEC
Basic Overview
6 partners
7 research areas
53 research groups
25,000 m² of modern laboratories
12 core facilities
Member of
EU–Life alliance
International Management
International mobility and a system of management are gained
from experience of the best research institutes worldwide
COORDINATION BOARD
The Coordination Board is composed
of statutory representatives of partner
institutions and external representatives from
prominent Czech companies active in R&D and
the best international research institutes
INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC
ADVISORY BOARD
Members of ISAB are exclusively
representatives of important international
research institutes
EVALUATION
Evaluations of the quality of research results are
conducted by independent teams of prominent
global experts in their respective fields
Interdisciplinary
cooperation
The combined knowledge and resources of the six participating institutions
ensure the more efficient attainment of quality results and higher levels
of involvement from the application sphere
Central European Institute of Technology8 Central European Institute of Technology8
Benefits to the Region
• Improvement in student education – predominantly in graduate studies
• Research laboratories for nearly 600 scientists and more than 1200 students
• Creation of new innovative companies and attraction of domestic and international investors
• Creation of new jobs in the respective fields of research
• Attraction of foreign experts and respected Czech scientists to the area
“CEITEC will signicantly contribute to a long-term increase
in the competitiveness of Brno, the Region of South Moravia
and the Czech Republic as a whole.”
 Markus Dettenhofer, Executive Director
BUDAPEST
BRNO
PRAGUE
VIENNA
BERN
PARIS
BRUSSELS
AMSTERDAM BERLIN
WARSAW
BRATISLAVA
9Annual Report 2017    Partner Institutions
Partner Institutions
Financing
Total budget of consortium in 2017was more than
€ 45 mil.
MASARYK
UNIVERSITY
www.muni.cz
MENDEL UNIVERSITY
IN BRNO
www.mendelu.cz
UNIVERSITY OF
VETERINARY AND
PHARMACEUTICAL
SCIENCES BRNO
www.vfu.cz
VETERINARY
RESEARCH INSTITUTE
www.vri.cz
BRNO
UNIVERSITY
OF TECHNOLOGY
www.vutbr.cz
INSTITUTE OF
PHYSICS OF
MATERIALS AS CR
www.ipm.cz
Every institute has its own budget.
Central European Institute of Technology10
2017 – A year in the life of CEITEC
January          
SHARED TECHNOLOGIES
AND INSTRUMENTATION
AS A WAY TO JOINT
SUCCESS / CEITEC MU
AND VIENNA RESEARCH
CENTRES OFFER JOINT
SERVICES (RIAT-CZ)
The catalogue of services that will be jointly offered to
corporations and academic institutions is being compiled
by CEITEC Masaryk University in co-operation with
the VBCF Research Institute of Vienna and three other
partners. CEITEC MU has obtained financing for the pilot
project that will enable more
efficient use of the technological
equipment, knowledge and
experience in the field of life and
materials sciences from Interreg
AT-CZ, the programme supporting
cross-border collaboration.
CEITEC MU AND OTHER CZECH RESEARCH
INSTITUTES HAVE JOINED A EUROPEAN
INFRASTRUCTURE
The Czech Infrastructure for Integrative Structural
Biology (CIISB) associating core facilities of research
centres BIOCEV and CEITEC for the study of the structure
of biomacromolecules became a full member
of the European research infrastructure INSTRUCT
in January. Thanks to this, CIISB has acquired direct
access to users from the academic and industrial sphere
of the European research area, to which they can now
offer its services and expertise under the auspices
of the European research infrastructure
INSTRUCT.
11Annual Report 2017    2017 – A year in the life of CEITEC
PROF. JAROSLAV POLÁK FROM CEITEC
IPM AWARDED ERNST MACH MEDAL
Prof. Jaroslav Polák, member of Advanced Metallic
Materials and Metal Based Composites Research Group,
CEITEC IPM, was awarded the Ernst Mach Honorary Medal
for merit in the physical sciences.
Prof. Jaroslav Polák is one of the leading scientists
in the field of materials physics. His lifetime work has
contributed significantly to the development of materials
science, has influenced the world of science in this area
and has achieved worldwide recognition in the field. His
most important contribution to world of science material
fatigue is experimental work and the development model
illustrating the initiation of fatigue cracks in crystalline
materials. On 19 January 2017 he received the Ernst Mach
Honorary Medal for merit in the physical sciences from
the President of the AS CR prof. Jiří Drahoš.
CEITEC RESEARCHERS
CONTRIBUTE
TOIMI-FUNDED
PROJECT FOR BETTER
CARE OF PATIENTS
WITH HEMATOLOGIC
MALIGNANCIES
Prof. Sarka Pospisilova and her team from CEITEC-MU
joined the public-private partnership with corporations such
as NOVARTIS, CELGENE, AMGEN, JPNV– JANSSEN, BAYER,
MENARINI and TAKEDA supported with an overall project
budget of € 40 million.
HONORARY DEGREE FOR PROF. BAUMEISTER
German biochemist and
expert on protein science
and electron microscopy
Wolfgang Baumeister, received
an honorary doctorate from
Masaryk University in March.
The current director of the Max
Planck Institute for Biochemistry
in Martinsried accepted
the award at the auditorium of the Faculty of Law from
the hands of Karel Říha, deputy director for science
of CEITEC MU.
Professor Baumeister received merit for the successful
establishment of the laboratory of cryo-electron microscopy
at CEITEC MU. This laboratory is a unique workplace with
state-of-the-art technology in Central and Eastern Europe.
March          
Central European Institute of Technology12
April          
CEITEC MU
RESEARCHERS AID
SEARCH FOR SLEEPING
SICKNESS CURE
The journal Science has
published the results of a study
examining new options for
developing drugs against parasites of the Trypanosoma
genus, which causes sleeping sickness and other diseases.
Scientists from CEITEC MU were among the members
of an international team to discover new ways of targeted
treatment.
The protozoa of the Trypanosoma genus cause a number
of serious diseases affecting both animals and humans
including sleeping sickness and Chagas disease, which
affect millions of people worldwide. The existing drugs
have a number of serious side effects and often fail to kill
all the parasites, thereby creating a risk of relapse. This is
why new and more effective drugs are needed.
“Our part of the research consisted of understanding
the structures and the minor differences between
the trypanosomal and human homologous proteins by
using NMR spectroscopy,” says Konstantinos Tripsianes,
the co-author of the study and leader of the Protein–DNA
Interactions research group at CEITEC MU.
SCIENTISTS FROM CEITEC BUT,
IN COLLABORATION WITH KAROLINSKA
INSTITUTET, CONTRIBUTED TO
THE EXPLANATION OF THE MECHANISMS
RESPONSIBLE FOR FACE FORMATION
IN VERTEBRATES
With their expertise in X-ray computerized tomography,
scientists from CEITEC BUT participated in common
research with the Swedish Karolinska Institutet, which is
involved in the development and formation of the face
in vertebrates. The results of this long-term collaboration
were published in the prestigious eLife magazine.
ZLATY AMPER AWARD FOR LUDEK
ZALUD’S ATEROS FROM CEITEC BUT
For the 25th
year of the AMPER exhibition the traditional
competition Zlatý Amper for the most beneficial exhibits
of the fair.
29 competitive exhibits from 24 exhibiting companies were
nominated for the competition. ATEROS – the autonomic
robotic telepresence system, designed for the autonomous
or human survey in inaccessible or dangerous areas
represented by prof. Ludek Zalud from CEITEC BUT,
was among the awarded projects.
13Annual Report 2017    2017 – A year in the life of CEITEC
May          
MOJMÍR ŠOB FROM CEITEC MU WITH
COLLEAGUES FROM THE INSTITUTE
OF PHYSICS, CAS, NEWLY ASSESSED
THE IMPACT OF IMPURITIES ON BRITTLENESS
OF METALLIC MATERIALS
The team of scientists from CEITEC Masaryk University
and from the Institute of Physics of the Academy
of Science of the Czech Republic (AS CR) have completed
an extensive critical overview of potential impacts
of various impurities in iron, nickel and aluminium
on material cohesion and its possible sudden failure.
The article covering theoretical and experimental results
of the Czech experts supplemented by available literature
data was published in one of the most reputable
journals in the field of materials science, Progress
in Material Science.
MAREK MRAZ AWARDED
BY CZECH SOCIETY
OF HAEMATOLOGY
Marek Mráz, an Associate
Professor and CEITEC MU Group
Leader, and his team have been
recognized by the Czech Society
of Haematology and awarded a special prize for a very
significant discovery in haematology published by the team
based in the Czech Republic.
The prize is for the best publication in 2016 which
describes a method of regulating the level of an important
therapeutic target in B cell malignancies, the so-called
CD20 molecules (Pavlasova et al, Blood, 2016, IF:11).
Central European Institute of Technology14
2nd
ANNUAL USERS
MEETING OF iNEXT
ORGANISED BY CEITEC
IN BRNO
The 2nd
Annual iNEXT Users
Meeting (AUM) was hosted
by CEITEC MU, one of the
23 project partners, in Brno. The conference aimed to
gather the iNEXT partners providing access to various
techniques of integrative structural biology (NMR, EM, and
X-ray crystallography) and scientists and users who have
been using the equipment, technology, and expertise of the
HORIZON 2020 funded iNEXT consortium. The meeting
was organized by Prof. Vladimír Sklenář with a focus
on strengthening contacts between iNEXT partners and users,
both academic and industrial, and on facilitating European
scientific collaboration on projects that target translational
research.
DIRECTOR
OF CEITEC BUT
SIGNED A DONATION
AGREEMENT WITH
RIGAKU, WHICH
WILL ALLOW STUDY
PLACEMENT OF CEITEC
STUDENT IN JAPAN
Prof. Radim Vrba, Director of CEITEC BUT and Director
of X-ray Research Laboratory, Dr. Kazuhiko Omote,
signed a donation agreement to cover the cost of study
placements of CEITEC BUT students at the Rigaku
Company based in Tokyo, Japan. In 2017, 2018 and 2019,
selected students will be able to engage in research and
development of X-ray tomography and imaging software
directly in Japan.
15Annual Report 2017    2017 – A year in the life of CEITEC
June          
MARY O’CONNELL
HAS BECOME A MEMBER
OF EMBO
Recognised scientist Mary
O’Connell, who has been
working at CEITEC Masaryk
University (MU) institute
since November 2014, was recently elected a member
of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).
The organization includes more than 1700 of the best
researchers in Europe and the world, and its aim is
to support talented scientists as well as to improve
the exchange of scientific information and to create
a European research environment.
NEUROLOGISTS FROM CEITEC MU EXAMINE
SOME DISEASES AND THEIR CONNECTION
WITH A NATIVE LANGUAGE
New possibilities for early
detection and more accurate
diagnoses of neurodegenerative
diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or
Parkinson’s disease, and
verification of a tailor-made
therapy are being examined by
neurologists form CEITEC MU.
In cooperation with their colleagues from Hungary and
the USA, using various methods of behavioural neurology,
they examine brain activity in connection with speech and
cognitive functions in various cultures, and the existence
of the diseases in people speaking various languages.
The research is being realised within the CoBeN project
from H2020 programme.
PROJECT AUTODRIVE,
IN WHICH CEITEC BUT
IS INVOLVED, HAS BEEN
LAUNCHED
Project AutoDrive, financed by
ECSEL Joint Undertaking under
the Horizon 2020 research and
innovation programme, launched its research activities.
The aim of the project is the development of technologies
for automated and automatic vehicles and their verification.
Automated driving is a topic which increasingly interests
the leading automotive industry companies. Moreover,
in Europe, development and production in the automotive
and electro-technical industries also have a leading
competitive power. Prof. Pavel Václavek and his team
at CEITEC BUT will focus mainly on the development
of systems for the perception of the surroundings of the
vehicle and the powertrain capable of driving even in the
case of a defect.
Central European Institute of Technology16
CEITEC BUT AND SOUTH KOREA’S
GYEONGNAM TECHNOPARK SIGNED
A MEMORANDUM TO DEVELOP FURTHER
COOPERATION
Director of CEITEC BUT Radimir Vrba, and CEO of South
Korea’s Gyeongnam Technopark Lee Tae-sung, signed
a Memorandum of Understanding on 27 July 2017 to
ensure increased level of cooperation on advanced
materials and nanotechnologies.
CEITEC INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE – NUCLEIC
ACIDS AND IMMUNITY
2017
The second conference
on Nucleic Acids and Immunity
organised by Mary O’Connell and Liam Keegan was
successfully organised for the second time in Brno.
The conference hosted over one hundred participants
with approximately twenty leading researchers from
the field of RNA research and immunity. The highlight
of the conference was the keynote talk by
Shizuo Akira. He is the most cited living author
in the field of biology. He actively participated
in all three days of the conference and many
of the attendees were delighted to have
the opportunity to interact with such an eminent figure
in science. The overall atmosphere was very positive,
friendly and full of new ideas.
MAREK MRAZ FROM
CEITEC MU NAMED
MEMBER OF EHA
Marek Mráz from CEITEC was
named a member of Early
Career Committee of European Hematology Association.
The Committee is an advisory body of the most important
professional hematological association in Europe, has six
members and aims to promote the involvement of young
scientists and hematologists in the European Hematology
Association and its annual congress.
17Annual Report 2017    2017 – A year in the life of CEITEC
August          
TWO NEW RESEARCH
GROUPS WILL BRING
INTERNATIONAL
EXPERIENCE TO
CEITEC MU
Two new research groups were
established at CEITEC MU in July.
They will deal with the research area leading to more
accurate diagnosis and better focused therapy not only for
neoplastic diseases but also for other illnesses. Both newly
appointed leaders, Michal Šmída and Robert Vácha,
are bringing to CEITEC long-standing experience from
acknowledged European research institutes, and they both
have been chosen on the grounds of their results so-far
gained in their fields of research.
Michal Šmída came to CEITEC
from the Centre of Molecular
Medicine (CeMM) at the Austrian
Academy of Science in Vienna.
He explains his reasons why
he preferred CEITEC to other
institutes: “I had been planning
my return to the Czech Republic
and I got really impressed
by CEITEC. I am happy that
I can pursue my scientific career just in Brno and CEITEC
offers excellent equipment and state-of-the-art conditions
for my research”.
Robert Vácha, who came to CEITEC from the University
of Cambridge (England) and from the Lund University
(Sweden), focuses on the interaction of proteins and lipid
membranes. These interactions play a key role in cellular
signalling, transport, and protection. Using computer
modelling, Robert Vácha examines how the mutations
of proteins and composition
of membranes affect the
behaviour of cells.
CEITEC MU TO HELP
RESEARCH OPEN UP
TO SOCIETY IN NEW EU
PROJECT
ORION is a new collaborative European project to explore
ways in which research and funding organizations in life
sciences and biomedicine can open up the way they
fund, organize and do research. CEITEC is one of the nine
partners in the project.
Open science is a core strategy of the European
Commission that involves widening participation and
collaboration as well as sharing research processes and
outcomes to improve research and innovation. All European
Union members recognise the benefits of open science,
but the transition to “openness” is challenging.
Project webpage: www.orion-openscience.eu
Central European Institute of Technology18
PROFESSOR VOJTECH
ADAM IS THE NEW
HOLDER OF THE ERC
GRANT AT CEITEC BUT
Vojtech Adam, with an ERC Grant
support of 1.3 million euros, will
focus with his research team
on the research of a protein called metallothionein, which
has the ability to bind metals. He believes that this protein
is one of the key factors in preventing the emergence
of resistance to cancer treatment with metal-based
medicines. Confirmation of this fact could contribute
to the more effective treatment of cancer in the future.
DAVID SALAMON FROM CEITEC BUT
RECEIVED THE ECERS YOUNG SCIENTISTS
AWARD
The European Ceramics Society (ECerS) is a non-profit
federation of national ceramic companies associating
their individual members. Every two years, the Young
Scientist Award is awarded to scientists under the age
of 40 who have made significant
contributions to ceramics
research. The condition for
inclusion in the competition
is, among other things,
membership in a national ceramic organization that has
been affiliated with the European Ceramic Society for
at least two years.
THE NEWLY DISCOVERED
FUNCTION OF HAKAI
PROTEIN IN PLANTS CAN HELP WITH
CANCER RESEARCH
Kamil Ruzicka and his team from CEITEC MU have
found that the protein complex is evolutionarily very well
conserved in a variety of organisms – from unicellular
to human, suggesting that it has great importance
for the functioning of organisms.
19Annual Report 2017    2017 – A year in the life of CEITEC
September          
ONDŘEJ JURČEK AWARDED ALFRED BADER
PRIZE
Ondřej Jurček from CEITEC MU has been awarded
the Alfred Bader Prize for an outstanding contribution
to the development of Organic Chemistry.
Prizes for young Czech Organic and Bio-organic chemists
are established by A. Bader. Alfred Bader, well-known
chemist, self-made millionaire, founder of Aldrich,
philanthropist and collector of Flemish masters.
JOINT RETREAT
OF YOUNG SCIENTISTS
FROM CEITEC, IC AND IP
A joint retreat of young scientists
from CEITEC, Institut Curie and
Institut Pasteur took place in Brno
in September. Enjoy a few photos
from this great event, which brought
together more than 100 young
scientists.
A YOUNG TECHNICIAN FROM CEITEC BUT
WON THE INTERNATIONAL POSTER
COMPETITION
Markéta Tesařová is still studying
a Master’s degree in Physical
Engineering and at the BUT,
but is already gaining
success in the scientific field.
At the beginning of September
in Varenna, Italy, she managed
to succeed at the “International
Workshop of Imaging” in the competition of more than
80 participants and 30 posters. “The poster presented
the X-ray computed tomography method as a suitable
tool for imaging biological samples in 3D with a focus
on quantitative cellular analysis,” said Tesarova,
who is already working as a microscopy technician
at CEITEC.
Central European Institute of Technology20
October          
CEITEC MU SCIENTISTS
HAVE DISCOVERED
HOW CELLS RECOGNISE
THE END OF THE GENES
Scientists from CEITEC Masaryk
University (MU) studied
how the cell recognises the end of the genes during
transcription of genetic information. The scientists have
discovered what structure of the molecules is responsible
for finding the right end of the genes. Thanks to this
discovery, they can better understand the functioning
of the transcription of the genetic information
as well as the influence of this process on e.g.
the development of some diseases. Their findings have
been published in Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences. This research was financed in part through
a European Research Council (ERC) grant received
by Richard Štefl two years ago.
21Annual Report 2017    2017 – A year in the life of CEITEC
IVAN REKTOR AWARDED
THE TITLE AMBASSADOR
FOR EPILEPSY
Ivan Rektor from CEITEC MU
was awarded with
the title Ambassador for
Epilepsy, the highest award
of the International League Against Epilepsy. The ILAE
is the world’s preeminent association of physicians and
other health professionals working in the field of epilepsy.
The ILAE was founded in 1909, it is a federation
of 114 national epilepsy organizations representing
a vast majority of the world’s population. Ivan Rektor
is the third Czech holder of the highest award of the ILAE
since the establishment of the Czech League Against
Epilepsy in 1938.
TEAM OF SCIENTISTS
FROM BRNO, LED BY
MILAN BRAZDIL FROM
CEITEC MU, DEVELOPED
A NEW METHOD
FOR MORE PRECISE
SURGICAL TREATMENT
OF EPILEPSY
In some instances, drug-resistant epilepsy can be treated
surgically. This requires precise identification of the
seizure onset zone, so that the surgery is effective and
the surrounding brain structures are left intact. Localisation
is often done using electrophysiological data (widely
known as EEG) from electrodes placed on the head surface
and for better resolution, even implanted deeply into
the brain – a method called stereo-EEG, which records
activity in the deep brain structures.
The international team analyzed frequencies
of the biosignals recorded from stereo-EEG in-between
epileptic seizures. Using more sensitive recordings and
a novel analysis, they identified very high-frequency
oscillations (frequencies higher than 1kH), which are
more specific to the epileptogenic zone than relatively
widely-used high frequency oscillations. This finding may
lead to better identification of the origin of epileptic
discharges and in turn to better surgery outcomes
in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. The team of Milan
Brazdil published these results in the journal Annals
of Neurology 2017.
Central European Institute of Technology22
MEETING OF ISAB
IN 2017
The ISAB meeting in 2017 took
place on 24th and 25th October.
During Tuesday morning,
ISAB members were given
an overview of news, successes
and challenges of CEITEC as a whole, as well as of
each Research Area and the Core Facilities. A detailed
description of the CEITEC PhD School followed. Then
the ISAB members had the opportunity to talk to Group
Leaders, Postdocs and PhD students, and to visit the Core
Facilities in the afternoon during the on-site visits.
Furthermore, the ISAB members helped to evaluate five
junior Group Leaders at CEITEC MU and to identify top
candidates for the position of Junior Group Leaders
at CEITEC BUT.
On Wednesday, the ISAB members had a joint meeting
with the Coordination Board where they reported their
views on the progress CEITEC has undergone since
last year.
The report from this year’s ISAB meeting should help
CEITEC to prepare for Common Evaluation of Scientific
Excellence 2018.
INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY
BOARD (ISAB)
The ISAB is the highest scientific advisory body which helps
CEITEC with regard to improvement of our scientific impact,
conditions for performing research, and training the next
generation of scientists. The ISAB meets in Brno every year.
MEMBERS
Prof. Gustaaf Borghs – IMEC, Katholieke Universiteit
Leuven, Belgium – for Research Area (RA) Advanced Nano
and Microtechnologies
Prof. Robert Liska – Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry,
TU Wien, Austria – for RA Advanced Materials
Prof. Michael Sattler – Technische Universität München,
Germany – for RA Structural Biology
Prof. Dirk Inzé – Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Gent,
Belgium – for RA Genomics and Proteomics of Plant Systems
Prof. Christoph M. Michel – University Medical School,
Geneva, Switzerland – or RA Molecular Medicine
Prof. Witold Filipowicz – Friedrich Miescher Institute
for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland – for RA Brain
and Mind Research
Prof. Heiner Niemann – Friedrich-Loeffler
Institute, Greifswald, Germany – for RA Molecular
Veterinary Medicine
23Annual Report 2017    2017 – A year in the life of CEITEC
November          
ZDENĚK FARKA FIRST
PHD GRADUATE FROM
CEITEC LIFE SCIENCES
PHD SCHOOL
Zdeněk Farka is the very
first PhD GRADUAATE from
the CEITEC Life Sciences
PhD School. Zdeněk defended the thesis “Bioelectronic
interfaces studied with scanning probe microscopy” and
recently in the call of the Technology Agency of Czech
Republic under the ZETA programme and became
the main investigator of the project “Immunoassay for
rapid diagnostics of European foulbrood” for the period
from September 2017 till March 2019. After completing
this project, he plans to travel abroad for postdoc.
Central European Institute of Technology24
Research Groups
1-1	 Functional Properties of Nanostructures
RG leader: Josef Humlíček
1-2	 Smart Nanodevices
RG leader: Jaromír Hubálek
1-3	 Experimental Biophotonics
RG leader: Radim Chmelík
1-4	 Fabrication and Characterisation of Nanostructures
RG leader: Tomáš Šikola
1-5	 Development of Methods for Analysis and Measuring
RG leader: Petr Klapetek
1-6	 Materials Characterization and Advanced Coatings
RG leader: Jozef Kaiser
1-7	 Plasma Technologies
RG leader: Lenka Zajíčková
1-8	 Synthesis and Analysis of Nanostructures
RG leader: Jiří Pinkas
1-9	 Multiscale Modelling and Measurements
of Physical Properties
RG leader: Roman Gröger
1-2
1-3
1-1
1-5
1-8
1-6
1-9
1-7
1-4
ADVANCED
NANOTECHNOLOGIES
AND MICROTECHNOLOGIES
25Annual Report 2017    Research Groups
2-1	 Advanced Ceramic Materials
RG leader: Martin Trunec
2-2	 Cybernetics in Material Science
RG leader: Pavel Václavek
2-3	 Advanced Polymers and Composites
RG leader: Josef Jančář
2-4	 Advanced Metallic Materials and Metal
Based Composites
RG leader: Jan Klusák
2-2
2-3
2-1
2-4
ADVANCED
MATERIALS
Central European Institute of Technology26
STRUCTURAL
BIOLOGY
3-1	 Glycobiochemistry
RG leader: Michaela Wimmerová
3-2	 RNA Quality Control
RG leader: Štěpánka Vaňáčová
3-3	 Nanobiotechnology
RG leader: Petr Skládal
3-4	 RNA-based Regulation of Gene Expression
RG leader: Peter Lukavsky
3-5	 Structural Biology of Gene Regulation
RG leader: Richard Štefl
3-6	 Structural Virology
RG leader: Pavel Plevka
3-7	 Structure and Dynamics of Nucleic Acids
RG leader: Jiří Šponer
3-8	 Structure and Interaction of Biomolecules at Surfaces
RG leader: Miroslav Fojta
3-9	 Computational Chemistry
RG leader: Jaroslav Koča
3-10	Structure of Biosystems and Molecular Materials
RG leader: Radek Marek
3-11	Non-Coding Genome
RG leader: Lukáš Trantírek
3-12	Protein Structure and Dynamics
RG leader: Lukáš Žídek
3-13	Protein-DNA Interactions
RG leader: Konstantinos Tripsianes
3-14	Interaction Protein-Protein and Protein-Membrane
RG leader: Robert Vácha
3-2
3-3
3-1
3-5
3-11
3-8
3-6
3-12
3-9
3-14
3-7
3-13
3-4
3-10
27Annual Report 2017    Research Groups
GENOMICS
AND PROTEOMICS
OF PLANT SYSTEMS
4-1	 Bioanalytical Instrumentation
RG leader: František Foret
4-2	 Plant Cytogenomics
RG leader: Martin Lysák
4-3	 Functional Genomics and Proteomics of Plants
RG leader: Jan Hejátko
4-4	 Hormonal Crosstalk in Plant Development
RG leader: Hélene Robert Boisivon
4-5	 Proteomics
RG leader: Zbyněk Zdráhal
4-6	 Developmental and Cell Biology of Plants
RG leader: Tomasz Nodzynski
4-7	 Chromatin Molecular Complexes
RG leader: Jiří Fajkus
4-8	 Developmental and Production Biology
– Omics Approaches
RG leader: Břetislav Brzobohatý
4-9	 Plant Stress Signalling and Adaptation
RG leader: Vanesa Beatriz Tognetti
4-10	Plant Molecular Biology
RG leader: Karel Říha
4-2
4-3
4-1
4-5
4-8
4-6
4-9
4-7
4-10
4-4
Central European Institute of Technology28
MOLECULAR
MEDICINE
5-1	 Medical Genomics
RG leader: Šárka Pospíšilová
5-2	 Molecular Oncology II – Solid Cancer
RG leader: Ondřej Slabý
5-3	 Inherited Diseases II – Transcriptional Regulation
RG leader: Dalibor Blažek
5-4	 Adaptive Immunity Group
RG leader: Dmitriy Chudakov
5-5	 ERA Chair – RNA and Immunity
RG leader: Mary O’Connell
5-6	 Microenvironment of Immune Cells
RG leader: Marek Mráz
5-7	 Functional Genomics
RG leader: Michal Šmída
1-2
1-3
1-1
1-5
1-6
1-7
1-4
29Annual Report 2017    Research Groups
BRAIN AND MIND
RESEARCH
MOLECULAR
VETERINARY MEDICINE
6-1	 Multi-modal and Functional Neuroimaging
RG leader: Ivan Rektor
6-2	 Behavioural and Social Neuroscience
RG leader: Milan Brázdil
6-3	 Applied Neuroscience
RG leader: Irena Rektorová
6-2
7-2
7-1	 Molecular Microbiology
RG leader: Alois Čížek
7-2	 Zoonoses
RG leader: Břetislav Koudela
7-3	 Orthopaedics and Surgery
RG leader: Pavel Proks
7-4	 Animal Immunogenomics
RG leader: Petr Hořín
7-5	 Animal Cytogenomics
RG leader: Jiří Rubeš
7-6	 Mammalian Reproduction
RG leader: Martin Anger
6-3
7-3
6-1
7-1
7-5
7-6
7-4
168
346
168
147
97
56 41
Structural
Biology
Genomic
and Proteomics
of Plant Systems
Molecular
Medicine
Brain and Mind
Research
Molecular
Veterinary
Medicine Advanced
Materials
Advanced
Nano and
Microtechnologies
HEAD
COUNT
1023
93
163
118
101
58
31
16
Structural
Biology
Genomic
and Proteomics
of Plant Systems
Molecular
Medicine
Brain and Mind
Research
Molecular
Veterinary
Medicine
Advanced
Materials
Advanced
Nano and
Microtechnologies
FTE
580
Central European Institute of Technology30
Selected data about CEITEC Employees
CEITEC GROWTH AND INTERNATIONALIZATION
NUMBERS OF RESEARCH STAFF ACCORDING
TO RESEARCH AREA*
* Recalculated data valid for 2017 HC  Head Count   FTE  Full-time Equivalent
RESEARCH AREA HEAD COUNT FTE WOMEN HC MEN HC
Advanced Materials 168 93 30 138
Advanced Nano and Microtechnologies 346 163 89 255
Structural Biology 168 118 63 105
Genomic and Proteomics of Plant Systems 147 101 72 75
Molecular Medicine 97 58 46 52
Brain and Mind Research 56 31 28 28
Molecular Veterinary Medicine 41 16 19 23
936
EU CITIZENS
99
OUTSIDE EU
1,035
HEAD COUNT
TOTAL
865
92
957
TOTAL
EMPLOYEES
Outside
EU
EU
Citizens
121
63
261
168
253
95
404
205
Junior
Researcher
Junior
Researchers
Senior
Researcher
Senior
Researchers
132
46
143
38
Junior
Researcher
Senior
Researcher
Support
Staff
PhD Students
Support
Staff
Ph.D. 
Student
957
EMPLOYEES
431
WOMEN
Support
Staff
Ph.D. Student
RESEARCH POSITIONS AND GENDER*
* Data valid as of June 30, 2017
JUNIOR RESEARCHER SENIOR RESEARCHER
WOMEN
MEN
261
168
38
143
31Annual Report 2017    Selected data about CEITEC Employees
RESEARCH POSITIONS AND NATIONALITY*
* Data valid as of June 30, 2017
Central European Institute of Technology32
33Annual Report 2017    Selected data about CEITEC Employees
New People in 2017
An international call for the position of head
of a bioinformatics group was opened
on the basis of the CEITEC MU strategic
decision. The junior scientist Panagiotis Alexiou,
from University of Pennsylvania, will start
work for CEITEC MU, in 2018. This group
is focused on research in the field of New
Generation Sequencing and is closely linked
to the emergence of a new shared lab that
will provide this flagship technology inside
and outside the institute, which has a significant
integration potential for Life Sciences for both
CEITEC and Masaryk University.
Two additional research groups were formed
at CEITEC MU, through an open call for new
Group Leaders from the current staff of CEITEC
MU. Michal Smida and Rober Vacha were
selected as the new heads of research groups.
MICHAL ŠMÍDA – NEW
LEADER OF FUNCTIONAL
GENOMICS RESEARCH
GROUP
Michal Šmída came to CEITEC
from the Centre of Molecular
Medicine (CeMM) at the Austrian
Academy of Science in Vienna. He explains his reasons
why he preferred CEITEC to other institutes: “I had been
planning my return to the Czech Republic and I got really
impressed by CEITEC. I am happy that I can pursue my
scientific career just in Brno and CEITEC offers excellent
equipment and state-of-the-art conditions for my research”.
At CEITEC, Michal Šmída will deal with the identification
of new possibilities focusing on the therapy of neoplastic
diseases, primarily B-cell malignities such as Chronic
Lymphotic Leukemia (CLL). Nowadays, CLL represents
in western countries the most frequent neoplastic disease
of white corpuscles (B-lymphocytes) which are accumulated
in blood, bone marrow, lymph nodes and other organs.
The research group, led by Michal Šmída, will also develop
new cell models which might be used in clinical practice
and lead to personalised medicine tailored to specific
needs of individual patients with a particular mutation.
Central European Institute of Technology34
ROBERT VÁCHA
– LEADER
OF INTERACTION
PROTEIN-PROTEIN AND
PROTEIN-MEMBRANE
RESEARCH GROUP
Robert Vácha, who came
to CEITEC from the University of Cambridge (England)
and from the Lund University (Sweden), focuses on the
interaction of proteins and lipid membranes. These
interactions play a key role in cellular signalling, transport,
and protection. Using computer modelling, Robert Vácha
examines how the mutations of proteins and composition
of membranes affect the behaviour of cells. Changes in this
behaviour cause many diseases ranging from cancer and
Alzheimer’s disease to aging and poor diet. Robert Vácha,
explains: “Molecular understanding of protein-membrane
interactions will help us to develop new peptides suitable
for treatment of these serious diseases”.
During opening new job positions, CEITEC MU
management focuses on the topic of personalised
medicine and sustainable agriculture to increase
competitiveness on a European scale.
The management plans to open an international
selection procedure for one junior research group every
year. Jiří Nantl, Director of CEITEC MU, explains the
procedure: “The management focuses on candidates
with good prospects standing at the outset of their own
scientific career. After 4 years, these new group leaders
will be evaluated based on their scientific performance
to determine whether further support will be continued
and expanded.”
NEW TECHNOLOGY
TRANSFER MANAGER
AT CEITEC MU
Pavel Kerchev joined CEITEC MU
in the middle of September as
a Technology Transfer Manager
anchored in the Strategy
and Science Department.
It is a newly established position within CEITEC MU
to support technology transfer activities with a special
focus on industry cooperation. Pavel’s main role is
to monitor and identify research results with a potential for
commercialization and/or of interests for industrial partners.
Pavel has spent the last five years as a postdoc at VIB
Center for Plant Systems Biology, Belgium.
NEW DEPUTY DIRECTOR
FOR INNOVATION
STRATEGY
AT CEITEC BUT
Dr. Jiří Očadlík joined CEITEC
BUT in October 2017 as Deputy
Director for Innovation Strategy.
35Annual Report 2017    Selected data about CEITEC Employees
In the past he held leading positions in companies such
as Tesla Brno s., Delmi s.r.o. and Philips Electron Optics CR
s.r.o. Since 2000 he has been CEO of the Brno branch of
FEI Czech Republic s.r.o. (now Thermo Fisher Scientific).
NEW RESEARCH GROUP
LEADERS AT CEITEC BUT
In the second half of the year
there was an international
selection procedure for
new Research Group
Leaders at CEITEC BUT. Under this procedure and ISAB
Recommendation four research groups were created.
One new Research Group Leader is, for example,
holder of ERC Grant Peter Neugebauer, and the aim
of the Magneto-Optical and THz Spectroscopy is to
establish the first modern group in Central Europe with
a focus on the development
of this method and its
applications in the material
and living sciences and
also to develop a universal
broadband spectrometer.
Vojtěch Uhlíř’s Nanomagnetism
and Spintronics Group aims
to clarify the influence of spatial
constraints on magnetic and electronic phase transitions
in nanomagnets and heterostructures of functional
materials, the study of dynamic behaviour of magnetic
nanostructures induced by a magnetic field, electric field,
electric current, controlled deformation, and temperature
gradient. Molecular
nanostructures at surfaces will
be dealt with by Jan Čechal
and his team. The scientific
focus of the group combines
two topical themes: molecular
self-organization and graphene.
Jan Macák, who is also an ERC
holder, is working with his Advanced Low-Dimensional
Nanomaterials Group on research into the synthesis of new
low-dimensional structures such as nanotubes, nanolayers,
nanofibers, in various ways. It also includes the necessary
investigation of the relationship between the structure and
the properties of these materials.
CEITEC BUT also have the first research groups with
international group leaders. Hermann Detz – Functional
Layers and Nanostructures and Andreas W. Schell
– Quantum Optical Technology.
25.2 %
10.6%
3.4%
15.9%
1.0 %
38.7 %
5.3%
Contribution for education
Other
CEITEC
SPENDING 2017
(non-investment)
Targeted
support
Institutional support
Non-investment
spending in 2017
Contract research
NPU II
Internationl
grants
CMS
45,815,976 EUR
805,382,349 CZK
TOTAL
BUDGET
602,603EUR/15,065,070CZK
18,852,569EUR/471,314,214CZK
10,454,469EUR/261,361,717CZK
761,019EUR/19,025,487CZK
469,588EUR/11,739,711CZK
595,046EUR/14,876,150CZK
480,000EUR/12,000,000CZK
Central European Institute of Technology36
Budget
Overview
37Annual Report 2017    Budget Overview
CEITEC SPENDING 2017 (NON-INVESTMENT) IN CZK (EXCHANGE RATE: 1 EUR = 25 CZK)
CEITEC SPENDING 2017 (NON-INVESTMENT) IN EUR
PARTNER CMS MU BUT MENDELU VFU VRI IPM TOTAL
Institutional support 4,500,000 28,682,510 19,621,463 2,847,591 2,824,718 2,615,986 0 61,092,268
Targeted support 0 168,346,992 108,162,208 2,132,235 0 7,174,003 2,785,000 288,600,438
Internationl grants 345,824 78,012,030 29,901,030 6,689,633 0 2,796,330 3,315,000 121,059,847
Contract research 0 8,571,881 23,505,900 51,300 4,288,598 219,985 1,800,000 38,437,664
NPU II 5,898,817 105,567,564 57,084,405 5,332,407 1,561,452 2,069,846 4,100,000 181,614,491
Contribution for education 840,000 0 8,919,334 0 2,016,216 0 0 11,775,550
Other 3,480,429 82,133,237 14,167,377 1,972,321 1,048,727 0 0 102,802,091
Total 15,065,070 471,314,214 261,361,717 19,025,487 11,739,711 14,876,150 12,000,000 805,382,349
PARTNER CMS MU BUT MENDELU VFU VRI IPM TOTAL
Institutional support 180,000 1,147,300 784,859 113,904 112,989 104,639 0 2,443,691
Targeted support 0 6,733,880 4,326,488 85,289 0 286,960 111,400 11,544,018
Internationl grants 13,833 3,120,481 1,196,041 267,585 0 111,853 132,600 4,842,394
Contract research 0 342,875 940,236 2,052 171,544 8,799 72,000 1,537,507
NPU II 235,953 4,222,703 2,283,376 213,296 62,458 82,794 164,000 7,264,580
Contribution for education 33,600 0 356,773 0 80,649 0 0 471,022
Other 139,217 3,285,329 566,695 78,893 41,949 0 0 4,112,084
Total 602,603 18,852,569 10,454,469 761,019 469,588 595,046 480,000 32,245,294
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700 30%700
24,9%26,3%
22,5%
17,3%
16,5%
20,1%
17,1%
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
44.2 %
49.5 %
45.5 %
54.8 %
57.3 % 56.5 % 67.8 %
32.6 %
20.6 %
26.8 %
25.3 %
21.0 % 24.8 %
13.2 %
7.8 %
16.2 %
18.3 %
14.1 %
10.7 % 12.0 %
15.5 %
13.7 %
9.5 %
5.8 %
7.5 %
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Tier 10 (top percentile)
7.0 %
14.1 %
8.0 %
Central European Institute of Technology38
Publications
CEITEC researchers manage to produce a stable amount of publications per year with
Impact Factor (Q1).
In 2017 CEITEC scientists produced 615 publications in journals with a Journal Impact Factor,
417 of them in Q1 and 153 in Tier 10 (in top 10 % journals in the field according to their
Journal Impact Factor).
*
**
30%
15%
20%
25%
10%
5%
0%
39Annual Report 2017    Publications
6 CEITEC papers were published in the top 1 % of journals in the field
(rank according to the Journal Impact Factor). Three of them
with the corresponding authors from CEITEC.
Farka, Z., Jurik, T.,
Kovar, D., Trnkova,
L. and Skladal, P.:
Nanoparticle-Based
Immunochemical
Biosensors and Assays:
Recent Advances and
Challenges, CHEMICAL
REVIEWS, 2017,
117: 9973–10042.
This comprehensive review summarizes the application
of nanomaterials in immunochemical biosensors.
The paper describes the synthesis and properties
of individual kinds of nanoparticles, the transducers
used in biosensing applications, and their applications
in clinical analysis (markers, pharmaceuticals and tumor
cells) and in the detection of pathogenic microorganisms,
toxic agents, and pesticides in the environmental field and
food products.
Sehnal, D., Deshpande,
M., Varekova, R. S.,
Mir, S., Berka, K.,
Midlik, A., Pravda, L.,
Velankar, S, Koca, J.:
LiteMol suite: interactive
web-based visualization
of large-scale
macromolecular structure data, NATURE
METHODS, 2017, 14: 1121–1122.
A new software application called Lite Mol suite
that works as a virtual microscope for molecules and
molecular complexes was developed by David Sehnal
from Jaroslav Koča’s research group at CEITEC MU and
Central European Institute of Technology40
NCBR of the Faculty of Science. It enables users to study
molecules in detail – for example examine how drugs
bind to receptors, or show an individual iron atom
in haemoglobin.
Bolotin, D. A., Poslavsky, S., Davydov, A.
N., Frenkel, F. E., Fanchi, L., Zolotareva,
O. I., Hemmers, S., Putintseva, E.V.,
Obraztsova, A.S., Shugay, M., Ataullakhanov,
R.I., Rudensky, A.Y., Schumacher, T.N.,
Chudakov, D.M.: Antigen receptor repertoire
profiling from RNA-seq data, NATURE
BIOTECHNOLOGY, 2017, 35 (10): 908–911.
High-throughput profiling of immune receptors has
become an important tool for studies of adaptive immunity
and for the development of diagnostics, vaccines, and
immunotherapies. There are efficient molecular and
software tools for the targeted sequencing of T-cell
receptors and immunoglobulin repertoires. However,
a sufficient amount and quality of tissue or extracted RNA
or DNA is not always available for analysis. For the cases
where the available tissue is limited the team of Dmitriy
Čhudakov developed a software tool that enables
the accurate and efficient extraction of immune repertoires
from RNA sequencing.
Lejcek, P., Sob, M. and Paidar, V.:
Interfacial segregation and grain boundary
embrittlement: An overview and critical
assessment of experimental data and
calculated results, PROGRESS IN MATERIALS
SCIENCE, 2017, 87: 83–139.
One of the most dangerous technical failures of materials
is intergranular brittle fracture (temper embrittlement)
as it proceeds very quickly and its appearance is
often hardly predictable. This comprehensive review
summarizes the available data on interfacial segregation
and embrittlement of various solutes in nickel and bcc
iron and critically discusses their reliability, assessing
also the limitations of individual approaches employed
to determine the values of segregation and strengthening/
embrittling energies.
41Annual Report 2017    Publications
Levine, A. G., Medoza, A., Hemmers,
S., Moltedo, B., Niec, R. E., Schizas, M.,
Hoyos, B. E., Putintseva, E.V., Chaudhry,
A., Dikiy, S., Fujisawa, S., Chudakov, D.M.,
Treuting, P.M., Rudensky, A.Y.: Stability and
function of regulatory T cells expressing
the transcription factor T-bet, NATURE, 2017,
546 (7658): 421–+.
Tan, M. H., Li, Q., Shanmugam, R., Piskol,
R., Kohler, J., Young, A. N., Liu, K. I., Zhang,
R., Amaswami, G.R., Ariyoshi, K., Gupte,
A., Keegan, L.P., George, C.X., Amu, A.R.,
Huang, N., Pollina, E.A., Leeman, D.S.,
Ustighi, A.R., Goh, Y.P.S., Hawla, A.C., Del
Sal, G., Peltz, G., Runet, A.B., Onrad, D.F.C.,
Samuel, C.E., O’Connell, M.A., Walkley, C.R.,
Nishikura, K., Li, J.B.: Dynamic landscape
and regulation of RNA editing in mammals,
NATURE, 2017, 550 (7675): 249–+.
Central European Institute of Technology42
Other important papers in top journals
with CEITEC corresponding authors
Bartosovic, M., Molares, H. C., Gregorova, P., Hrossova,
D., Kudla, G. and Vanacova, S.: N6-methyladenosine
demethylase FTO targets pre-mRNAs and regulates
alternative splicing and 3’-end processing. NUCLEIC ACIDS
RESEARCH, 2017, 45: 11356–11370.
Brazdil, M., Pail, M., Halamek, J., Plesinger, F., Cimbalnik, J.,
Roman, R., Klimes, P., Daniel, P., Chrastina, J., Brichtova, E.,
Rektor, I., Worrell, G. A. and Jurak, P.: Very High-Frequency
Oscillations: Novel Biomarkers of the Epileptogenic Zone.
ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, 2017, 82: 299–310.
Bystry, V., Reigl, T., Krejci, A., Demko, M., Hanakova, B.,
Grioni, A., Knecht, H., Schlitt, M., Dreger, P., Sellner, L.,
Herrmann, D., Pingeon, M., Boudjoghra, M., Rijntjes, J., Pott,
C., Langerak, A. W., Groenen, P., Davi, F., Bruggemann,
M., Darzentas, N. and EuroClonality, N. G. S.: ARResT/
Interrogate: an interactive immunoprofiler for IG/TR NGS
data. BIOINFORMATICS, 2017, 33: 435–437.
Chlup, Z., Zizka, R., Kania, J. and Pribyl, M.: Fracture
behaviour of teeth with conventional and mini-invasive
access cavity designs. JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN
CERAMIC SOCIETY, 2017, 37: 4423–4429.
Dobisova, T., Hrdinova, V., Cuesta, C., Michlickova, S.,
Urbankova, I., Hejatkova, R., Zadnikova, P., Pernisova,
M., Benkova, E. and Hejatko, J.: Light Controls Cytokinin
Signaling via Transcriptional Regulation of Constitutively
Active Sensor Histidine Kinase CKI1. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY,
2017, 174: 387–404.
Drdlik, D., Drdlikova, K., Hadraba, H. and Maca, K.: Optical,
mechanical and fractographic response of transparent
alumina ceramics on erbium doping. JOURNAL OF
THE EUROPEAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, 2017, 37: 4265–4270.
Drdlikova, K., Klement, R., Drdlik, D., Spusta, T., Galusek,
D. and Maca, K.: Luminescent Er3+ doped transparent
alumina ceramics. JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN CERAMIC
SOCIETY, 2017, 37: 2695–2703.
Drdlikova, K., Klement, R., Hadraba, H., Drdlik, D., Galusek,
D. and Maca, K.: Luminescent Eu3+ doped transparent
alumina ceramics with high hardness. JOURNAL OF
THE EUROPEAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, 2017, 37: 4271–4277.
Emmanouilidis, L., Schutz, U., Tripsianes, K., Madl, T., Radke,
J., Rucktaschel, R., Wilmanns, M., Schliebs, W., Erdmann,
R. and Sattler, M.: Allosteric modulation of peroxisomal
membrane protein recognition by farnesylation
of the peroxisomal import receptor PEX19. NATURE
COMMUNICATIONS, 2017, 8.
Hrdy, R., Kynclova, H., Klepacova, I., Bartosik, M. and
Neuzil, P. Portable Lock-in Amplifier-Based Electrochemical
Method to Measure an Array of 64 Sensors for
Point-of-Care Applications. ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY,
2017, 89: 8731–8737. Kalousek, R., Spousta, J., Zlamal, J.,
43Annual Report 2017    Publications
Dub, P., Sikola, T., Shen, Z. J., Salamon, D. and Maca, K.:
Rapid heating of zirconia nanoparticle-powder compacts
by infrared radiation heat transfer. JOURNAL OF THE
EUROPEAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, 2017, 37: 1067–1072.
Kastyl, J., Chlup, Z., Clemen, F. and Trunec, M.: Mechanical
properties of zirconia core-shell rods with porous core
and dense shell prepared by thermoplastic co-extrusion.
JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, 2017,
37: 2439–2447.
Maca, K., Pouchly, V., Drdlik, D., Hadraba, H. and Chlup,
Z.: Dilatometric study of anisotropic sintering of alumina/
zirconia laminates with controlled fracture behaviour.
JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, 2017,
37: 4287–4295.
Mandakova, T., Hlouskova, P., German, D. A. and Lysak,
M. A.: Monophyletic Origin and Evolution of the Largest
Crucifer Genomes. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY, 2017, 174:
2062–2071.
Necasova, I., Janouskova, E., Klumpler, T. and Hofr, C.:
Basic domain of telomere guardian TRF2 reduces D-loop
unwinding whereas Rap1 restores it. NUCLEIC ACIDS
RESEARCH, 2017, 45: 12170–12180.
Pal, K., Bystry, V., Reigl, T., Demko, M., Krejci, A.,
Touloumenidou, T., Stalika, E., Tichy, B., Ghia, P.,
Stamatopoulos, K., Pospisilova, S., Malcikova, J., Darzentas,
N. and European Res Initiative, C. E.-T.: GLASS: assisted
and standardized assessment of gene variations from
Sanger sequence trace data. BIOINFORMATICS, 2017,
33: 3802–3804.
Postulkova, H., Chamradova, I., Pavlinak, D., Humpa, O.,
Jancar, J. and Vojtova, L.: Study of effects and conditions
on the solubility of natural polysaccharide gum karaya.
FOOD HYDROCOLLOIDS, 2017, 67: 148–156.
Ramos, R. J. T., Martins, A. C. D., Delgado, G. D., Ionescu,
C. M., Urmenyi, T. P., Silva, R. and Koca, J.: CrocoBLAST:
Running BLAST efficiently in the age of next-generation
sequencing. BIOINFORMATICS, 2017, 33: 3648–3651.
Rolecek, J., Salamon, D. and Chlup, Z.: Mechanical
properties of hybrid composites prepared by ice-templating
of alumina. JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN CERAMIC
SOCIETY, 2017, 37: 4279–4286.
Ruzicka, K., Zhang, M., Campilho, A., Bodi, Z., Kashif, M.,
Saleh, M., Eeckhout, D., El-Showk, S., Li, H. Y., Zhong, S.
L., De Jaeger, G., Mongan, N. P., Hejatko, J., Helariutta,
Y. and Fray, R. G.: Identification of factors required for
m(6)A mRNA methylation in Arabidopsis reveals a role
for the conserved E3 ubiquitin ligase HAKAI. NEW
PHYTOLOGIST, 2017, 215: 157–172.
Zvyagin, I. V., Mamedov, I. Z., Tatarinova, O. V., Komech,
E. A., Kurnikova, E. E., Boyakova, E. V., Brilliantova, V.,
Shelikhova, L. N., Balashov, D. N., Shugay, M., Sycheva,
A. L., Kasatskaya, S. A., Lebedev, Y. B., Maschan, A. A.,
Maschan, M. A. and Chudakov, D. M.: Tracking T-cell
immune reconstitution after TCR alpha beta/CD19-depleted
hematopoietic cells transplantation in children. LEUKEMIA,
2017, 31: 1145–1153.
Central European Institute of Technology44
CEVA ANIMAL
HEALTH DEVELOP
LONG-STANDING
COLLABORATION WITH
RESEARCH GROUP
OF BŘETISLAV KOUDELA
(ZOONOSES)
The group of Břetislav Koudela at CEITEC VFU have been
researching the biology of Cystoisospora suis for several
years. This parasite is a major cause of diarrhoea and
delayed development in piglets worldwide, and induces
substantial economic losses in the pig breeding industry.
Ceva Animal Health contracted the Koudela group to
establish not only the porcine neonatal coccidiosis model
for testing the efficacy of new forms of anti-coccidial, but
also a second model in cattle. Cryptosporidiosis is the
most common parasitic zoonotic disease affecting a wide
variety of mammals including humans, with the most
important zoonotic reservoir of cryptosporidia being cattle.
The preparation of the bovine cryptosporidiosis model for
testing of new therapeutic compounds has been particularly
rewarding, as few laboratories have managed to conduct
experimental studies focused on cryptosporidiosis in calves.
The contractual work with CEVA is an example of a very
fruitful long-term relationship with the industry. Ceva Animal
Health engages in the research, development, production,
and marketing of pharmaceutical products and vaccines
for companion and farm animals, and operates in several
locations globally. Currently, it is the sixth largest animal
health company in the world.
Contractual
Research
45Annual Report 2017    Grants
Grants
PETR NEUGEBAUER
RETURNS TO BRNO WITH
A SCIENTIFIC GRANT
OF EUR 2 MIL
Another ERC grant, awarded by the European Commission,
will be resolved at CEITEC BUT. Petr Neugebauer, with
a support of ERC Grant EUR 2 million, will develop
a revolutionary method of paramagnetic resonance,
which would mean a significant shift in a wide range
of disciplines such as physics, chemistry or medicine.
PROFESSOR
VOJTECH ADAM IS
THE NEW HOLDER
OF THE ERC GRANT
Professor Vojtech Adam
succeeded in the category
Starting Grants of the prestigious
ERC grant from the European
Research Council. Vojtech Adam, with support of the
ERC Grant of EUR 1.3 million, will focus with his research
team on the research of a protein called metallothionein,
which has the ability to bind metals. He believes that this
protein is one of the key factors in preventing the emergence
of resistance to cancer treatment with metal-based
medicines.
CEITEC MU TEAMS UP
WITH FLEMISH INSTITUTE
VIB TO STRENGTHEN
EUROPEAN PLANT
RESEARCH
CEITEC Masaryk University
and VIB-UGent Center for
Plant Systems Biology (Belgium) announced the kick-off
of the PASSAGE research project, funded by the
EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020.
This project solidifies the long-standing collaboration
between the two plant research centres and aims to further
advance plant science in Europe. Through shared research
projects new insights and technologies will be applied
to address topical challenges facing agricultural production
in a sustainable manner.
Central European Institute of Technology46
FETOPEN
Highly original, visionary,
essential for society’s needs
and development. These are
the conditions which must be
met by the project submitted to
the prestigious Future Emerging
Technology (FET) research project category. The team from
CEITEC BUT in this category, with a 2 to 3 percent chance
of success, not only succeeded, but also for the first time
in Czech history will be its coordinators. With a budget
of 2.89 million euros it will focus on the unique innovation
of electron paramagnetic resonance. This method is
based on similar principles as broadly renowned nuclear
magnetic resonance, which can be found used in many
scientific disciplines such as medicine, chemistry, physics,
and so on.
The uniqueness of the project is due to two related factors.
First, we should increase the frequency of electromagnetic
radiation used in the EPR spectrometers one level higher.
And secondly, by inserting antennas made of gold or
graphene into the beam of this radiation, it will increase
the sensitivity of the method by up to four levels.
The importance of the participation of the Czech
research team is enhanced by the fact that this is the
first time the Czech team in this prestigious project acts
as a project coordinator and is thus the main “player”
of the project team.
47Annual Report 2017    Grants
CEITEC MU FORMS
ALLIANCE
Alliance4Life aims
at addressing the existing
gap in health research and
innovation performance
between EU15 and EU13.
This new initiative has been supported by the European
Commission in the frame of Horizon 2020 Health
Working Programme as it is expected that outcomes
and recommendations of the Alliance4Life could bring
useful suggestions for science policy at both European
and Member States level.
Despite heavy investments and other funding coming
in past decade from the EU, a substantial gap
in research performance and innovation potential
persists between the East and the West of the EU.
Member institutions of the Alliance4Life believe that
to a large extent the solution to this problem is to
be found in improved governance and managerial
practices as well as development of institutional culture
at research institutions.
BACK4FUTURE
The merger of the top Austrian
technical universities and
the CEITEC institute should
result in the improvement
of nanotechnology and
biotechnology research
at the Brno research centre. The project should deepen
the already existing partnership with the Vienna Technical
University (TU Wien) and the University of Natural
Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) and support the further
development of the Center of Scientific Excellence CEITEC.
RICAIP
Is a joint project of four
founding partners: two institutes
of leading Czech technical
universities, CIIRC-CVUT and
CEITEC-BUT, and two leading
German research organizations
DFKI and ZeMA. The aim of the project is to develop
a strong cooperation at international level evolving
the concept of Industry 4.0. RICAIP will virtually connect
the testbed facilities in the Czech Republic and Germany
and integrate them into a new Czech-German research
infrastructure in advanced distributed industrial production.
Moreover, our intention is to develop RICAIP as a European
research infrastructure, the first of its kind in Europe.
http://ricaip.eu/
Central European Institute of Technology48
Core Facilities
ACTG
TGAC
CEITEC Nano
Research Infrastructure
Biomolecular
Interactions
and Crystallization
Cellular
Imaging
Plant Sciences
X-ray Diffraction
and Bio-SAXS
Nanobiotechnology
Josef Dadok
National
NMR Centre
Cryo-electron
Microscopy and
Tomography
Proteomics
Bioinformatics
Genomics
Multimodal and
Functional Imaging
Laboratory
49Annual Report 2017    Core Facilities
CORE FACILITY CF HEAD
START OF
OPERATION
Bioinformatics Panagiotis Alexiou *2018
Biomolecular Interaction
and Crystalization
Michaela Wimmerová 2013
Cellular Imaging Martin Anger 2016
CEITEC Nano Michal Urbánek 2016
Cryo-Electron Microscopy
and Tomography
Jiří Nováček 2014
Genomics Boris Tichý 2013
Josef Dadok National NMR Centre Radovan Fiala 2012
Multimodal and Functional
Imaging Laboratory
Michal Mikl 2014
Nanobiotechnology Petr Skládal 2013
Plant Sciences
Natallia Madzia
Valasevich
2017
Proteomics Zbyněk Zdráhal 2012
X-Ray Diffraction and Bio-SAXS Jaromír Marek 2013
The CEITEC core facilities offer
the research community access
to cutting-edge equipment. Our goal
is to be a central hub for shared
resources that provides academic and
industrial scientific investigators the use
of instrumentation and also technology
development and services.
Core Facilities
at CEITEC MU
In 2017, Plant Sciences Core facility started its operation
with a ceremonial opening held on 11th
April 2017.
This Core Facility was established with the aim to
effectively use the existing infrastructure of greenhouses
and phytotrons which were historically shared by Research
groups of Mendel Centre. New Core Facility Head,
Natallia Madzia Valasevich, was appointed. During 2017,
the implementation phase of Bioinformatics Core facility
also started to define the needs of the CEITEC scientific
community and create the team of existing experts
in bioinformatics. The Core Facility is officially established
with the coming of the new Head, Panagiotis Alexiou,
hired from January 2018.
The year 2017 is the first year of major investments
in the infrastructure after the end of the start-up project
OP VaVpI (ended 2015). Thanks to seven OP VVV
projects, 62.3 mil. CZK incl. VAT was invested into the new
instrumentation. Key instrumentation was purchased for
Cryo-electron Microscopy and Tomography Core Facility
(upgrade of Titan Krios for the amount of 37.8 mil. CZK for
new phase plate, microscope controlling unit, Falcon 3EC
and GIF), Cellular Imaging Core Facility (new Microscope
Zeiss LSM 880 for the amount of 18 mil. CZK), Multimodal
and Functional Imaging Laboratory (new sequences and
software for the total amount of 4.5 mil. CZK), Biomolecular
Interactions and Crystallization (nanoDSF upgrade
for the amount of 1.1 mil. CZK) and Plant Sceinces Core
Facility (LED upgrade for the amount of 1.8 mil. CZK).
A major source for the finance operational costs
of CEITEC MU Core Facilities are the projects of Large
Research Infrastructures for Research, Experimental
Development and Innovations listed on the Roadmap of the
Czech Republic for the years 2016–2022.
51Annual Report 2017    Core Facilities
CEITEC Nano
The CEITEC Nanolaboratories continued
their activities, officially launched in 2016.
During 2017, CEITEC Nano organized
three important events for users.
More than 100 users of CEITEC Nano participated during
the 2nd
CEITEC Nano User Meeting held on 30th
 November
2017. The event included two invited lectures, a poster
session, panel discussion with a user committee election
and an award ceremony for best poster and best image.
CEITEC Nano, in cooperation with mt-m, organized
Nanoindentation & AFM Workshops (11.–15. 9. 2017)
for academic users with live demonstrations in the lab.
CEITEC Nano Open day (held on 28th
March) was
organized for new academic users. Within the open
day the laboratory staff explained how to get access
to the infrastructure, demonstrated its equipment and
explained available services for nonlocal users.
CEITEC NANO
2017
IN NUMBERS
75instruments
72,634
hours
224users
36institutions
CEITEC PhD School
Interest in the CEITEC PhD School is growing
steadily. For the academic year 2017/2018,
more than 130 potential applicants showed
their interest in the CEITEC PhD program
(the number increased 2.5 times compared
to the previous year), and 82 of them submitted
applications. A general criterion for the selection
of students is the admission from outside;
so-called “inbreeding” is not supported and
is allowed only in the cases of exceptionally
talented students. A total number of 36 students
were accepted.
In the academic year 2017/2018, the number of students
in the Life Sciences program reached 31.
Regarding nationality, the composition was considerably
varied, which supports the internationalization of the PhD
School. The composition was as follows: Czech Republic,
Belarus, India, Slovakia, Egypt, Ukraine, Italy, China,
Ethiopia, Philippines, Lithuania, Greece, and Columbia.
The first Life Sciences program candidate MSc. Zdenek
Farka successfully passed the state doctoral exam and
defended his Ph.D. thesis “Bioelectronic interfaces studied
with scanning probe microscopy” in November 2017.
He also succeeded in the call of the Technology Agency
of Czech Republic under the ZETA program and became
the main investigator of the project “Immunoassay for rapid
diagnostics of European foulbrood” for the period from
September 2017 till March 2019.
APPLICATIONS
2017
LIFE
SCIENCES
ADVANCED MATERIALS
AND NANOMATERIALS
CEITEC
PHD SCHOOL
Submitted
applications
57 25 82
Accepted
candidates
15 21 36
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
TOTALADVANCED MATERIALS
AND NANOMATERIALS
LIFE
SCIENCES
17
14
21
52
38
66
Men Women
38
(37%)
66
(63%)
Men
Women
CANDIDATES
53Annual Report 2017    CEITEC PhD School
Selected events for PhD students
PHD DAYS
Annual student meetings with the members
of the PhD committee.
∕∕ February, March
MEETING WITH…
Meetings with representatives of companies who
present different career possibilities after the completion
of the doctoral study.
∕∕ June – guest Dr. Panzarová of the company Photon
Systems Instruments
∕∕ October – guest Dr. Plisová of the company Medicem
WELCOME & INFO PHD DAY
The first meeting of the new students and a brief
introduction to the “day-to-day” life of a research centre.
SCIENCE MIXER
Friendly informal meeting, the introductory presentation
of one research group’s current work is followed by
networking and a poster presentation.
∕∕ April, September, November
CEITEC PHD RETREAT
A meeting of PhD students of life sciences, material
sciences, chemistry and physics, presentations, poster
sessions, networking.
∕∕ Telč, April
PASTEUR, CURIE & CEITEC JOINT RETREAT
Joint retreat of CEITEC students with students
of 2 prestigious French research institutes – Institute Pasteur
and Institute Curie.
∕∕ September
GENDER COMPOSITION
OF CANDIDATES
CEITEC PHD SCHOOL
IN 2017/2018
Central European Institute of Technology54
PUBLISHED BY
CEITEC – Central European Institute of Technology
EDITOR
Tomáš Bártek
DESIGN
Kreatura.cz
PHOTOGRAPHY
CEITEC
CEITEC has made its best effort in collecting and preparing the information
published herein. However, CEITEC does not assume, and hereby disclaims,
any and all liability for any loss or damage caused by errors, whether such
errors are the result of negligence, accident or other causes.
All rights reserved. 2018 CEITEC.
www.ceitec.eu
CEITEC – Central European Institute of Technology
Žerotínovo nám. 9, 601 77 Brno, Czech Republic
+420 549 494 369, info@ceitec.cz