01. 01. 2025
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Today, we are celebrating not only the beginning of a new year but also a significant anniversary – 50 years of cutting-edge biomedical research at the Institute of Experimental Medicine of the CAS.
The IEM CAS was established by the decision of the Presidium of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (CSAV) on 1 January 1975 to merge four separate laboratories of the CSAV – the Laboratory of Plastic Surgery, the Laboratory of Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Visual Analyzer, the Laboratory of Otolaryngology and the Laboratory of Ultrastructure of Cells and Tissues – to connect basic and applied research in biomedicine. At the time, it was a leading institution in Czechoslovakia, bringing new methods and technologies to the study of human health and disease. Initially, research teams focused on neurobiology, toxicology and regenerative medicine – fields that remain essential pillars of the Institute’s activities today.
Since its foundation, the IEM CAS has benefited from an interdisciplinary approach and international collaboration. A key success factor is also the support of young scientists and active involvement in educational programmes that attract students not only from the Czech Republic but also from abroad. Currently, the IEM CAS is one of the leading scientific research institutions in the Czech Republic focused on basic biomedical research. Its main goal is to discover the basic principles of human diseases at the cellular and molecular level, which has a direct impact on the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
More about the history, present and future of the IEM CAS can be found in a special appendix of Vesmír (The Space) magazine, which will be published on 7 January 2025 in a printed version. The following day, it will also be freely available in digital form on our website and social networks.
We thank all those who have been and are part of our journey – scientists, students, partners and supporters. Without you, we would not be where we are today.
For the New Year 2025, we wish everyone a lot of inspiration, success and joy from every little and big discovery! And especially good health, because that is certainly the most valuable thing we possess!
Photo: Petra Veselá / “Passage to another dimension” – Awarded image from the 10th edition of the Photogenic Science 2023 photo contest