21. 06. 2023
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This year, twenty-four outstanding young scientific talents received a prestigious Czech Academy of Sciences award: the Otto Wichterle Award for 2023. Among this year’s laureates is our neuroscientist Kristýna Kárová from the Department of Neuroregeneration.
Kristýna studied immunology at the Faculty of Science of Charles University and finished her doctoral studies at the 2nd Faculty of Medicine of Charles University. She decided to apply her knowledge in the field of neuroscience at the Institute of Experimental Medicine of the CAS, where she has been working since 2012.
At the beginning of her scientific career, she focused on stem cell research and the pathogenesis of the inflammatory response after brain and spinal cord injury. Now she is mainly interested in gene therapy in the stimulation of axon regeneration after spinal cord injury. Her results are so encouraging that they have attracted the attention of the International Foundation for Paraplegia Research, based in Switzerland, which has supported her research with a generous grant.
Since the beginning of her studies, she has collaborated with a number of prestigious institutions abroad, such as New York Medical College, the University of Cambridge and King’s College London. She has co-authored many highly regarded publications and regularly lectures at international scientific symposia. She leads her research team within the IEM CAS and teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students.
The award ceremony took place in Prague’s Villa Lanna, and the prizes were presented to the laureates by the President of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Eva Zažímalová.
Kristýna, we cordially congratulate you on this extraordinary and well-deserved success. We are so proud of you!
The Otto Wichterle Award is an honour given by the Czech Academy of Sciences to selected, exceptionally high quality and promising scientists of the CAS who have contributed outstanding results to the development of scientific knowledge, hold scientific ranks or titles (CSc., Dr., Ph.D., DrSc., DSc.) and are no older than 35 years of age in the calendar year of submission. The directors of the CAS Institutes submit proposals for the premium award after consultation with the Institute Councils.