World experts in cancer and epilepsy treatment came to Brno for ICRC DAYS 2025
From September 9 to 10, 2025, the Bohunice campus of Masaryk University was filled with lectures on clinical and preclinical research that revealed where the boundaries of medicine were about to move in the near future. As part of the ICRC DAYS 2025 conference – Creating the Future of Medicine – the floor was taken not only by scientists from the International Clinical Research Center (ICRC) of St. Anne’s University Hospital and the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University, but also by leading international experts whose names resonated throughout academic circles around the world.
The winner of the competition for the best Ph.D. publication was Veronika Bosáková (third from the left).
We expected this event to strengthen connections within the scientific community and to reinforce Brno’s position as one of the main centers of scientific excellence in Central Europe, to bring science closer to the public, and to accelerate the transfer of research findings into practice,” said Michal Masařík, head of the ICRC, about the event. “We managed to bring world-class scientists to Brno,” Masařík pointed out. “It was not only a great honor but also an opportunity to inspire our students and young researchers by meeting the very best,” he added.
Among the international guests who accepted the invitation to speak at ICRC DAYS was Professor Jai Prakash, a world-renowned multidisciplinary scientist and recipient of the prestigious ERC Advanced Grant awarded by the European Research Council. In his work, he combined cutting-edge knowledge from nanomedicine, bioengineering, and immunotherapy. His research focused on fibrosis and the tumor microenvironment, aiming to understand the reasons behind treatment failures in pancreatic cancer.
Another speaker was molecular biologist Yoav Shaul from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Professor Shaul investigated the mechanisms by which cancer cells alter their metabolism to meet specific metabolic requirements essential for tumor development.
On Tuesday morning at ICRC DAYS, Jan Van den Bossche from the Amsterdam University Medical Center gave a lecture. Van den Bossche’s research focused on macrophages — cells that are part of the human immune system.
Specialist in stereotactic neurosurgery and deep brain stimulation in epilepsy patients, Romain Carron from Hôpital de la Timone at Aix-Marseille University, spoke on Wednesday afternoon.
As part of the opening ceremony of the event on September 9 at 9:00 a.m., the results of the competition for the best doctoral publication — published or accepted for publication during the previous year — were announced. A jury composed of leading experts evaluated nine shortlisted publications. The event was moderated by well-known science communication and popularization expert Pavla Hubálková. The program also included a presentation of scientific posters, where research groups could showcase their activities and explore potential collaborations.
“The research carried out at the ICRC has been contributing to the improvement of clinical care at St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno for more than ten years. I believe that the conference helped establish new connections and raised awareness of the work being done by ICRC scientists,” said Vlastimil Vajdák, Director of St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno.
The conference was held under the auspices of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala; Minister of Health, Vlastimil Válek; Governor of the South Moravian Region, Jan Grolich; Mayor of the City of Brno, Markéta Vaňková; and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University, Martin Repko.
