Prof. MUDr. Alexandra Šulcová, CSc, FCMA, ECNP, FCINP dedicated her professional life to pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University, where she joined after graduation in 1970. From 1990 to 2011 she was the head of the Institute of Pharmacology at the Medical Faculty of Masaryk University. She then became the head of the Experimental and Applied Neuropsychopharmacology research group of the Central European Institute of Technology CEITEC at Masaryk University. Currently she is working at the Cannabis Research Center of the International Clinical Research Centre of St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno. The focus of her professional interest is the neuropsychological effects of substances contained in cannabis and in general research on the neurobiology of drug addiction and the effects of drugs on motor skills, emotionality and cognition.
Her pedagogical contribution is also significant. She has introduced progressive teaching and testing methods and supported the career development of her postgraduate students, who have always strived to compete in a challenging domestic and international environment. In 2013, she received the Milada Paulová Award for her scientific work in the field of experimental and clinical pharmacology and toxicology, an award given by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic in cooperation with the National Contact Centre – Gender and Science of the Institute of Sociology of the CAS to female scientists in recognition of their research work. She has served as a member of the committees of several national and international scientific societies. She is an Honorary Member of the “Czech Society for Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology”, Honorary Member of the “Czech Neuropsychopharmacological Society”, for which she worked for many years as a committee member and as President (1999-2000). Her professional experience is also confirmed by her membership in the executive committees of international professional societies: the ECNP (European College of Neuropsychopharmacology), CINP (Collegium Internationale Neuropsychopharmacologicum). She was elected vice-president of CINP in 2010-2014. In 2014 she was elected a member of the Czech Medical Academy (FCMA).
The awarding of the Brno City Prize is an expression of respect for a personality who has been active in Brno all her life and has built its high reputation through her scientific and pedagogical activities.
First of all, let me congratulate you on the award of the Brno Prize in Medical Science and Pharmacy. What does this award mean to you?
Perhaps you cannot imagine how much… It has brought me many joys, the biggest of which is that the city of Brno has appreciated and thus recognized the importance of my scientific field, i.e. Preclinical and Clinical Pharmacology. This is significant for us in that the field is introduced to the general public and is not confused directly with the field of pharmacy (i.e. the medical branch that serves to provide medicines for patients, which of course includes their research, production, distribution. A health professional involved in pharmacy is called a pharmacist; the related academic degrees are Master of Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy. Postgraduate education and successful defence of dissertation research in pharmacology are associated with the award of the degree of Ph.D. (formerly known as CSc. in the Czech Republic). I have also learned that the proposal for my award with this prestigious Brno City Prize was submitted to the Brno City Council by younger members of my former team of the Institute of Pharmacology, where I worked as its head for a number of years and they successfully defended their habilitation as associate professors. This in itself is a great honour for me and emotionally I owe them my great thanks. Last but not least, my father would certainly share my joy: Major General Otmar Kučera, DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross); during the war Commander of the 313th Fighter Squadron of the Royal Air Force, Honorary Citizen of the City of Brno. It’s like hearing what he would say about winning the City of Brno Award: “Daughter, so we both, against all odds, worked at home and abroad as: ‘proper Brnoers’.
When you think back to your beginnings, did you want to pursue pharmacology on purpose or was it more of a coincidence?
In truth? Well, it was like this: at the Faculty of Medicine of MUNI I successfully graduated with my two-year-old daughter and my husband, who moved from Prague to Brno for us. I was keen to get a place in the field of gynaecology, which I was very interested in during my undergraduate studies. However, somehow a place could not be found in Brno, but there was a position as an assistant in Pharmacology. Well, I took it (thinking that it would not last forever). And you see how it turned out – scientific pharmacology = my destiny and then my goal.
What do you consider your greatest career achievement?
I think it is difficult to praise myself, but in any case I am very happy that I have kept a clear conscience of direct and as responsible as possible in all my professional positions, whether it was in the leadership of the Institute of Pharmacology of the Faculty of Pharmacology of MUNI, or in the position of vice-dean or candidate for dean of the Faculty of Pharmacology of MUNI, or head of the Pharmacology Research Group of CEITEC MUNI, or in carrying out activities in the committees of prestigious national and international professional societies, as well as state institutions (e.g. NIDA (USA: National Institute on Drug Abuse), where for many years I cooperated in organizing international events (including those organized in the Czech Republic) within the “NIDA International Program”.
Are your former students following in your footsteps or are they pursuing other fields?
I wouldn’t call it that, some of my younger colleagues are following in my footsteps. My joy, however, is the fact that many of them have been successfully employed in pharmacological positions not only at MUNI, but some of them also abroad, mostly at highly reputable either pharmacological or pharmaceutical institutions. Directly at the Department of Pharmacology of MUNI, which I had the honour to lead for many years, a number of teachers have defended their PhD degrees and 4 of my colleagues have defended their scientific and teaching activities and the title of Associate Professor of Pharmacology, which of course I evaluate very positively and I am very happy about it.
You are considered a co-founder of Ethopharmacology in Central Europe, how would you describe this field to the readers?
The name “ethopharmacology” itself is meant to suggest that it is a combination of the approaches of ethology (i.e. the biological science that deals with the study of animal behaviour, including humans) and pharmacology, which studies the neurobiological processes involved in the regulation of behaviour.
When I was allowed to pursue a postgraduate degree in pharmacology, I was allowed to choose the laboratory in which I wanted to be active after a successful admission procedure at the Institute of Pharmacology of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Prague. After familiarizing myself with the institute’s possibilities at that time, I immediately chose the newly developing “Ethopharmacological” department, which, after getting acquainted with the methods used and the content of the published results, immediately impressed me. My enthusiasm lasted not only during my postgraduate studies and the successful defence of my dissertation. I presented the results at several professional conferences and also at the international “International Conference on Ethopharmacology”, then held in Athens. I was recognized after my presentation and during an interesting discussion I met a number of eminent ethopharmacologists from different countries from all over the world. (At that time, ethopharmacology was most developed in the USA and in Europe in England). This is how disciplinary friendships are formed! It is perhaps understandable that my ethopharmacological approach to research was reflected in the choice of topics for PhD students accepted at our Pharmacology Institute, where I was their supervisor. Gradually, with the help of defended applications for research grants, the appropriate preclinical technical laboratory equipment of our institute was improved and thus we had more and more plausible and accepted for publication ethopharmacological experimental studies also by our PhD students and also their presentation at international scientific conferences. We started to successfully organize such international conferences in our country. I was elected to the committee of the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society (“EBPS” = European Behavioural Pharmacology Society). The professional pharmacological societies communicate with each other, of course, even the international ones. They are interested in each other’s activities. I gradually became a member of several international pharmacological professional societies and was elected to their committees for my professional activity. These societies then award the honorary title of “Fellow” for services rendered. Thus, I gradually received the honorary titles, which I greatly appreciate: FECNP (Fellow – European College of Neuropsychopharmacology); FCINP (Fellow – International College of NeuropsychopharmacologyC); and FCMA (Fellow Czech Medical Academy).
The pharmacological approach was also used at the Institute of Pharmacology of the Faculty of Pharmacology of MUNI to investigate the pharmacological relationships of methamphetamine (methamphetamine) addiction, which is the most widely used drug in the Czech Republic. The pharmacological mechanisms of action of this drug are described. Ways to help in getting rid of addiction to it or other substances are sought.
An important direction of such research is the investigation of the relationship of the so-called human endocannabionoid system, which produces substances with similar regulatory effects to those of the cannabinoids contained in cannabis. This system exists essentially throughout the vertebrate body, including in humans, and can cause a variety of diseases if it does not function properly. For example, its deregulation in the brain can lead to schizophrenic disorders, depression and anxiety. We are trying to understand the functioning of this system and, more importantly, how it can be influenced therapeutically in various indications, including addictions. This is one of the interests of the FNUSA-ICRC Cannabis Research Center, of which I have the honour of being a member.
So you are currently working in our Cannabis Research Center. What led you to this decision?
I was very happy to accept the opportunity to be a member of this centre, even at my age, whose activities and activities I appreciate very much. I try to be a valid member in the professional discussions of the team to address the working activities of the Center, the publication of the results achieved through professional lectures or publications, I think it is also important to establish the widest possible international working contacts and cooperation with experts in the field of cannabinoid research and its practical use. I have long-standing “work-community” personal friendships with experts in this field, which are also certainly an important supporting component in achieving cannabinoid research and treatment success. I believe they would not mind if I took the liberty of quoting them here, as they are not reluctant to work with our center. Among the most important is certainly Professor Raphael Mechoulam from Israel, who was the first to carry out the total synthesis of the main plant cannabinoids Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabigerol and various others. Another major research project initiated by him was the isolation of the first described endocannabinoid in the vertebrate body (including man) – anandamide, in which two of his postdoctoral fellows, namely the Englishman William Devane and our Czech colleague Lumír Ondřej Hanuš, who was awarded the 12th Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University upon my proposal. On April 4, 2007, on my proposal to the Masaryk University, I was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor honoris causa in the field of chemical sciences. I have had the honour of being able to collaborate with these scientists in research and to publish some of their results together. We continue to be in active contact, one of the proofs of which is also their willingness to be in personal working relations with us, e.g. also at professional international conferences and those organized by our center at FNUSA-ICRC.
What would you say to students who are thinking about working in science and research?
GO FOR IT!
Prepare for all kinds of pitfalls, after all, as in any work activity; take advantage of all possible (nowadays available) professional and international collaborations that will bring progress.
I wish you much joy in your work, and in the results of your work being achieved and accepted. Good luck!
Negative role of mitochondria in the treatment of neuroblastoma
Neuroblastoma is one of the most common malignant tumors in children. It typically affects very young children and sometimes occurs before birth. Neuroblastoma arises from immature cells that commonly form peripheral nerve tissue, including the adrenal medulla, where this tumour is most commonly diagnosed. The causes of the tumour are not fully understood, although it is known that tumour growth is associated with mutations that prevent proper cell development and maturation.
In the Czech Republic, neuroblastoma is diagnosed in approximately 20-30 children per year. The biggest challenge in the treatment of this tumour is its variability. While in some patients the tumour disappears spontaneously, neuroblastomas of so-called high risk often do not respond to treatment at all or the disease returns. Only about half of these patients are successfully cured.
The causes of tumour formation, treatment failure and the reasons for recurrence are therefore the focus of attention of scientists from all over the world. At the International Clinical Research Centre of St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno, Jan Škoda, Ph.D., head of the Laboratory Oncology Translational Research team, is researching neuroblastoma. “During my internship at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, I worked in the lab with Dr. Michael Hogarty, a leading expert in neuroblastoma research and treatment. We established a long-term collaboration, the results of which we are gradually publishing,” described Dr. Škoda.
One of the results of their collaboration is the paper “Reduced ER-mitochondria connectivity promotes neuroblastoma multidrug resistanceR”, which was published this year in the prestigious scientific journal EMBO Journal (IF 11.6) and which Dr. Škoda co-authored.
In the publication, the researchers focused on mitochondria in cancer cells and their role in therapy. Mitochondria are cellular organelles, i.e. microscopic formations in cells that perform specific functions, similar to organs in the human body, for example. They are fascinating components of our cells, which probably originated from bacteria sometime over two billion years ago. Mitochondria provide unique functions for the cell. They act as a kind of cellular powerhouse and are involved in, among other things, cell differentiation or cell death.
It is programmed cell death, so-called apoptosis, that is an important process in the human body. It is often more beneficial to the organism than spontaneous cell death, because during apoptosis the cell breaks down into smaller vesicles in a controlled manner and there is no risk of it bursting and spilling its harmful contents into the environment. It is also the activation of apoptosis that is the target of most anticancer drugs. The research team, which included Dr. Skoda, described a new mechanism by which neuroblastoma cells can escape available treatments. “Essentially, we found that therapy-resistant cancer cells lose the tight contacts between mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum, another very important cellular organelle. This leads to a change in the composition of the mitochondria and they become less sensitive to cell death signals. This leads to a general resistance of the tumour cells, which are therefore very difficult to destroy even with otherwise perfectly effective drugs. Simply put, the changes that anticancer drugs induce in the cell are not perceived by these mitochondria and apoptosis is not triggered,” explained Dr Škoda.
Describing this new mechanism opens a new avenue for developing strategies to treat these resistant tumours.
Cannabis & science – comprehensive information on cannabis research and use
For the seventh time, the International conference Cannabis and Science will be held on Tuesday, 24 May at 9:00 a.m. at the Brno Observatory and Planetarium. The conference is held under the auspices of the Director of St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno Ing. Vlastimil Vajdák and with the support of the Director of the International Clinical Research Centre of FNUSA Prof. Irena Rektorova.
Cannabis – a topic that still arouses emotions, especially due to the lack of information. Comprehensive information on research, cultivation, legislation or use in medical practice will be the main focus of the conference. Prominent foreign and Czech experts will present the results of their work, for example Prof. Mechoulam from Israel, who is now literally one of the legends of this field, not only thanks to the discovery of the THC molecule (tetra hydrocannabinol). “I am glad that after a break caused by the coronavirus pandemic we will meet again with doc. Lumír Hanuš, who has been researching cannabis for more than thirty years in Israel,” added Dr. Radovan Hřib, a pioneer of cannabis treatment from St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno.
Prof. Šulcová, a recent winner of the Brno City Prize, as well as experts from Italy, Ireland and Germany will also speak at the conference. Probably the most important topic from a practical point of view will again be the legislative changes related to the cultivation of medical cannabis. “The paradox is precisely the legislative situation, where we have an amendment to the law, valid from 1 January 2022, but so far without an implementing decree. For this reason, even the hospital is waiting for rules on how to apply for a license that would allow commercial cultivation of medical cannabis. And thus also to use the experience that we are gaining in the field of research on cannabis cultivation so far in our experimental cultivation of medical cannabis, which opened last year,” added Dr. Václav Trojan, Head of the Cannabis Research Center FNUSA-ICRC.
The conference is also intended for university students and teachers and this year’s event will also remind us that J. G. Mendel, whose bicentenary we are celebrating this year, also worked with cannabis. The conference website can be found here:
Stroke will be fought on Kraví hora. The main weapons are FAST running and rap performed by MC Gey
On Tuesday, 24 May, the Kraví hora park in Brno will become a centre of awareness of the fight against stroke. In the Czech Republic, 6 thousand people die of stroke every year, regardless of age. Yet with early diagnosis and early first aid, the consequences of a stroke may not be so fatal. Awareness of stroke is generally low in our population, especially among children and teenagers. Therefore, the public health group, led by the International Clinical Research Centre of St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno (FNUSA-ICRC), has for the fourth time relied on the FAST run as part of its awareness campaign and this year also on the presentation of a single by the well-known rapper Jakub Rafael alias MC Gey. The Brno-based artist composed and filmed the video “Corner of the mouth”, which introduces the issue of CMP to young people in a way that is understandable and close to them.
The fun programme for the public and schools will take place on Kraví hora from 10 am to 3 pm. First, the FAST run, an event for primary school pupils, will start. The name FAST run is derived from the so-called FAST method, which helps lay people to remember the symptoms of CMP. (F-face/face, drooping of one corner and eyelid, A-arm/arm, unable to keep both arms at the same height in the forearm, S-speech/speech, confused, incomprehensible answers to simple questions or difficulty in understanding them, T-time/time, if even one symptom is noticed, the emergency services should be called immediately, number 155).
Children demonstrate this knowledge during the race. “This is a completely unique opportunity to learn how to respond to an acute illness in the field. Racers will pass through five stations on the track where they must help a person with a specific health problem, such as a stroke, in simulated situations. This is the fourth time we have organised the event and the children agree in their feedback that it is an experience of a lifetime,” says Hana Maršálková, the organiser of the event and head of the Public Health Group at FNUSA-ICRC.
The partners of the FAST run are the Záchranka App and the Brno Observatory and Planetarium. Musically, the event, which is held under the auspices of the Mayor of the Statutory City of Brno Markéta Vaňková and the Municipal District of Brno-Centre, will be accompanied by the band Čohanas and the main star, Brno rapper MC Gey, who will present the theme song of the whole day called Corner of the mouth, in which he raps about the symptoms of CMP. “The brain can’t go in a clogged artery, it’s good to know what, when the stroke knocks, three main symptoms, so let’s check them out,” are the opening words of the song, whose title is derived from the droopy corner of the mouth that is one of the symptoms of CMP. “When we were thinking about how to raise awareness about stroke in our Saste Roma project, which is aimed at preventing serious illnesses in excluded localities, we decided on a rap song to bring the subject to young people. The younger generation is often the one who calls their parents and grandparents to the ambulance when they have a stroke,” adds Hana Maršálková, head of the Public Health Group at FNUSA-ICRC.
NPO project coordinated by FNUSA approved
On Wednesday, 11 May, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports announced the results of the public competition of the EXCELES programme. This is a call launched within the framework of the National Recovery Plan (NPO) with the aim of creating a National Institute for Neurological Research (NINR). The project will be launched in July, will run for three and a half years and involves the collaboration of eleven institutions from across the country. The main beneficiary and coordinator is St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno. The total subsidy received is almost CZK 590 million.
The public competition in the Programme for Supporting Excellent Research in Priority Areas of Public Interest in Health Care – EXCELES was one of the first calls announced under the National Recovery Plan. These were announced in several areas, for example, focusing on oncology, metabolic-cardiology, virology, etc. “FNUSA and the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University entered the project together, based on their close cooperation. The fact that we are the coordinator of the project is a prestigious matter,” said Professor Milan Brázdil, Head of the First Neurological Clinic of FNUSA and the Medical Faculty of Masaryk University. In addition to the Brno platform, the other main institutions are the first and second Faculty of Medicine of Charles University, and other institutions are also involved, including the Academy of Sciences or the Czech Technical University and the University of Technology.
The central aim of the project is to connect excellent research teams with similar focuses, especially across universities and academies of science, to make the most of their unique expertise, to support the efficient use of existing cohorts and already acquired data, and to enable specialised research laboratories to carry out data evaluation so that work is concentrated in these central laboratories and not carried out in multiple locations at once.
This goal requires the establishment of a new national authority, the National Institute for Neurological Research (NINR), whose primary mission will be to systematically seek out breakthroughs in brain and nervous system knowledge with the goal of using them programmatically to reduce the burden of neurological disease and improve the quality of life of the affected population. The research will mainly focus on neurodegenerative diseases, i.e. for example Parkinson’s disease and dementia, and partly on COVID-19 and its impact on neurodegeneration.
The tasks of the NINR within this project will rest on three pillars of research looking at the issue of neurodegeneration from three different aspects – movement control disorders, cognitive disorders and neurodevelopmental disorders. “And it is not only about closer cooperation between the participating institutions, the project also includes student mobility, establishing greater cooperation with foreign countries, attracting foreign students and internationalising our scientific institutions,” emphasised FNUSA-ICRC Director Prof. Irena Rektorová.
Supported by Project No. LX22NPO5107 from the National Recovery Plan (MEYS).
Excessive TV viewing is unhealthy for Brno residents even if they engage in regular physical activity
The indispensable role of physical activity in maintaining the health of the population is well known, but time spent on sedentary activities – such as watching TV, playing computer games, sitting at the computer, reading, travelling (by bus, tram, car, etc.) – is not usually given the attention it should be. Between 2005 and 2017, time spent sitting in the Czech Republic increased from 58 % to 62 %. The most common activity that families spend their free time on is watching TV, which still exceeds time spent on the computer. More than 80 % of Czech families watch TV every day or almost every day.
Dr. Geraldo Maranhano Neto Ph.D, Senior Resercher in Cardiovascular Medicine at the International Clinical Research Centre (FNUSA-ICRC) of St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno, published an article in the “Journal of Clinical Medicine” in January 2022 on the impact of television viewing and physical activity on various health risks.
“The research showed that people who spent more than four hours a day watching TV had more total and abdominal fat, even if their physical activity fell into the medium or high category. For other risk factors, such as high blood pressure or triacylglycerol levels, TV viewing time was significantly higher in physically inactive individuals. This suggests that people who spend a lot of time in sedentary activities are more at risk for health risks, even if they are highly physically active,” says Dr. Neto.
“Unlike sedentary jobs, watching television is usually associated with the evening hours after eating dinner. During this time, we sit without breaks, and many of us associate watching TV with eating food, sugary drinks or smoking. It should be mentioned that time spent at home is steadily increasing, mainly due to the necessary isolation (caused by the COVID-19 pandemic) and the availability of streaming platforms. We must realise that sitting in front of the television for long periods of time is a habit that can be changed. Even those who exercise regularly should work on themselves in this regard,” said Dr Neto.
As an expert on physical activity, what recommendations would you give to Brno residents based on these results?
First, even if physical activity cannot prevent some of the health problems associated with sitting in front of the TV for long periods of time, it will always be beneficial to our health. It is good to constantly remind ourselves of this fact so that so-called inactivity is not an option for us.
It is also important to allow time between stopping watching TV and preparing for sleep. The key is to reduce the time spent in front of the TV to a maximum of 2 hours a day and replace it with other habits, such as reading, which helps very well with maintaining the quality of sleep. Eating food while watching TV should also be completely avoided. Remember that the time-honoured ‘everything in moderation’ applies to every habit, including watching TV.
Henner Prize and Habilitation Thesis Defense in One Month – Dr. Ondřej Volný from STROKE Team is an Associate Professor
The Henner Prize for the outstanding original publication of 2020, intended for young authors in the field of neurology under 35 years of age, was awarded to Ondřej Volný, MD, PhD, researcher at the International Clinical Research Centre of St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno (FNUSA-ICRC) at a ceremony in Olomouc. The researcher of the STROKE team, led by Prof. Robert Mikulík, was awarded this prestigious prize by the Czech Neurological Society. The scientist and physician, who is involved in neurology, especially in research on the treatment of stroke patients, also became one of the youngest associate professors in the history of Czech neurology this month.
Due to the pandemic measures of the past years, Ondřej Volný could only receive the Henner Prize this year. In his work, he focused on a specific group of patients whose stroke resulted in the occlusion of a large cerebral artery, but contrary to the expectations of experts, the stroke resulted in a relatively mild neurological deficit, such as a drop in the corners of the eyes or a weakening of the hand. “In my work, among other things, I addressed whether it is better to provide surgical treatment to these patients in the future or to treat them only medically,” explained researcher Ondřej Volný. The original work, Thrombectomy vs. medical treatment in patients with stroke in the anterior cerebral circulation and low NIHSS scores (i.e. low neurological deficit), also resulted in substantial help to teams of fellow neurologists who will design protocols for new studies in future years. The publication, which was described as excellent and original by the committee of the Czech Neurological Society, was created by Ondřej Volný in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Calgary, where he worked for a year and a half not only as a clinical researcher, but also as a clinician (stroke fellow). “Currently, I am still in contact with the scientific team in Calgary and I will do everything I can to ensure that the Czech Republic continues to be involved in planned studies in stroke research,” adds Ondřej Volný.
At the moment when the clinical researcher of the Cerberovascular Team of the FNUSA-ICRC in Brno and also a physician and deputy head of the Neurological Clinic for Science and Research at the Ostrava University Hospital received the Henner Prize, he already knew that he had successfully defended his habilitation thesis. The appointment decree from the Rector of Masaryk University in Brno, Prof. Martin Bareš, is dated 1 May. Dr. Ondřej Volný thus became one of the youngest associate professors in the history of Czech neurology. He is only 35 years old. “The topic of my habilitation thesis was Diagnosis and recanalization treatment of strokes, an issue I have been working on for almost 10 years. I started the habilitation procedure at Masaryk University in Brno on 4 February last year and on 24 March this year I gave my last lecture before the Scientific Council of the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University in Brno, so the process took more than a year,” explained Associate Professor Ondřej Volný.
The team of colleagues from FNUSA-ICRC congratulates Associate Professor Ondřej Volný and wishes him many more successes in his clinical and research work.
FNUSA-ICRC and MU Faculty of Science signed a cooperation agreement
On Tuesday, 26 April 2022, in the presence of the Director of St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno Ing. Vlastimil Vajdák, Dean of the Faculty of Science of MU prof. Mgr. Tomáš Kašparovský, Ph.D. and the Director of the International Clinical Research Centre of the St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno (FNUSA-ICRC) prof. MUDr. Irena Rektorová, Ph.D. signed the Agreement on Cooperation between the Faculty of Science of MU and FNUSA-ICRC.
After the signing of the agreement with the Medical Faculty of MU, this is another step towards strengthening the cooperation between St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno and Masaryk University in the field of research. “Cooperation with Masaryk University has long been one of my priorities. It is not just about formalizing mutual relations, but actually making long-term cooperation more effective,” said Vlastimil Vajdák, director of the hospital.
The subject of the agreement is to regulate the conditions of cooperation in the implementation of scientific research activities by joint research groups of FNUSA and the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University, as well as research groups that will be established in the future. “I am very pleased that after long but constructive negotiations we have managed to reach an agreement that is beneficial for both parties,” said the Dean of the Faculty of Science, Tomáš Kašparovský. “Among other things, we have agreed with the director that our graduates of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Genetics could obtain interesting job offers within the framework of cooperation with the hospital.”
Professor Rektorová adds: “I am very happy for the formalisation of the relationship, and the agreement also declares the joint entry of both institutions into major strategic projects. Another common interest is the participation of motivated FNUSA-ICRC scientists in undergraduate or postgraduate teaching at the MU Faculty of Science; teaching positions are competed through a selection procedure.”
There are several joint teams of MU Faculty of Science and FNUSA-ICRC. These include Prof. Jiří Damborský’s Protein Engineering research group, which operates within the Loschmidt Laboratories of Faculty of Science MU, RECETOX and FNUSA-ICRC. Furthermore, the Medicinal Chemistry group of doc. Kamil Paruch and the Laboratory Oncology Translational Research group of RNDr. Jan Škoda.
We have been awarded a prestigious Horizon Europe grant
A consortium of sixteen scientific institutions, which also includes our center, has been successful with the DataTools4Heart grant. This means more than seven million crowns for FNUSA-ICRC and also further opportunities to participate in other projects with these partners, including the European Society of Cardiology.
The aim of the project is to develop a computer tool to help patients with heart failure and coronary heart disease. The aim is to create computer software that will use machine learning and artificial intelligence methods to help decide the best course of action for treating a particular patient with a particular problem. “The whole project is divided into several work areas, and ICRC researchers will mainly participate in two sequential goals, namely to provide sufficient data for “machine learning” and the subsequent validation of the forthcoming product,” said Assoc. Roman Panovský, M.D., Ph.D., head of the Noninvasive Cardiac Imaging – CMR research team.
In practice, this will mean that the algorithms for determining the ideal timing and sequence of individual steps in diagnosing patients’ diseases will be learned from samples of clinical-research data from patients at St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno. Machine learning methods will then be used to find optimizations in the patient diagnostic process. “The advantage of the project is clearly the fact that no data will leave our workplace. The result will be algorithms and procedures that can be used for the final tool so that the treatment procedure of a new patient is as fast as possible based on these facts,” added Associate Professor Panovský.
The entire project will run for four years and will be worked on by four FNUSA-ICRC research teams as well as colleagues from the First Internal Cardioangiology Clinic of FNUSA.
The educational programme HOBIT has tested almost 1 700 pupils from the Visegrad Group countries (V4)
Czechia, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary have all participated in the V4 HOBIT project: Saving lives in V4 through medical education in schools. Through e-learning activities, pupils from almost 30 primary and secondary schools have learnt to recognise symptoms of stroke and heart attack, and how to provide first aid to those affected. Due to this project, we have managed to expand this successful educational programme abroad.
The programme HOBIT has been operating in Czech schools since 2014. However, it is a novelty for teachers and pupils from the other three countries of the Visegrad Group. Ľubica Fidesová from the GrapePR agency commented on the project: “We are delighted about the high participation rate of Slovakian pupils who have taken part in this international educational programme. Almost 750 pupils have learnt to recognise the symptoms of stroke and heart attack, and how to act appropriately when encountering a person displaying these symptoms.” Out of the V4 countries, Slovakia has been recognised as the country with the highest rate of pupils that have participated in the V4 HOBIT project.
The largest number of Slovakian schools that have participated in the project came from the town of Košice. However, other schools from Bratislava, Povážská Bystrica and Trstené have also joined in. In Poland, most of the schools that took part were from the city of Krakow, whereas in Hungary, the base of participating schools was wider, for example Szeged, Nyírbátor, Zalaegerszeg or Szigetszentmiklós, just to name a few.
HOBIT educates through the use of simulation scenarios
The HOBIT e-learning programme consists of three parts. Firstly, students go through a short section of a few questions that test them on how much they already know about stroke and heart attack. Then, pupils watch the educational videos of simulation scenarios before they are tested again on how much they have learnt. “The children really enjoyed the project. They found the videos very stimulating and they were able to learn how to react in critical and life-threatening situations,” said the biology teacher Jana Hájková.
In the school year 2021/2022, approximately 1700 pupils from the V4 countries have completed the first round of testing. The students will repeat the e-learning programme and testing again in the coming weeks. As a result, the researchers from the Cerebrovascular team at the International Clinical Research Centre at St. Ann´s University Hospital in Brno will be able to evaluate the overall effectiveness of this international educational V4 programme named HOBIT.
“The implementation of this project led to the collection of data on how the young generation is able to recognise symptoms of these medical conditions and react in an appropriate manner. We have also recognised how much our programme contributes to increasing children’s knowledge regarding health,” said the Programm HOBIT Coordinator Renata Hejnová.
In each of the participating countries, the pupils´ knowledge of the individual medical conditions have increased. The highest improvement was detected in Slovakia where the figures rose from an average 44.8 % (success rate in the first round of questions) to 59.5 % (success rate in the second round of questions). The most insignificant difference between the first and second round of testing questions was observed in Poland. While Polish pupils passed the first test with an average success rate of 53.5 %, they achieved a result of 57 % in the final round of questions.
Some teachers have already expressed that the programme is very reasonable. “These medical conditions (stroke and heart attack) are part of our everyday lives. We can encounter a person displaying these symptoms at any time. Pupils embrace the programme with an enthusiasm of learning something new that they can use in real life. They no longer feel helpless in critical situations,” said the teacher Gabriela Milsinerová.
The V4 HOBIT project was launched in March 2021. The programme is coordinated by the Cerebrovascular Team from the International Clinical Research Centre at Saint Anne´s University Hospital in Brno and it works in partnership with Semmelweis University, Jagiellonian University a Univerzitná nemocnica L. Pasteura.
The implementation of the project was led by the GrapePR agency in Slovakia, Agencja Pretty Good in Poland and Diamond Agency in Hungary. Within the Czech Republic, we have approached the same schools that have participated in the HOBIT programme in previous years.
The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through the Visegrad Grants from the International Visegrad Fund. The main aim of the fund is to advance ideas for a sustainable regional cooperation in the Central Europe.
Brno City Prize awarded to Prof. Šulcová
Prof. MUDr. Alexandra Šulcová, CSc, FCMA, ECNP, FCINP dedicated her professional life to pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University, where she joined after graduation in 1970. From 1990 to 2011 she was the head of the Institute of Pharmacology at the Medical Faculty of Masaryk University. She then became the head of the Experimental and Applied Neuropsychopharmacology research group of the Central European Institute of Technology CEITEC at Masaryk University. Currently she is working at the Cannabis Research Center of the International Clinical Research Centre of St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno. The focus of her professional interest is the neuropsychological effects of substances contained in cannabis and in general research on the neurobiology of drug addiction and the effects of drugs on motor skills, emotionality and cognition.
Her pedagogical contribution is also significant. She has introduced progressive teaching and testing methods and supported the career development of her postgraduate students, who have always strived to compete in a challenging domestic and international environment. In 2013, she received the Milada Paulová Award for her scientific work in the field of experimental and clinical pharmacology and toxicology, an award given by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic in cooperation with the National Contact Centre – Gender and Science of the Institute of Sociology of the CAS to female scientists in recognition of their research work. She has served as a member of the committees of several national and international scientific societies. She is an Honorary Member of the “Czech Society for Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology”, Honorary Member of the “Czech Neuropsychopharmacological Society”, for which she worked for many years as a committee member and as President (1999-2000). Her professional experience is also confirmed by her membership in the executive committees of international professional societies: the ECNP (European College of Neuropsychopharmacology), CINP (Collegium Internationale Neuropsychopharmacologicum). She was elected vice-president of CINP in 2010-2014. In 2014 she was elected a member of the Czech Medical Academy (FCMA).
The awarding of the Brno City Prize is an expression of respect for a personality who has been active in Brno all her life and has built its high reputation through her scientific and pedagogical activities.
First of all, let me congratulate you on the award of the Brno Prize in Medical Science and Pharmacy. What does this award mean to you?
Perhaps you cannot imagine how much… It has brought me many joys, the biggest of which is that the city of Brno has appreciated and thus recognized the importance of my scientific field, i.e. Preclinical and Clinical Pharmacology. This is significant for us in that the field is introduced to the general public and is not confused directly with the field of pharmacy (i.e. the medical branch that serves to provide medicines for patients, which of course includes their research, production, distribution. A health professional involved in pharmacy is called a pharmacist; the related academic degrees are Master of Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy. Postgraduate education and successful defence of dissertation research in pharmacology are associated with the award of the degree of Ph.D. (formerly known as CSc. in the Czech Republic). I have also learned that the proposal for my award with this prestigious Brno City Prize was submitted to the Brno City Council by younger members of my former team of the Institute of Pharmacology, where I worked as its head for a number of years and they successfully defended their habilitation as associate professors. This in itself is a great honour for me and emotionally I owe them my great thanks. Last but not least, my father would certainly share my joy: Major General Otmar Kučera, DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross); during the war Commander of the 313th Fighter Squadron of the Royal Air Force, Honorary Citizen of the City of Brno. It’s like hearing what he would say about winning the City of Brno Award: “Daughter, so we both, against all odds, worked at home and abroad as: ‘proper Brnoers’.
When you think back to your beginnings, did you want to pursue pharmacology on purpose or was it more of a coincidence?
In truth? Well, it was like this: at the Faculty of Medicine of MUNI I successfully graduated with my two-year-old daughter and my husband, who moved from Prague to Brno for us. I was keen to get a place in the field of gynaecology, which I was very interested in during my undergraduate studies. However, somehow a place could not be found in Brno, but there was a position as an assistant in Pharmacology. Well, I took it (thinking that it would not last forever). And you see how it turned out – scientific pharmacology = my destiny and then my goal.
What do you consider your greatest career achievement?
I think it is difficult to praise myself, but in any case I am very happy that I have kept a clear conscience of direct and as responsible as possible in all my professional positions, whether it was in the leadership of the Institute of Pharmacology of the Faculty of Pharmacology of MUNI, or in the position of vice-dean or candidate for dean of the Faculty of Pharmacology of MUNI, or head of the Pharmacology Research Group of CEITEC MUNI, or in carrying out activities in the committees of prestigious national and international professional societies, as well as state institutions (e.g. NIDA (USA: National Institute on Drug Abuse), where for many years I cooperated in organizing international events (including those organized in the Czech Republic) within the “NIDA International Program”.
Are your former students following in your footsteps or are they pursuing other fields?
I wouldn’t call it that, some of my younger colleagues are following in my footsteps. My joy, however, is the fact that many of them have been successfully employed in pharmacological positions not only at MUNI, but some of them also abroad, mostly at highly reputable either pharmacological or pharmaceutical institutions. Directly at the Department of Pharmacology of MUNI, which I had the honour to lead for many years, a number of teachers have defended their PhD degrees and 4 of my colleagues have defended their scientific and teaching activities and the title of Associate Professor of Pharmacology, which of course I evaluate very positively and I am very happy about it.
You are considered a co-founder of Ethopharmacology in Central Europe, how would you describe this field to the readers?
The name “ethopharmacology” itself is meant to suggest that it is a combination of the approaches of ethology (i.e. the biological science that deals with the study of animal behaviour, including humans) and pharmacology, which studies the neurobiological processes involved in the regulation of behaviour.
When I was allowed to pursue a postgraduate degree in pharmacology, I was allowed to choose the laboratory in which I wanted to be active after a successful admission procedure at the Institute of Pharmacology of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Prague. After familiarizing myself with the institute’s possibilities at that time, I immediately chose the newly developing “Ethopharmacological” department, which, after getting acquainted with the methods used and the content of the published results, immediately impressed me. My enthusiasm lasted not only during my postgraduate studies and the successful defence of my dissertation. I presented the results at several professional conferences and also at the international “International Conference on Ethopharmacology”, then held in Athens. I was recognized after my presentation and during an interesting discussion I met a number of eminent ethopharmacologists from different countries from all over the world. (At that time, ethopharmacology was most developed in the USA and in Europe in England). This is how disciplinary friendships are formed! It is perhaps understandable that my ethopharmacological approach to research was reflected in the choice of topics for PhD students accepted at our Pharmacology Institute, where I was their supervisor. Gradually, with the help of defended applications for research grants, the appropriate preclinical technical laboratory equipment of our institute was improved and thus we had more and more plausible and accepted for publication ethopharmacological experimental studies also by our PhD students and also their presentation at international scientific conferences. We started to successfully organize such international conferences in our country. I was elected to the committee of the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society (“EBPS” = European Behavioural Pharmacology Society). The professional pharmacological societies communicate with each other, of course, even the international ones. They are interested in each other’s activities. I gradually became a member of several international pharmacological professional societies and was elected to their committees for my professional activity. These societies then award the honorary title of “Fellow” for services rendered. Thus, I gradually received the honorary titles, which I greatly appreciate: FECNP (Fellow – European College of Neuropsychopharmacology); FCINP (Fellow – International College of NeuropsychopharmacologyC); and FCMA (Fellow Czech Medical Academy).
The pharmacological approach was also used at the Institute of Pharmacology of the Faculty of Pharmacology of MUNI to investigate the pharmacological relationships of methamphetamine (methamphetamine) addiction, which is the most widely used drug in the Czech Republic. The pharmacological mechanisms of action of this drug are described. Ways to help in getting rid of addiction to it or other substances are sought.
An important direction of such research is the investigation of the relationship of the so-called human endocannabionoid system, which produces substances with similar regulatory effects to those of the cannabinoids contained in cannabis. This system exists essentially throughout the vertebrate body, including in humans, and can cause a variety of diseases if it does not function properly. For example, its deregulation in the brain can lead to schizophrenic disorders, depression and anxiety. We are trying to understand the functioning of this system and, more importantly, how it can be influenced therapeutically in various indications, including addictions. This is one of the interests of the FNUSA-ICRC Cannabis Research Center, of which I have the honour of being a member.
So you are currently working in our Cannabis Research Center. What led you to this decision?
I was very happy to accept the opportunity to be a member of this centre, even at my age, whose activities and activities I appreciate very much. I try to be a valid member in the professional discussions of the team to address the working activities of the Center, the publication of the results achieved through professional lectures or publications, I think it is also important to establish the widest possible international working contacts and cooperation with experts in the field of cannabinoid research and its practical use. I have long-standing “work-community” personal friendships with experts in this field, which are also certainly an important supporting component in achieving cannabinoid research and treatment success. I believe they would not mind if I took the liberty of quoting them here, as they are not reluctant to work with our center. Among the most important is certainly Professor Raphael Mechoulam from Israel, who was the first to carry out the total synthesis of the main plant cannabinoids Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabigerol and various others. Another major research project initiated by him was the isolation of the first described endocannabinoid in the vertebrate body (including man) – anandamide, in which two of his postdoctoral fellows, namely the Englishman William Devane and our Czech colleague Lumír Ondřej Hanuš, who was awarded the 12th Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University upon my proposal. On April 4, 2007, on my proposal to the Masaryk University, I was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor honoris causa in the field of chemical sciences. I have had the honour of being able to collaborate with these scientists in research and to publish some of their results together. We continue to be in active contact, one of the proofs of which is also their willingness to be in personal working relations with us, e.g. also at professional international conferences and those organized by our center at FNUSA-ICRC.
What would you say to students who are thinking about working in science and research?
GO FOR IT!
Prepare for all kinds of pitfalls, after all, as in any work activity; take advantage of all possible (nowadays available) professional and international collaborations that will bring progress.
I wish you much joy in your work, and in the results of your work being achieved and accepted. Good luck!