Dr. Zuzana Sumbalova Koledova advanced to the second round with her proposal under European Research Council grant aimed at supporting the independent careers of outstanding young scientists in the phase of consolidating their own independent research teams. This is the first ever ERC grant proposal at LF MU to advance to the second round.
Dr. Zuzana Sumbalova Koledova, the head of the research group on Mechanisms of epithelial morphogenesis at the Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, has achieved another success. This ambitious and hard-working scientist, awarded with the Award of the Czech Minister of Health for medical science and research (2021) and the MUNI SCIENTIST Award for outstanding research results (2020), has succeeded in the first round of the ERC Consolidator Grant proposal evaluation, and has advanced to the second round - she will undergo an online interview with a panel of evaluators in November 2022.
The FIBROFORCE project on Deciphering the role of fibroblast mechanical forces in epithelial morphogenesis aims to lay the foundations for the development of effective therapies against pathological functions of myofibroblasts underlying fibrosis and cancer, two devastating diseases that represent a global health burden. The budget of €2 million for five years would allow Dr. Sumbalova Koledova to focus on her research topic without major concerns about research funding.
Advancing to the second round is a great success, all the more because most applicants from the Czech Republic are currently rejected in the first phase of the evaluation. Therefore, Dr. Sumbalova Koledova will be preparing intensively for the interview with the expert panel, counting on a strong support of FM MU management.
Firstly, she will undergo a mock interview for ERC Consolidator grant applicants organised by the Technology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences together with the Expert Group for Supporting ERC applicants, and secondly, she will be preparing with the support of the RMU Grant Office.
Each year, the ERC selects the awardees from thousands of applications from across the European Union. A panel of up to 20 top scientists from around the world, using solicited opinions from other experts and personal interviews, will select only about 13 percent of the submitted proposals to receive funding.
Nevertheless, we believe that the scientific excellence of Dr. Sumbalova Koledova's research, the originality of her research and the potential to achieve truly groundbreaking results will be duly recognized and Dr. Sumbalova Koledova will become the first recipient of this grant at the MU Faculty of Medicine.
In addition to the many activities associated with the celebration of the 105th anniversary of the founding of Masaryk University, from 3 to 8 April 2024, students of the Faculty of Medicine added a project aimed at supporting homeless people. Food collections were held at all faculties of the university. The goal was to collect symbolically at least 105 kg.
Prof. MUDr. Hana Hrstková, CSc., has extensive experience in the field of pediatrics, especially in pediatric oncology. For many years she was the head of the First Children's Internal Medicine Clinic of the University Hospital Brno. She specializes mainly in hematology, hematooncology and oncology. In addition to the treatment of malignant tumours, she also deals with late effects of oncological therapy and teaching at the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University. He has been working at the University Hospital Brno for more than 40 years and this year he will celebrate a significant jubilee.
