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Šárka Pospíšilová is a member of prestigious scientific organisation

The European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) announced on 6 July the names of 67 newly elected members, including geneticist and molecular haematologist Šárka Pospíšilová who leads the Medical Genomics Research Group at MU’s CEITEC and works at the Institute of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the Department of Internal Medicine, Haematology and Oncology of the Faculty of Medicine and the University Hospital Brno.

Šárka Pospíšilová

Šárka Pospíšilová is also Vice-Rector for Research and Doctoral Studies at Masaryk University. She is joining the prestigious EMBO community of leading researchers in molecular biology and other related fiends. EMBO members influence the direction of life sciences in Europe and beyond and support excellence in this branch of science.

“I am very excited. EMBO is an organisation that brings together the best scientists in the world including Nobel Prize laureates. It is the recognition of Masaryk University’s efforts in providing opportunities for excellent scientists, and Vice-Rector Pospíšilová is among them. Being an EMBO member is a prestigious matter as you cannot simply sign up to be a member. One has to be nominated and voted on by other members,” says Masaryk University Rector Martin Bareš.

Šárka Pospíšilová has authored or co-authored more than two hundred scientific publications, seven patents and several books. She is a member of several leading national or international committees on genetic and haematological diseases. She has won or received several scientific awards – including three awards for medical research from the Minister of Health of the Czech Republic; two awards from the League Against Cancer; two awards from the Czech Medical Association of J. E. Purkyně and many more. She is known as the “first lady” of Czech genetics research. This year she actively participates in the organisation of the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of birth of the founder of modern genetics Gregor Johann Mendel and the Mendel Genetics Conference.

“I am extremely honoured. This award adds another dimension and meaning to my work. Being a part of such a privileged community of top scientists fills me with the feeling of happiness and appreciation. It is also a new commitment and motivator for further work. It is also an opportunity to thank my colleagues from the Centre for Molecular Medicine at CEITEC and the Faculty of Medicine and the University Hospital Brno. Nowadays science is team work and it would not be possible to achieve anything in terms of excellent results which are indeed directly applicable in medicine,” Šárka Pospíšilová says.

New EMBO members are elected every year in recognition of their achievements in scientific excellence. The selection of Šárka Pospíšilová is an acknowledgement of research carried out by her team and achievements in the scientific community. EMBO’s main mission is to support talented researchers in all stages of their career, stimulate the exchange of scientific information and help build the European scientific environment where scientists can achieve the best results. Furthermore, new members bring additional experience and skills to help EMBO pursue its goals. 

In addition to Šárka Pospíšilová, Masaryk University already has six EMBO members in its scientific community: Mary O´Connell (2017), Štěpánka Vaňáčová (2018), director of the CEITEC consortium Pavel Tomančák (2018), Karel Říha (2020) and Jiří Fajkus (2021). There are currently twelve EMBO members in the Czech Republic, i.e. half of them are affiliated with the community around Masaryk University and CEITEC.