IBP career day: Per Aspera Ad Astra 2023

26. 9. 2023

Young researchers of the Institute of Biophysics (IBP) of the Czech Academy of Sciences are inviting students and postdocs to IBP career day: Per Aspera Ad Astra focused on future career possibilities in the academic and industrial spheres. During the event, four outstanding scientists will share stories of their scientific journeys and will lead popular round table discussions on various topics.

Date & Location: 09.11.2023, Lecture Hall at the Institute of Biophysics

Confirmed speakers:

Kateřina Rohlenová is a junior group leader at the Institute of Biotechnology, CAS, in BIOCEV in Prague. After her Ph.D. at the same institute, where she characterized a novel anti-cancer drug that later underwent a phase I clinical trial, she moved to VIB in Leuven, Belgium, to study the metabolism of endothelial cells. In 2020, she returned to the Czech Republic to establish a Cellular Metabolism group. With a team of 12 researchers (7 nationalities), she studies intercellular metabolic communication in tumors. Her research is funded by an ERC Starting grant and EMBO Installation grant, among others.

Frank Schestag is commercial director at Europe Proteintech Group & General Manager of Proteintech GmbH Germany and ChromoTek GmbH. Before coming to Proteintech, Dr. Schestag received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the Christian-Albrechts-University in Kiel. Afterward, he began his career at Fermentas, a manufacturer of molecular biology products. In large part due to Dr. Schestag’s stewardship, Fermentas accelerated in growth and was acquired by Thermo Fisher, where he transitioned to General Manager and Site Leader.

Pavla Hubálková is a science journalist at Charles University. She also writes about science for various online and print media. She originally thought she would become a scientist. She studied clinical biochemistry at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague and completed her Ph.D. in neuroscience at the Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University. During her Fulbright internship at Northwestern University in Chicago, however, she discovered that she wanted to work in science communication.

Aleš Pečinka is a group leader at the Centre of Plant Structural and Functional Genomics of the Institute of Experimental Botany, CAS, in Olomouc. He studies the role of chromatin in epigenetic regulation and maintenance of genome stability in plants. After his Ph.D. studies at the Leibnitz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (DE), he went for a post-doc at the Gregor Mendel Institute of Plant Molecular Biology in Vienna (AT). Then he established his own research direction as a group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne (DE). Proud father of two, an enthusiastic badminton player, and a gardener.

Program:

12:30-13:00          registration

13:00-13:10          introduction by Hana Polasek-Sedlackova on behalf of the organization team

13:10-13:40          Navigating the Unknown: My Journey to Becoming a Group Leader by Kateřina Rohlenová,
                                    group leader at the Institute of Biotechnology, Czech Academy of Sciences, 
                                    chair: Anoop Kumar Yadav

13:40-14:10          Guidelines to be successful in your first interviews by Frank Schestag,
                                    commercial director at Europe Proteintech Group & general manager of Proteintech
                                    GmbH Germany and ChromoTek, 
                                    chair: Soňa Legartová

14:10-14:30          coffee break

14:30-15:00          Science and the media: a win-win relationship by Pavla Hubálková,
                                    science journalist at Charles University,
                                    chair: Tomáš Perečko

15:00-15:30          How to enjoy a career in science: A critical mid-term review by Aleš Pečinka,
                                    group leader at the Institute of Experimental Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, 
                                    chair: Pavla Novotná

15:30-15:45          coffee break

15:45-16:45          round table discussions

 from 16:45           networking with beer and pizza

Round table discussions topics:

Registration:

Registration is free of charge. By registering you, are helping us to better estimate the number of people that will attend and the food & drinks needed. Thank you for your registration!

Registration deadline: 5th November 2023

Registration form can be found here.