Loschmidt Laboratories, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University

AWARD | Secondary school student 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗸𝗹𝗮 received several prestigious awards for her research in marine bioluminescence at the 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲. Her project, focused on the structural and chemical basis of bioluminescence in the brittle star Amphiura filiformis, is supervised by Karolina Sedlackova and Martin Marek from Loschmidt Laboratories. 🏆

🥇 Amalie's achievements include:
• 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 for her presentation
• 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 in the combined category of Chemistry, Physics, and Informatics
• 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 – financial support of 100,000 CZK for an international internship

👏 Congratulations to Amalie on this outstanding performance!

Photo: Jana Matuskova

ARTICLE | Our research article introducing 𝗘𝗻𝘇𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝟮.𝟬 has been accepted for publication in 𝗡𝘂𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗰𝗶𝗱𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵. 🎉

Developed by scientists from Loschmidt Laboratories, with Monika Rosinska as the first author, EnzymeMiner 2.0 is a user-friendly web server designed for automated enzyme mining and characterization from large protein sequence databases.

🔬 The platform combines advanced sequence analysis with state-of-the-art prediction tools to annotate key enzyme properties and intelligently prioritize candidates for experimental testing based on user-defined goals.

🚀 EnzymeMiner 2.0 has already demonstrated its potential by identifying previously uncharacterized proteins, including novel haloalkane dehalogenases and fluorinases.

🌐 The server is freely available: https://loschmidt.chemi.muni.cz/enzymeminer/

📖 Read the full article: https://academic.oup.com/nar/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nar/gkag424/8675561

NEWS | Congratulations to Jan Samuel Mičan on successfully defending his PhD thesis, "Molecular Modeling and Bioinformatics in the Study of Thrombolytics"! 🎓

Honza has officially completed his PhD in Environmental Health Sciences at R E C E T O X, Přírodovědecká fakulta Masarykovy univerzity, under the supervision of David Bednar.

During his doctoral studies, Honza authored or co-authored 13 scientific publications, with 4 additional manuscripts currently in preparation. He also completed two research internships at the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) and the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel).

During his defense, Honza delivered an outstanding presentation of his research on thrombolytics and successfully navigated a challenging discussion with the reviewers, Dr. Marian Novotny (Charles University, Prague) and Dr. Artur Gora (Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland), all while maintaining his characteristic humor and unique perspective.

We wish Honza continued success in both his professional and personal endeavors. He will be greatly missed at Loschmidt Laboratories—not only for his positive energy and team spirit, but also for his remarkable culinary creations! 👨‍🔬🍳

Congratulations, Dr. Mican! 🎉👏

📸 Šárka Nevolová

NEWS | Researchers from the Loschmidt Laboratories (International Clinical Research Center & Masaryk University), together with colleagues from IT4Innovations have developed a machine learning algorithm that helps identify “sticky” regions causing protein aggregation. The breakthrough could accelerate the development of proteins for medical, industrial, and environmental applications.

📌Proteiny jsou tichými motory moderního života. Pomáhají vyrábět život zachraňující léky, rozkládat látky znečišťující životní prostředí, zlepšovat naše potraviny a pohánět průmyslové procesy.
Má to však háček: mnoho proteinů má tendenci slepovat se dohromady a vytvářet nefunkční shluky, které jsou neaktivní. Toto chování proteinů dosud brzdilo vědecký pokrok.
K překonání této výzvy vyvinuli výzkumníci z Mezinárodního centra klinického výzkumu a Masarykova univerzita ve spolupráci s IT4Innovations algoritmus založený na strojovém učení pro rychlou a spolehlivou detekci „lepivých“ oblastí, které způsobují agregaci proteinů.
👉Jejich identifikace umožňuje vědcům navrhnout změny v těchto oblastech tak, aby zabránili slepování proteinů a umožnili jejich efektivnější využití v reálných aplikacích. K demonstraci tohoto přístupu vědci z Loschmidt Laboratories, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University výrazně zlepšili kvalitu produkce a výtěžnost enzymu, který rozkládá nebezpečné chemikálie znečišťující životní prostředí.

VÝUKA | Přemýšlíte, jaké předměty si zaregistrujete na podzimní semestr 2026? 🧪🔬

Objevte nabídku předmětů nejen pro studenty Přírodovědecká fakulta Masarykovy univerzity! Čekají vás inspirativní přednášky vedené odborníky, laboratorní výuka i exkurze, kde získáte lepší představu o svém budoucím profesním směřování i o tom, co od absolventů očekávají zaměstnavatelé.

Zajímá vás proteinové inženýrství, strukturní biologie nebo bioinformatika? Podívejte se na naši pestrou nabídku předmětů a propojte teorii s praxí. 🔍

AWARD | During the traditional academic ceremony Dies Academicus, our theoretical team leader, 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗮𝗿 (R E C E T O X, Masaryk University & International Clinical Research Center), received the 𝗠𝗨 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝟰𝟬 in Natural Sciences and Medicine.🏆

🔬 David is a leading expert in protein engineering, molecular modeling, and bioinformatics, focusing on protein structure–function relationships and the development of tools for the scientific community. He is the author or co-author of 92 publications in high-impact journals, as well as 14 bioinformatics tools and 3 databases widely used by researchers worldwide.📚💻

Sincere congratulations! 🎉👏

📸 Martin Indruch

AWARD | Congratulations to our PhD student, 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮! 🎉

Hana received the 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 at the 𝟮𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, held in Trest from 17–20 May 2026. 🏆

Her talk focused on uncovering distant functional mutations through ultra-high-throughput screening of dehalogenases for bulky substrates in the Bioscience & Molecular Biology category. Hana’s presentation received the most audience votes. 👏

Photo credit: Meeting organizers & Hana Faldynova

NEWS | Congratulations to Marika Majerová on successfully defending her PhD thesis, “Structural and Biochemical Studies of Biotechnologically Relevant Enzymes.”

She has officially completed her PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics at the Ústav experimentální biologie, Přírodovědecká fakulta Masarykovy univerzity, under the supervision of 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗸. 👏

Marika delivered an excellent presentation and confidently answered all questions from the reviewers — Prof. Ivana Kuta Smatanova (Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích) and Prof. Erik Sedlak (Univerzita Pavla Jozefa Šafárika v Košiciach) — as well as from the audience.

During the defense, attention was given not only to the high quality of her published research but also to the way Marika balanced her studies with her responsibilities as a mother. 💙

Wishing Marika continued success in both her scientific and personal journey! 🚀

📸 Sarka Nevolova

CELEBRATION | Today, we celebrated several exciting achievements together over a glass of champagne. 🥂

📚 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:

• Rosinska, M., et al. (2026) — EnzymeMiner 2.0: advancing automated enzyme discovery with expansive sequence mining and smart property analysis, 𝑁𝑢𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑖𝑐 𝐴𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑠 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ
• Majerova, M., et al. (2026) — Structural Insights into the Evolution of Alpha/Beta-Hydrolase Fold Luciferases, 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐽𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝐵𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑀𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠
• Toul, M., et al. (2026) — Molecular Trick to Reverse SN2 Step in a Haloalkane Dehalogenase, 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘴
• Marques, S. M., et al. (2026) — Mobilizing the Biocatalysis Community for Reproducible and Reusable Data Collection, 𝘈𝘊𝘚 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘴
• Legrand, A., et al. (2026) — Taurine Inhibits Apolipoprotein E4 Aggregation, 𝘉𝘪𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦 & 𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘺
• Cima, V., et al. (2026) — Experimentally Validated Deep Learning Control of Protein Aggregation, 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺

🏆 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀:

• Rector’s Award of Masaryk University 2026 for David Bednar
• Dean’s Award of the Faculty of Science, Masaryk University 2026 for Martin Havlasek

During the celebration, Monika Rosinska, Marika Majerová, Martin Havlasek, and Sérgio Marques each gave a short speech, highlighting that these accomplishments are the result of strong teamwork, a supportive environment, and a great team spirit.

As a sweet finale, Sergio — who is also celebrating 13 years at Masaryk University — brought a delicious Marlenka cake. 🍰

📸 Sarka Nevolova

NEWS | Today’s 𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜 𝗗𝗮𝘆 at Loschmidt Laboratories featured two guided tours, each attended by ten participants. 🧬

Visitors were introduced to proteins and protein engineering before touring the laboratories, where they learned how bacterial proteins are prepared and characterized.

A big thank you to 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗸 and 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗮 𝗩𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗽𝗸𝗼𝘃𝗮 for leading the tours and sharing their expertise! 👏

📸 Photos by Sarka Nevolova