Laboratory of Experimental Medicine

The Laboratory of Experimental Medicine (LEM) was established in 1998 at the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University and University Hospital in Olomouc. Later in 2010, the LEM became a moving force in building-up and establishment of the Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine. 

Our researchers are organized to research groups and perform molecular, cellular and integrative research at the highest international level and to train a new generation of successful scientists. We study biological processes that govern normal and pathological human bodily functions that are involved in disease pathogenesis. Albeit our research is disease agnostic, most of our expertise relates to cancer, inflammation, infection, rare diseases and neurodegeneration. Our spectrum of research ranges from basic and translational science, including research and development of small molecules, radiopharmaceutics, identification of new therapeutic targets, drug repurposing, first use of molecules in man (Phase I trials), biomarker identification and validation trials, development of in vitro diagnostics, through to real-world evidence studies using routinely collected data.Several of our research environments have been recognized as outstanding both at the national and European levels. We also strive to stimulate our young researchers with our enthusiasm for research and wish to increase their interest in both basic and applied sciences. We expose them to the most up-to-date science, cutting edge technologies and prepare them for lifelong learning in their future careers. 

Our research interests and domains include
  • Research and development of small molecules and biologics for innovative therapies
  • Imaging and tracing of human diseases, development of radiopharmaceutics
  • Identification and validation diagnostic, prognostic and predictive biomarkers to advance early disease diagnostics and personalized medicine
  • Better understanding disease complexity employing multidimensional -omic techniques (proteomics, genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, cellulomics, etc.)
  • Advancing high-throughput biology and screening techniques in medical research
  • Research on translational in vitro and in vivo models (e.g. organoids, patient-derived xenografts, induced pluripotent stem cells)
  • Development of information technologies, including the artificial intelligence, and solutions to support data stewardship in biomedical domain
  • Advancing nanotechnologies for treatment and detection of human disorders; Proof-of-concept preclinical and early clinical trials. 
KOTULOVÁ, J., M. HAJDÚCH, P. DŽUBÁK
Current Adenosinergic Therapies: What Do Cancer Cells Stand to Gain and Lose?. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021, 22(22), 12569, ISSN: 1422-0067, PMID: 34830449,  PDF.
RAFFAELE, M., K. KOVACOVICOVA, T. BIAGINI, O. LO RE, J. FROHLICH, S. GIALLONGO, J. NHAN, A. GIANNONE, D. CABIBI, M. IVANOV, A. TONCHEV, M. MISTRÍK, M. LACEY, P. DŽUBÁK, S. GURSKÁ, M. HAJDÚCH, J. BÁRTEK, T. MAZZA, V. MICALE, S. CURRAN, M. VINCIGUERRA
Nociceptin/orphanin FQ opioid receptor (NOP) selective ligand MCOPPB links anxiolytic and senolytic effects. Geroscience. 2021, 44(1), 463-483, ISSN: 2509-2715, PMID: 34820764,
LIGASOVÁ, A., I. ROSENBERG, M. BOCKOVA, J. HOMOLA, K. KOBERNA
Anchored linear oligonucleotides: the effective tool for the real-time measurement of uracil DNA glycosylase activity. Open Biology. 2021, 11(10), 200136, ISSN: 2046-2441, PMID: 34665968,  PDF.
Projekt: The role of tumor hypoxia in the emergence of acquired resistance to drugs aimed at microtubules
Vedoucí: Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Doktorské studium
Souhrn: 1 place in full-time study
Projekt: Generation of 3D human neuronal cultures: application to modeling CNS diseases
Vedoucí: Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Magisterské studium
Souhrn: -
Projekt: Biochemical and cellular analysis of amyloid staining agents in models of tauopathies and synucleopathies
Vedoucí: Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Magisterské studium
Souhrn: -
Projekt: Investigating Effects of Aggregates of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins on Microglia: Implication for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Vedoucí: Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Magisterské studium
Souhrn: -
Projekt: Efficacy of Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Against Neuroinflammation in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Vedoucí: Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Magisterské studium
Souhrn: -
Projekt: Systems approaches to understanding aging and neurodegeneration
Vedoucí: Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
K dispozici: 2
Určeno pro: Doktorské studium
Projekt: Role of axonal transport and pathology in neurodegeneration
Vedoucí: Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
K dispozici: 2
Určeno pro: Doktorské studium
Projekt: Research and development of agents for cancer, neurodegenerative and infectious diseases
Vedoucí: De Sanctis Juan Bautista Ph.D., Hajdúch Marián M.D., Ph.D., Džubák Petr M.D., Ph.D., Urban Milan Ph.D., Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
K dispozici: 5
Určeno pro: Doktorské studium
Projekt: Isolation and analysis of membrane lipid rafts using a non-targeted metabolomics and lipidomics approach
Vedoucí: Najdekr Lukáš Ph.D.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Doktorské studium
Projekt: Use of open-source software approaches for analysis of metabolomic and lipidomic clinical data
Vedoucí: Najdekr Lukáš Ph.D.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Doktorské studium
Projekt: Identification of proteomic biomarkers in proximal fluids and tissues
Vedoucí: Džubák Petr M.D., Ph.D., Hajdúch Marián M.D., Ph.D.
K dispozici: 2
Určeno pro: Doktorské studium
Projekt: Preclinical development of molecular imaging agents
Vedoucí: Petřík Miloš Ph.D.
K dispozici: 2
Určeno pro: Doktorské studium
Projekt: Plasmonic nanomaterials in cancer theranostics
Vedoucí: Ranc Václav Ph.D.
K dispozici: 2
Určeno pro: Doktorské studium
Souhrn: 2 places in full-time or part-time study
Projekt: Ligand- and structure-based modeling of biologically active compounds
Vedoucí: Polishchuk Pavlo Ph.D., M.Sc.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Doktorské studium
Projekt: Biologically active molecules and their therapeutic combinations
Vedoucí: Hajdúch Marián M.D., Ph.D.
K dispozici: 2
Určeno pro: Doktorské studium
Projekt: Anticancer drugs targeting nucleic acid metabolism
Vedoucí: Hajdúch Marián M.D., Ph.D., Džubák Petr M.D., Ph.D.
K dispozici: 2
Určeno pro: Doktorské studium
Projekt: Identification of proteomic biomarkers in exhaled breath condensate patients with systemic or pulmonary disease
Vedoucí: Džubák Petr M.D., Ph.D., Hajdúch Marián M.D., Ph.D.
K dispozici: 2
Určeno pro: Doktorské studium
Projekt: Development of 3D pharmacophore signatures and their application in anticancer drug design
Vedoucí: Polishchuk Pavlo Ph.D., M.Sc.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Doktorské studium
Projekt: Genetic and epigenetic biomarkers in health and disease
Vedoucí: Slavkovský Rastislav Ph.D., Džubák Petr M.D., Ph.D., Hajdúch Marián M.D., Ph.D., Drábek Jiří Ph.D., Koudeláková Vladimíra Ph.D.
K dispozici: 5
Určeno pro: Doktorské studium
Projekt: Postdoctoral fellow/Researcher
Vedoucí: Polishchuk Pavlo Ph.D., M.Sc.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Postdoktorandské studium
Souhrn: The group of chemoinformatics and drug design at the Institute of
Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and
Dentistry, Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic
(https://imtm.cz/laboratories/chemoinformatics-and-drug-design) seeks
for a postdoctoral fellow with experience in chemoinformatics and
programming.

The primary objective of the group is development of new computational
approaches and software tools in drug design and their application in
medicinal chemistry projects on hit/lead identification/optimization
and target identification.

The successful candidate will be mainly involved into the project on
de novo fragment-based drug design and optimization. He/she will
implement new and improve existing tools and approaches, validate them
retrospectively and apply those tools in ongoing medicinal chemistry
projects conducting at our institution in close collaboration with
medicinal chemists and biologists. The candidate can be involved in
other research projects depending on his/her experience and skills.

The formal requirements:
PhD in chemistry, chemoinformatics, computer science or related
fields or 3 years of experience in relevant fields
experience with molecular docking/pharmacophore modeling/machine
learning
knowledge of RDKit
good Python programming skills and experience in software
development
data analysis skills
basic medicinal chemistry knowledge is a plus
good publication record
excellent writing and spoken English

The position will be opened for 2-3 years with a possibility of
extension.

Informal inquiries as well as applications, including curriculum vitae
and bibliography, cover letter describing candidate research interests
and past accomplishments should be sent via email to
pavlo.polishchuk@upol.cz.
Projekt: Applicability domains in machine learning modeling
Vedoucí: Polishchuk Pavlo Ph.D., M.Sc.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Magisterské studium
Projekt: Computationally guided optimization of compound properties
Vedoucí: Polishchuk Pavlo Ph.D., M.Sc.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Magisterské studium
Projekt: Novel 3D pharmacophore representation for machine learning
Vedoucí: Polishchuk Pavlo Ph.D., M.Sc.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Magisterské studium
Projekt: Fragment-based de novo design using pharmacophore models
Vedoucí: Polishchuk Pavlo Ph.D., M.Sc.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Magisterské studium
Projekt: Radiolabelled peptides for cancer imaging
Vedoucí: Petřík Miloš Ph.D.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Magisterské studium
Projekt: Radiolabelled siderophores for infection imaging
Vedoucí: Petřík Miloš Ph.D.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Magisterské studium
Projekt: In vivo imaging of 68Ga labelled biomolecules
Vedoucí: Petřík Miloš Ph.D.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Bakalářské studium
Projekt: Small animal imaging using microPET/SPECT/CT system in preclinical developement of potential drugs
Vedoucí: Nový Zbyněk Ph.D.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Bakalářské studium
Projekt: Epigenetic biomarkers
Vedoucí: Drábek Jiří Ph.D.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Magisterské studium
Projekt: Genetic biomarkers
Vedoucí: Drábek Jiří Ph.D.
K dispozici: 1
Určeno pro: Magisterské studium

Research groups