Who won this year's Minister of Health Awards for medical research and development?

On 10 December 2024, in the presence of the Minister of Health, Prof. Vlastimil Válek, and the Chairman of the Agency for Health Research (AZV) ČR , Prof. Ondřej Slabý, ten researchers of the best evaluated projects supported by the Agency and completed in 2023 were awarded.

"It is a great honour for me to be able to personally present the winning projects with their awards. The awards of the Minister of Health are proof that world-class scientific results are being produced in the Czech Republic. I congratulate the members of the winning scientific teams and their colleagues and wish them continued energy, inspiration, creative zeal, perseverance, strength and further success in the field of scientific research. I believe that quality research projects, the results of which will contribute to improving the health and life of the entire population and will help to maintain the reputation of Czech medical research in the world, will continue to emerge," said Minister of Health Vlastimil Válek.

Last year, 103 projects supported by AZV ČR were completed, with expert panels eventually selecting the seventeen top-ranked ones as candidates for the Minister of Health Award for Health Research and Development in 2024. All these projects were presented by their researchers in September at the Czech National Bank Congress Centre at a gala conference organised by AZV ČR on the occasion of its 10th anniversary. "It should be highlighted that each of these projects has produced excellent results, many of which have a direct impact on healthcare. Therefore, the members of the Board and the Scientific Council of our Agency faced a difficult task when they selected the ten best projects in a secret ballot, whose researchers were then recommended to the Minister of Health for awards," noted Ondřej Slabý.

As he recalled, during its ten years of existence, AZV ČR has supported more than 1040 projects in the field of applied medical research through the Ministry of Health for a total amount exceeding CZK 11.5 billion.

"I would like to congratulate all the winners, their collaborators and research teams on their achievements. Your work not only contributes to progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of serious diseases, but also significantly strengthens the position of the Czech Republic in the international research area. Thank you for your invaluable efforts, which inspire and encourage the next generation of scientists. I look forward to continuing to work together to develop Czech medical research," said Ondřej Slabý.

A significant development in the field of health research this year was the extension of the Applied Research Support Programme (2024-2030) with a new Sub-Programme 3 focusing on European Partnerships in Health. The first transnational call was launched last month and opens up opportunities for Czech scientists to participate in wider international consortia under Horizon Europe.

The Minister of Health Award for Medical Research and Development was awarded to:

* prof. MUDr. Daniela Fischerová, Ph.D. (Charles University, 1st Medical Faculty) for the project Imaging Study on Advanced Ovarian Cancer (ISAAC study)

* prof. MUDr. Mgr. Marek Mráz, Ph.D. (University Hospital Brno) for the project Prioritization of drug combinations in chronic lymphocytic leukemia based on analysis of cell adaptation to ibrutinib and idelalisib in vivo

* prof. MUDr. David Jahoda, CSc. (Motol University Hospital) for the project Implantable sensors for early detection of inflammation and bacterial colonization

* doc. MUDr. Martin Balík, Ph.D. (General University Hospital in Prague) for the project Comparison of safety and efficacy of propafenone and amiodarone - two equivalent treatments for arrhythmias in patients in septic shock

* prof. MUDr. Robert Jech, Ph.D. (Charles University, 1st Faculty of Medicine) for the project Clinical, imaging and biological predictors of deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease

Honorary recognition of the Minister of Health for medical research and development was awarded to:

* Mgr. Radim Nencka, Ph.D. (Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, CAS ČR) for the project Development of new therapeutics against tick-borne encephalitis virus and other flaviviruses

* prof. MUDr. Martin Repko, Ph.D. (Masaryk University, Faculty of Medicine) for the project Bioartificial 3D graft for intervertebral fusion of the spine

* prof. MUDr. Tomáš Kalina, Ph.D. (Charles University, 2nd Faculty of Medicine) for the project T-MAPs: High-throughput mapping of surface molecules of normal and pathological T lymphocytes, search for diagnostic and therapeutic targets

* Michaela Reiterová, M.D., Ph.D. (Charles University, 2nd Faculty of Medicine) for the project Myeloid lineage maturation and recovery after chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation

* doc. MUDr. Pavla Brennan Kearns, Ph.D. (National Institute of Mental Health) for the Healthy Ageing Brain Project : A Lifelong Perspective