Conference AZV : The best of health research

The best-rated projects completed in 2025 were presented by their researchers at the annual conference of the Agency for Health Research ČR , which took place on September 23rd at the premises of the 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University. The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Health, Adam Vojtěch, who appreciated the high level of the presented projects and expressed support for maintaining AZV ČR as specialized agencies for health research under the auspices of the Ministry of Health.

The conference was opened by Chair agency Ondřej Slabý, who recalled the importance of the annual meeting. “The results of the projects we present at this conference are the best proof of the quality of health research that AZV ČR supports. Every year it becomes increasingly difficult for our expert panels to select the best from a number of exceptionally high-quality projects. This is very good news for the agency and at the same time a commitment to be able to support the high level of Czech health research in the future,” said Ondřej Slabý and praised all successful research teams for their work.

Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch emphasized the importance of health research for the further development of medicine and patient care and thanked the researchers for the results that bring new knowledge and opportunities for clinical practice. At the same time, he clearly spoke out in favor of maintaining the current system of financing health research through the Ministry of Health and its further functioning. AZV ČR as specialized agencies respecting the specifics of health research.

Based on nominations from expert panels, researchers with the following projects presented at the conference:

P01 Metabolic and endocrine diseases

  • Mgr. Rona Karahoda, Ph.D.: Placental NLRP3 inflammasome signaling in women with gestational diabetes and the therapeutic potential of metformin
  • Prof. MUDr. Zdeněk Šumník, Ph.D.: The effect of a low-carbohydrate diet on the control of type 1 diabetes and the development of islet autoimmunity

P02 Diseases of the circulatory system

  • Prof. MUDr. Pavel Osmančík, Ph.D.: Catheterization ablation vs. modification of risk factors
  • Prof. MUDr. Jan Malík, CSc.: Heart failure in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease: improving diagnostics, understanding poorly studied mechanisms (CZecking Heart failure in Chronic Kidney Disease trial)

P03 Tumour diseases

  • Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Vladimír Divoký, Ph.D.: Germline, weakly activating JAK2 variants predisposing to myeloid malignancies: cooperation with a dominant oncogene
  • MUDr. Bc. Filip Frühauf, Ph.D.: CANNES Cervical Cancer Lymph Node Staging: A prospective multicenter imaging study comparing the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound, MRI, and PET/CT in preoperative lymph node evaluation in patients with cervical cancer

P04 Neuroscience and mental health

  • doc. MUDr. Petr Dušek, Ph.D.: Definition of early cognitive deficit in Parkinson's disease in the context of genetic polymorphisms and other biomarkers
  • Prof. MUDr. David Netuka, Ph.D.: Influence of the metabolome of atherosclerotic plaque in the carotid artery on its embolization potential

P05 Immune disorders and infectious diseases

  • Prof. MUDr. Tomáš Kalina, Ph.D.: Specific immune response after vaccination against viral pathogens in immunocompromised patients
  • Prof. RNDr. Daniel Růžek, Ph.D.: Neutralizing nanoantibodies as potential therapeutics for tick-borne encephalitis

P06 Intensive, perioperative and organ-focused medicine (gastroenterology, hepatology, nephrology and others)

  • Adéla Krajčová, MD, Ph.D.: Skeletal muscle regeneration in critically ill survivors: how to prevent satellite cell failure?
  • Prof. MUDr. Ondřej Viklický, CSc.: Molecular markers of acute kidney injury in deceased donors of older age

P07 Rare diseases and disorders of childhood

  • RNDr. Júlia Starková, PhD.: Identification of unique metabolic properties of malignant clones responsible for the unfavorable prognosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia: tumor metabolism as a new therapeutic target in the treatment of leukemias

P08 Biomedical technologies

  • Mgr. Karla Plevová, Ph.D.: Advanced sequencing methods for the analysis of structural rearrangements of the tumor genome
  • Prof. Ing. Miroslav Šoóš, Ph.D.: Combination of new cannabinoid derivatives and advanced formulation methods for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

P09 Public health and nursing

  • Prof. MUDr. Jan Gojda, Ph.D.: Cohort prospective study of new nutritional factors among families (KOMPAS)
  • Prof. Mgr. Elena Gurková, Ph.D.: Factors influencing quality of life in young adults after ischemic stroke: a prospective study in young patients under 50 years of age in the Czech Republic

P10 Musculoskeletal Medicine

  • Prof. MUDr. Michal Tuček, Ph.D.: Severe types of ankle dislocation fractures (Maisonneuve and Bosworth fractures) – Diagnostics, pathoanatomy, treatment, complications

Many thanks to all the speakers and participants of the conference, as well as to the First Faculty of Medicine of Charles University for providing the facilities. We look forward to seeing you again next year!