Biosketch: I work as a researcher since 2008 J I did my undergraduate studies in the Czech Republic in the field of animal physiology where I focused on how cancer cells communicate, and how their cell division is regulated. Afterward, I moved to Stockholm where I performed my Ph.D. research at Karolinska Institute in the fields of Developmental and regenerative biology. There I focused on identifying novel cell communications that are involved in dopaminergic neuron development and Parkinson’s disease. I currently work as Assistant Professor in the lab of Prof. Anders Nykjaer at DANDRITE and PROMEMO research centers. Here, I focus on identifying underlying principles of neurodevelopment, especially of dopaminergic neurons, and their impairment in neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders such as ADHD or autism.

I am a functional biologist, and as such, my big passion is to experimentally capture and explain physiological and pathophysiological problems, which are observed in the clinical setting. My ultimate goal is to understand biochemical principles of cell signalling during brain development in fish, mice, and men, and their translational implications in psychiatric and neurological disorders such as autism spectrum, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, or Parkinson’s disease. Such knowledge is critical for the future development of more suitable therapeutics. My laboratory expertise covers many approaches including protein biochemistry, sequencing, proteomics, advanced imaging, stem cells, cell fate tracing, microsurgeries, embryology, etc. I use cell cultures, zebrafish, and mice as model organisms.

Expertise: Cell signalling (WNT) / Brain development / Neurodevelopmental disorders / Psychiatric disorders / Parkinson’s disease / Advanced imaging / Embryology / Dopaminergic neurons