Assoc. Prof. Karel Souček, MSc., Ph.D.

Assoc. Prof. Karel Souček, MSc., Ph.D., is a researcher specializing in cell biology and cancer research with a focus on understanding plasticity, stemness and differentiation of cells in normal and cancer cells. Dr. Souček started his academic career at Masaryk University in Brno. His postdoctoral fellowship took place at the University of California, Davis, USA, after which he returned to the Czech Republic and joined the Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Brno. At the Institute of Biophysics, Karel Souček worked his way up from junior scientist to senior scientist and group leader (since 2010). Since 2011, he has also been leading a research group at the International Clinical Research Centre of St. Anne's University Hospital in Brno (FNUSA-ICRC). In 2017, he was appointed Deputy Head of the Department of Cytokinetics at the Institute of Biophysics of the CAS.

Assoc. Prof. Souček is an active member of several professional societies, including the Czech Society for Analytical Cytometry, the International Society for Analytical Cytometry, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the European Association for Cancer Research. He has served as editor of Frontiers of Cancer Cell Biology and the American Journal of Pathology and was a guest editor of Frontiers in Molecular Diagnostics and Therapeutics.

Assoc. Prof. Tomáš Jelínek, M.D., Ph.D.

Department of Hematooncology, University Hospital Ostrava and Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic

I am currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Hematooncology, University Hospital Ostrava, and the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, where I have worked as a physician and researcher since 2013. I graduated with an MD in 2011 from the Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, and started working at the Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology, and Oncology at University Hospital Brno. I completed my specialization in Hematology and Transfusion Medicine in 2018 and received my PhD in Biology in 2020. My primary focus is on multiple myeloma and other monoclonal gammopathies, as well as immunotherapy and routine diagnostics using flow cytometry techniques in blood cancers.

Throughout my career, I have had two international work experiences: i) during my PhD, I spent 2 years (2016-2017) in a flow cytometry lab at the Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, and ii) as a Research Associate in the Myeloma Division at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Florida, USA (2024 – present). Besides being a treating physician, I have been actively involved in translational and clinical research, extensively utilizing flow cytometry as a research method. I am currently a PI in the Blood Cancer Research Group in Ostrava.

I have authored or co-authored over 70 publications and have served as the principal investigator on two national grants and several phase I-III clinical trials. I strive to bridge the gap between clinical and laboratory work in Hematooncology, particularly from a flow cytometry perspective, to foster better mutual understanding.

Marcela Hortová Kohoutková, MSc., Ph.D.

International Clinical Research Center (ICRC), St. Anne’s Hospital Brno, Czech Republic

Marcela is currently working as Principal Investigator in the Cellular and Molecular Immunoregulation team (@FricLab) at International Clinical Research Center FNUSA-ICRC (@FNUSA_ICRC) in Brno, Czech Republic. She obtained a master's degree in Immunology at Masaryk University and continued her Ph.D. studies in the field of Neuroscience focused on the inflammatory role of Schwann cells in the peripheral neural system.

Marcela is researcher with great experience in the field of translation immunology and inflammation, especially in biology of innate immune cells and its contribution to serious septic shock Marcela ’s current research focuses on the understanding of immune system role in sepsis progression and its long-lasting consequences. Together with Jan Frič, Marcela established European consortium BEATsepsis (www.beatsepsis.eu), which is investigating the various aspects of immune system in sepsis. This consortium was recently awarded by prestigious research grant – Horizon Europe, Research and Innovation Action (RIA) to tackle long-term consequences of sepsis.

Marcela is author of 25 research publications. She was awarded by several poster prizes or prizes for best abstracts of various conferences. In total, research data from her projects were presented as 19 invited talks or selected short talks and on 12 posters during various international conferences.

Prof. Tomáš Kalina, Ph.D., M.D.

CLIP Cytometry, Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Charles University and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic

 I am currently a Professor at the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Charles University in Prague, 2nd Faculty of Medicine, Czech Republic. I graduated MD in 2000 from the 2nd Medical School, Charles University Prague and started my research and diagnostic carrier in Prague (leukemia diagnostics and biology) and continued on a postdoctoral fellowship at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA (immune reconstitution post-BMT). I received PhD from Immunology in 2005. I was awarded "ISAC Scholar" in 2010. Throughout my career I have been working with various flow cytometry based techniques (leukemia phenotyping, minimal residual disease monitoring, immune monitoring, immunodeficiency, bead-based affinity proteomics, mass cytometry, algorithmic data analysis). I developed CDMaps repository of antigen density over human cell subsets (hcdm.org). I am a founding member of EuroFlow consortium (EuroFlow.org) where I am responsible for coordination of the technical aspects, design of flow cytometry procedures and Quality Assesment. I have authored 117 research publications, delivered over 40 invited lectures and lectured numerous educational workshops.

Prof. Vítězslav Bryja, Ph.D.

Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

I am currently a Professor and head of the Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. I received PhD from Neurosciences from the 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University Prague in 2004. After my PhD, I continued on a postdoctoral fellowship at Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden where I started to study Wnt signaling and cell-cell communication. Throughout my career I have been working with various biological models and analytic techniques, including flow cytometry-based techniques and single cell RNA sequencing (scRNASeq). I am actively trying to push the results of the basic research to applications (co-founder of CasInvent Pharma a.s., recipient of the Neuron Prize for Extraordinary Connection between Science and Business in 2021). I am a founding member of Visegrád Group Society for Developmental Biology (V4SDB.org) and member of the Learned Society of the Czech Republic. I have authored more than 140 research publications, delivered tens of invited lectures and successfully supervised more than 40 students at various levels.

Assoc. Prof. Lukáš Kubala, Ph.D.

Department of Biophysics of the Immune System at the Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno

Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University Brno

I currently hold the position of Head of the Department of Biophysics of the Immune System at the Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Brno. Additionally, I am an Associate Professor at the Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University in Brno. My scientific journey began with a B.S. in General Biology in 1994 and an M.Sc. in Animal Physiology in 1996, both from Masaryk University. I completed my Ph.D. in Animal Physiology and Immunology in 2001. Afterward, I continued as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Davis. My research primarily focuses on the function of phagocytes and the dysregulation of immune responses, particularly pathological processes related to inflammation. I extensively collaborate with medicinal chemists and biotechnologists on the development of new therapeutic approaches. Throughout my professional journey, I have gained experience in a wide variety of flow cytometry-based techniques. These include leukocyte phenotyping, monitoring the immune system under inflammatory conditions, studying phagocyte functions, and determining redox cell status. I have contributed to over 140 peer-reviewed research publications and regularly present at national and international conferences. I have also participated in the organization of scientific meetings and coordination of research networks.