On Wednesday 14 September 2022, Ing. Michal Pravenec, DrSc. received the Gregor Johann Mendel Honorary Field Medal for Merit in the Biological Sciences. Michal Pravenec investigates which genetic variants cause common diseases such as diabetes. He has gained international recognition especially in the field of genetics of complex traits in animal models. The recognition worldwide is also evident from the list of prestigious foreign grant projects he has received. In 2015, he received the highest award of the Academy of Sciences – the Academic Award. This was tied to a project in which Michal Pravenec and his team investigate how excess salt does or does not cause hypertension. He has also played a key role in the development of unique biological models and analytical approaches to unravel the genetic determinants of multifactorial metabolic and cardiovascular phenotypes at the molecular level in animals, and in using these results to understand the pathogenesis of similar traits in humans.
