With effect from 1st July 2025, Ondřej Kuda, Ph.D., will assume the position of Director of the Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IPHYS). Until now, he has served as the Head of the Department of Bioactive Lipid Metabolism and, since 2022, also as the Chair of the Board of IPHYS. He succeeds Jan Kopecký, M.D., DrSc., who successfully led the IPHYS for two terms (2015–2025).
Thanks to its specific focus on characterising the fundamental biological mechanisms underlying serious human diseases and its long-standing excellent results, IPHYS holds a unique position in the field of physiological and biomedical research in the Czech Republic. “I would like to further strengthen this position both at the national level and within the European Research Area. Our aim is to become an even more prominent institution contributing to advances in human health through innovative discoveries and interdisciplinary collaboration,” says the newly appointed Director.
The IPHYS’s strategic plan under Dr. Kuda’s leadership will focus primarily on cutting-edge research integrating molecular, cellular, and systemic approaches to uncover the complexity of human physiology, as well as on translating scientific discoveries into clinical practice. Over the next five years, an integral part of the IPHYS’s activities will also be the support of education and the development of a new generation of physiologists and biomedical scientists, along with the strengthening of a collaborative research environment both within the IPHYS and with external partners.
Dr. Kuda obtained both his master’s and doctoral degrees in biochemistry at the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague. He further expanded his expertise during a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the prestigious Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He is the author of nearly ninety scientific publications and has received numerous significant awards for his outstanding research, including the Lumina quaeruntur Academic Award from the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Prize of the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports for exceptional results in research, experimental development, and innovation.
“I am confident that under Dr. Kuda’s leadership, IPHYS will not only continue to be among the leading scientific institutions, but that its quality and international recognition will continue to grow, thus contributing even more significantly to the advancement of scientific knowledge and the improvement of human health,” says Dr. Kopecký.
