People – Adaptive Immunity

Group Leader

Ondřej Štěpánek

ondrej.stepanek@img.cas.cz

He has a passion for science, his two kids, sports, and carnivorous plants.

Ondra’s got first research experience in a yeast lab. However, he jumped into immunology afterwards. He got his PhD training at the IMG with Tomáš Brdička. In 2012, Ondřej joined the lab of Ed Palmer at the Department of Biomedicine in Basel, Switzerland as a postdoctoral fellow. In 2016, Ondřej established the lab of Adaptive Immunity at the IMG. The lab is connecting molecular biology and biochemistry with cellular immunology.

Research interests: To understand how T cells manage to fight infections and to stay self-tolerant.

Project Leader

Martina Huranová

Cilia biology team leader

martina.huranova@img.cas.cz

In her spare time, she runs, jumps and dances with or without her kids. She loves chocolate, coffee and aperol spritz and enjoyes design and creative work.

Maťa studied Biochemistry at Charles University here in Prague and enjoyed the first touch of science in the lab of Noemi Cerovska at IEB studying the plant viruses. In 2007, she joined the lab of David Staněk at IMG and got her PhD training in the field of mRNA splicing. In 2012, Martina moved for her postdoc to the lab of Anne Spang at Biozentrum in Basel, Switzerland to work on polarized protein trafficking in yeast. In 2016, she joined the lab of Ondřej Štěpánek at IMG, where she explores the function of the BBSome, protein trafficking machinery, in polarized cellular structures, such as primary cilia and immunological synapse.

Research interests: Martina devotes her scientific life to understanding the dynamics of cellular processes by using qualitative and quantuitative fluorescence microscopy.

Postdocs

Juraj Michálik

juraj.michalik@img.cas.cz

Likes science, programming, chocolate and pizza. Also likes tea and walks in nature coupled with birdwatching.

Juraj Michalik did his studies at the Institut National des Sciences Appliqués de Lyon, France. There, after two years of preparatory classes, he dwelled deeper into the realm of Bioinformatics, in which he did his master thesis. After working at Laboratory CRIStAL in Lille, France, for one and a half years, he followed his PhD at Ecole Polytechnique in Paris on the subject of Secondary structures of RNA. In May 2019, he became the member of the Laboratory of Adaptive Immunity led by Ondrej Stepanek.

Research interests:Bioinformatics, RNA-seq and scRNA-seq data analysis, biostatistics, biological pathway modelling, secondary RNA structure sampling.

Aleš Neuwirth

ales.neuwirth@img.cas.cz

Active sports fan, hobby ice hockey and football player, wine and food specialist. He likes Nature, traveling and gardening.

After studies at Biological faculty of South Bohemia in České Budějovice he moved to Prague and finished his PhD in Dominik Filipp’s lab at IMG. As postdoctoral fellow, he spent 6 years in Triantaffylos Chavakis lab in Dresden and from April 2019, he joined our team.

Research interests: central and peripheral tolerance, autoimmunity, adrenals, eosinophils, crosstalk of innate and adaptive immunity.

PhD Students

Veronika Cimermanová

veronika.cimermanova@img.cas.cz

Make-up art enthusiast with a caffeine addiction, who enjoys listening to true crime & paranormal podcasts.

Veronika did her bachelor’s degree in Biological and Chemical Sciences partially at the Erhvervsakademi Aarhus, Denmark and at the Coventry University, UK. Currently, she is attending a master’s degree program (Immunology) at Charles University in Prague. Therefore, she joined the lab of adaptive immunity as a master student to carry out the master thesis project and to acquire broader knowledge about the Immunology research.

Research interests: Subpopulations of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells.

Olha Ivashchenko

olha.ivashchenko@img.cas.cz

Fascinated by science, addicted to traveling. Sushi-wine lover. A huge fan of big fluffy dogs. She adores nature, especially water bodies.

Olha did her Master’s Degree in Biochemistry at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in Ukraine. Then, she moved to Prague to pursue a PhD, under the supervision of Dr. Martina Huranova at the Laboratory of Adaptive Immunity, IMG.

Research interests: Cellular processes, stem cell, cilia, immune regulation.

Anna Kratochvílová

anna.kratochvilova@img.cas.cz

Passionate about nature, science and her dog. A big fantasy nerd.

Anička finished her master’s degree in Immunology at Charles University in Prague. She didn’t immediately embark on a PhD journey but worked in the HBV Cure group at IOCB, Prague. Then in 2022, she started her PhD project in the Laboratory of Adaptive Immunity focusing on the heterogeneity of tissue infiltrating T cells.

Research interests: Infection immunity, multiple sclerosis, resident memory T cells.

Veronika Niederlová

veronika.niederlova@img.cas.cz

Apart from wet-lab and dry-lab work, she spends her time with people with intellectual disabilities or with scandinavian detective novels.

Verča did her master degree in Immunology at Charles University in Prague, being the second master to finish her thesis in the Laboratory of Adaptive Immunity. Now, she switched her topic from researching Bardet-Biedl syndrome to explorations of the T-cell variability using single cell RNA sequencing.

Research interests: New T-cell subpopulations (both real and non-existing ones).

Eva Šályová

eva.salyova@img.cas.cz

Dreamer with book always prepared in her pocket. She also enjoys writing letters in the old way, sports, music, painting or traveling with her finger on the map.

Eva did her master degree in Genetics at the Comenius university in Bratislava, where she worked on her diploma thesis in genotoxicological field. Then, she moved to Prague and started her doctoral studies in the Laboratory of Adaptive Immunity focusing on memory CD8+ T cells under the supervision of Dr. Štěpánek.

Research interests: Functional diversity of memory CD8+ T cells.

Sindija Šmite

sindija.smite@img.cas.cz

Running enthusiast with a love for cooking and learning new languages. In her free time, she is a biology tutor for high school students.

Sindija completed her Master’s in Cell Biology and Immunology at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France. During her training, she worked on projects related to cancer diagnostics and the role of dendritic cells in cancer. In 2024, she started her PhD under the supervision of Dr. Martina Huranová in the Laboratory of Adaptive Immunity.

Research interests: Primary cilia, development.

Valeria Uleri

valeria.uleri@img.cas.cz

Since I like warm countries, I’ve chosen the Czech Republic for my Ph.D.! I enjoy cooking in my free time, but please, don’t ask me for a pineapple pizza.

Valeria finished her master degree in Biotechnology of the Drugs at Federico II University of Naples in Italy. In 2021, she started her PhD at the Lab of Adaptive Immunity under the supervision of Dr. Ondřej Štěpánek. Her main interests lie in immunology and she is studying the role of Lck in peripheral CD4 and CD8 T cells.

Research interests: Lck, T cell signaling, adaptive immune system.

Undergraduate Students

Arina Andreyeva

arina.andreyeva@img.cas.cz

A lover of tea, coffee, and wine, with a passion for binge-watching TV shows and following F1 races. Always up for traveling and catching a live music performance.

Ari joined the lab during her Bachelor’s in Molecular Biology at Charles University and continued her research while pursuing a Master’s in Immunology. She is currently investigating T cells in the context of autoimmunity.

Research interests: Helper T cells, autoimmunity.

Sofiia Bykova

sbykova@img.cas.cz

Dog person who can’t survive without swimming and reading. Big fan of detective stories and green tea.

Sofiia finished her bachelor’s degree in Genetics at the Karazin Kharkiv National University in Ukraine. Her bachelor thesis was on the WNT signaling pathway and its relationship with BBSome. Due to Russian invasion, she was forced to relocate. Sofiia moved to Prague to continue her education and now she is a 1st year Master student at the Charles University, Faculty of Science.

Research interests: Cellular signaling and its connection to cilia.

Jáchym Harwood

jachym-antonin.harwood@img.cas.cz

Avid forager of mushrooms, skier, and progressive metal enjoyer. His love for Czech New Wave cinema is second only to his passion for Cell Biology.

Born and raised in New York City, Jáchym graduated with his Bachelor’s in Biology and Environmental Science from Columbia University in May of 2024. Looking to spend quality time in his motherland and build on his experience as a researcher before pursuing higher education, Jáchym joined the Lab of Adaptive Immunity in September of 2024. In the lab, Jáchym studies CD8+ T-cell activation and what factors can serve as predictive of T-cell fate.

Research interests: CD8+ T-cell activation and subpopulations.

Běla Charvátová

bela.charvatova@img.cas.cz

Math nerd, loves long hikes in the mountains, traveling, board games, singing and completely loses herself when street dance music is playing.

Běla completed her bachelor’s degree in Teaching biology and mathematics at Charles University and continued her master studies in Immunology at Charles University. This semester she also started to study Bioinformatics bachelor programme at Charles University aspiring to gain new skills and knowledge that can be used in her research. In her diploma thesis, she is focusing on T cell populations in patients with diabetes mellitus with help from Veronika Niederlová.

Research interests: Diabetes, autoimmunity, Treg dysfunction

Vojtěch Racek

vojtech.racek@img.cas.cz

In my free time, you can usually find me either at the gym, playing the piano or spending quality time with my dog and family. I’m passionate about science in all its forms and love learning about new discoveries.

Vojta finished his bachelor’s degree in Biology at Charles University and is now pursuing a master’s degree in Genetics and Molecular Biology of Eukaryotes, also at Charles University. His bachelor’s thesis focused on the sex differences in the prevalence of autoimmune diseases, which sparked his interest in immunology. In his master’s thesis he explores signaling pathways in T-cell receptor.

Research interests: Analysis of LCK and FYN kinases in TCR signaling.

Kateřina Tomicová

katerina.tomicova@img.cas.cz

A folklore dance enthusiast who can’t resist a good tennis match or a snowy slope. Loves traveling and discovering new flavors and experiences along the way.

Katka completed her bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry of Organisms at Charles University, where she focused on the Development of regulatory T cells and their role in autoimmune diseases in her bachelor’s thesis. She is currently continuing her master’s studies in Immunology at Charles University. Her diploma thesis is centered on The role of LRRK1 in T-cell development and function.

Research interests: LRRK1, T cells.

Lab Manager

Ladislav Cupák

ladislav.cupak@img.cas.cz

1997-2001 Láďa tried to study Biology and Geography at Charles University in Prague, but finished bachelor degree of education at Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague in 2013, main field of study: Biochemistry and Biotechnology. At IMG working from 2006, Laboratory of Adaptive Immunity joined at 2016.

Technician: Mainly daily repetitive experiments, administration, take care of stuff and take care of staff.

Alumni

- Monika Andělová
- Markéta Černohorská
- Michaela Česneková
- Peter Dráber
- Helena Dráberová
- Aleš Drobek
- Daniela Glatzová
- Veronika Horková
- Tereza Chadimová
- Šárka Janušová
- Daniela Knížková
- Kateřina Křížová
- Kristýna Mašková
- Alena Moudrá
- Dušan Němec
- Denisa Regine Novotná
- Darina Paprčková
- Avishek Prasai
- Michaela Přibíková
- Klára Ruppová
- Carly Sprague
- Tereza Šemberová
- Oksana Tsyklauri