Masaryk University regards doctoral study programmes as one of the pillars of an effective university. The university improves its quality and effectiveness on a continuous basis, and makes sure graduates find jobs in science in the Czech Republic and abroad, or outside the academic environment.
The awards for excellence in doctoral study programmes were presented by Vice-rector Šárka Pospíšilová for the third time. The recipients were chosen based on the successful completion of their doctoral programme within the standard four-year period, plus no more than one extra year, combined with exceptional results of their research work covered by their dissertation.
“The awards you are receiving today are products of your above-standard and excellent results. The phrase itself sounds like an impossible mission, but you succeeded thanks to hard work, effort, patience and the ability to fulfil many responsibilities associated with doctoral studies at Masaryk University. Thank you so much, and I am proud of you, just like I am proud of all graduates in doctoral programmes,” said Rector Martin Bareš at the award ceremony.
Every year approximately 300 students finish their doctoral programmes. “I am pleased to be witness to increasing quality of the results of doctoral studies, and I have to admit that it was really hard to choose this year’s recipients. I would like to ask you and your supervisors to share the good practice with your successors, and to be their role models and advisors in overcoming the obstacles in doctoral studies,” said Šárka Pospíšilová.
The awards for excellent results in doctoral programmes are part of a variety of activities organised by the university for the sake of improvement of the quality of doctoral studies. The award carries financial bonuses for the graduate and his or her supervisor.
This year the vice-rector’s award for excellent results in doctoral studies were presented to the following students and their supervisors:
Diya Elizabeth Abraham and her supervisor Jiří Špalek
Diya Elizabeth Abraham is a graduate of the Faculty of Business and Administration, majoring in Public Economics. Using an economic experiment she studied the factors of trust and cooperative behaviour in various environments.
Michaela Bartoňová and her supervisor Ivan Rektor
Michaela Bartoňová is a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine, majoring in Neuroscience. She successfully studied advanced methods of detection of pathological brain tissue in specific cases of focal epilepsy. She is a permanent staff member at CEITEC.
Eva Bumbálková and her supervisor Kateřina Vlčková
Eva Bumbálková is a graduate of the Faculty of Education, majoring in Didactics of foreign languages. She studied the strategies applied in taking language exams. The outcomes of her research will help in adjusting the teaching of courses for individual language exams.
Alessio Cantara and his supervisor Václav Brázda
Alessio Cantara is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Molecular and cellular biology and genetics. He studied, across a variety of organisms, the significance and potential of G-quadruplexes of DNA as treatment goals used in anti-tumour, antiviral and antibacterial therapies.
Tomáš Čejka and his supervisor Ulu Büntgen
Tomáš Čejka is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Physical geography. Applying knowledge and methods from ecology, climatology and mycology, he studied various species of truffles. The outcomes of his research will play a key role in the explanation of ecological demands, phenology development and habitat models.
Stanislava Debnárová and her supervisor Pavel Souček
Stanislava Debnárová is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Physics. During her studies she conducted experimental research in the potential of the preparation of new materials in the form of thin layers and their unique properties vis-à-vis a variety of potential applications in industry.
Barbora Decker and her supervisor Regina Demlová
Barbora Decker is a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine, majoring in Pharmacology. She studied the impacts on the society of idiopathic bowel inflammation and the impacts of the increased prevalence. The outcomes of her research will help develop the corresponding methodology with significant impacts on the current practice.
Martin Deutsch and his supervisor Ondřej Jakubec
Martin Deutsch is a graduate of the Faculty of Arts, majoring in Theory and history of art. He focused on a wide area of visual culture in the environment of the Jesuit college in Brno, its church and the urban environment through the perspective of the history of art and cultural history.
Věra Dosedělová and her supervisor Petr Kubáň
Věra Dosedělová is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Life sciences. She focused on the development of methods for non-invasive sampling of biological fluids. Her work represents significant contribution to clinical diagnostics. She currently works at the CEITEC MUNI PhD School.
Alena Drury Sojková and her supervisor Hana Stehlíková Babyrádová
Alena Drury Sojková is a graduate of the Faculty of Education, majoring in Theory of art and gallery education. In her work she focused on the new media phenomenon in art education and on the reflexion of the symbiosis of conventional and new media.
Ivo Durník and his supervisor Petr Kulhánek
Ivo Durník is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Biomolecular chemistry and bioinformatics. The main focus of his study was the principle of molecular mechanisms of damage a repair of DNA and systems with the potential of anti-tumour application.
Darshak Chandulal Gadara and his supervisor Zdeněk Spáčil
Darshak Chandulal Gadara is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Environment and health. He developed a systematic procedure for the processing of metabolomic data for the discovery of clinical biomarkers for a variety of illnesses. His work represents complex contribution to diagnostics and prognostics.
Tomáš Hlinský, his supervisor Pavel Stejskal and his consultant Michal Kumstát
Tomáš Hlinský is a graduate of the Faculty of Sports Studies, majoring in Kinathropology. He studied the effects of dietary nitrate supplements on the effectiveness of muscles and physical performance.
Richard Holaj and his supervisor Markéta Ziková
Richard Holaj is a graduate of the Faculty of Arts, majoring in Czech language. He studied the audio properties of the spoken Czech in non-native speakers and, combining linguistics, informatics and AI, he devised a prototype tool for automatic transcription of speech of non-native speakers.
Viola Hubačová Pirová and her supervisor Iva Burešová
Viola Hubačová Pirová is a graduate of the Faculty of Arts, majoring in Psychology. She studied psychomotor development in pre-school children. The results of her work address the importance of the development of motor abilities vis-à-vis, among other things, the potential for the improvement of cognitive skills.
Radim Chvaja and his supervisor Martin Lang
Radim Chvaja is a graduate of the Faculty of Arts, majoring in Religion studies. He focused on the theory of costly signals in pilgrimages, as well as the reasons for their existence, functions and impacts on group dynamics. The results of his interdisciplinary research emphasise the importance of seemingly irrational activities in building societies based on trust.
Radka Kalfusová and her supervisor Aleš Kovařík
Radka Kalfusová is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Molecular and cell biology and genetics. She studied the complex evolutionary history and interspecies crossbreeding of roses which, thanks to the fact that they are high in vitamin C and essential oils, are commonly used in the pharmaceutical and beauty industries.
Colin Kimbrell and his supervisor Břetislav Dančák
Colin Kimbrell is a graduate of the Faculty of Social Studies, majoring in International relations and European politics. During the Covid-19 pandemic he studied energy safety and poverty across Europe. The results of his research are very useful at the time of the major shift in energy policies and the search of acceptable EU-wide solutions.
Adam Klocek and his supervisor Tomáš Řiháček
Adam Klocek is a graduate of the Faculty of Social Studies, majoring in Clinical psychology. The results of his dissertation project consist in a complex study focused on the capabilities and limits of the paradigm of non-linear dynamic systems in the research into psychotherapy, with the potential for the increase in the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic treatment.
Martina Klocková and her supervisor Tomáš Řiháček
Martina Klocková is a graduate of the Faculty of Social Studies, majoring in Clinical psychology. She studied a highly relevant topic of the effectiveness of psychotherapy in patients in unexplained physical symptoms. The results of her work proved that systematic and targeted treatment of these symptoms is non-existent in the Czech Republic.
Jan Kotýnek Krotký and his supervisor Petr Kaniok
Jan Kotýnek Krotký is a graduate of the Faculty of Social Studies, majoring in International relations and European studies. His thesis focused on illegal migration in the EU he studied the responses of the political institutions of the EU and the overall discourse at the multinational level with respect to this issue.
Michael Kroker and his supervisor Petr Vašina
Michael Kroker is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Physics. He focused on the preparation and study of properties of a new kind of material which, thanks to its anticipated rigidity and resistance to breaking, has significant potential for use for protective films in various industries.
David Lacko and his supervisor Jiří Čeňka
David Lacko is a graduate of the Faculty of Arts, majoring in Psychology. He studied the correlations between cultural influences and the cognitive process. The results of his complex work bring a critical perspective on the current theories in intercultural research, methodological drawbacks and improper statistical methods.
Jan Malý and his supervisor Eva Brucknerová
Jan Malý is a graduate of the Faculty of Law. He focused on the issue of liability of legal entities for criminal offenses, especially consequences addressed by substantive law and procedural law. The outcomes of her research can be applied in teaching or as a valuable tool for law enforcement authorities.
Lucie Masárová and her supervisor Roman Panovský
Lucia Masárová is a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine, majoring in Cardiology. The results of her dissertation research brought valuable knowledge with regard to the timely detection and treatment of heart failure in asymptomatic carriers of the gene for a specific type of muscular dystrophy.
Kristína Mitterová and her supervisor Irena Rektorová
Kristína Mitterová is a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine, majoring in Neuroscience. She focused on the issue of cognitive reserve, i.e. the ability to reduce the effects of ageing and the progressing pathological burden. She also proposed possible therapies with respect to the size of the cognitive reserve in the elderly population. She is a permanent staff member at CEITEC.
Klaudie Mráziková and her supervisor Jiří Šponer
Klaudia Mráziková is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Biomolecular chemistry and bioinformatics. Using state-of-the-art calculation methods she studied selected physical and chemical aspects of nucleic acids. The results of her research can be used in a variety of applications in medicine.
Vojtěch Mrkývka and his supervisor Vojtěch Kovář
Vojtěch Mrkývka is a graduate of the Faculty of Arts, majoring in Czech language. In his doctoral project, he designed and implemented a web-based application for the correcting of mistakes Opravidlo and served as a technical coordinator of a team of linguists and students working on individual modules of the app.
Kateřina Peterková, her supervisor Radek Marek and her consultant Jan Novotný
Kateřina Peterková is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Biomolecular chemistry and bioinformatics. She specialised in the structural description of G-quadruplexes of DNA and their complexes with ligands. The results of her work contribute to the understanding of the structure, stability and function of G-quadruplexes, their interactions with small molecules and, in a broader sense, in the creation of new pharmaceuticals.
Pavlína Pokorná, her supervisor Jiří Šponer and her consultant Miroslav Kreplo
Pavlína Pokorná is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Biomolecular chemistry and bioinformatics. She studied the dynamics of biomolecular complexes of RNA and proteins using computer models. He work improves the knowledge of the principles of these bonds and improves the outcomes of experimental measurements.
Helena Pullmannová and her supervisor Pavel Koukal
Helena Pullmannová is a graduate of the Faculty of Law, majoring in Law. She focused on the issue of the right to business name as a subject of intellectual property. The outcomes of her research have significant social impact with the potential to change the perception of status quo at the legislative level or the level of jurisprudence.
Dan Řezníček, his supervisor David Václavík and his consultant Radek Kundt
Dan Řezníček is a graduate of the Faculty of Arts, majoring in Religion studies. Based on the evolutionary theories of aggression, cultural learning and human cooperative and coalitionary psychology, he tested the role of prestige and practical trustworthiness which may help motive intergroup aggression through admiration, without pressure.
Jakub Sopoušek and his supervisor Karel Lacina
Jakub Sopoušek is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Biochemistry. The goal of his research was to come up with a fast and robust system in the form of a small device which would be available to general practitioners for fast analysis of the blood level of antibodies. He is a permanent staff member at CEITEC.
David Střelák, his supervisor Luděk Matyska and his consultant Jiří Filipovič
David Střelák is a graduate of the Faculty of Informatics, majoring in Informatics. He specialised in the possible increase in the speed of processing of cryo-electron microscope imagery which is limited in terms of calculation complexities. The practical outcomes of his research have now been implemented by many leading scientific institutions all over the world.
Jiřina Šišoláková and her supervisor Petr Hasil
Jiřina Šišoláková is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Mathematics and statistics. She studied constants, their history, occurrence and applications. She confirmed an oscillation theory for the type of equation in question, which is very useful in practice and further research.
Andrea Štěpánková and her supervisor Tomáš Knoz
Andrea Štěpánková is a graduate of the Faculty of Arts, majoring in History. She studied how the excluded (both socially and in terms of religion) minority of Anabaptists who were persecuted for their beliefs in almost all European regions, managed to integrate with the local populace after their settlement in South Moravia.
Libor Šulc and his supervisor Pavel Čupr
Libor Šulc is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Environment and health. He combined the results of his research into the exposure to pesticides and pollution in selected European countries in the observed increase in the prevalence of respirators and cardiovascular diseases in the affected regions. The study emphasised the importance of legislative measures related to air quality in the Czech Republic.
Martin Toul, his supervisor Zbyněk Prokop and his consultant Jiří Dumborský
Martin Toul is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Molecular and cell biology and genetics. The goal of his research was to discover molecular mechanisms in selected enzymes for the purpose of optimisation in practical application, e.g. in medicine or alternative sustainable sources.
Stefan Veleski and his supervisor Tomáš Pospíšil
Stefan Veleski is a graduate of the Faculty of Arts, majoring in Literatures in English. He studied the phenomenon of cultural longevity, i.e. how information of cultural products survives over time, using Victorian novels as an example. His interdisciplinary approach has brought complex new knowledge and a brand new theoretical framework.
Sheng Zuo and his supervisor Martin Lysák
Sheng Zuo is a graduate of the Faculty of Science, majoring in Life sciences. He studied the structure and evolution of plant genome in a variety of species. The new knowledge helped specify the taxonomy of the species in question or showed new possibilities in agricultural production. He is a permanent staff member at CEITEC and is involved in CEITEC MUNI PhD School.