07 Postdoctoral Fellowship at Masaryk University, Czech Republic

We’re excited to announce an open post-doctoral position in Robert Vacha’s Research Group!

With nearly 10 million lives claimed annually, cancer remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, highlighting the urgent need for more effective treatments. One promising strategy involves mRNA-based cancer immunotherapy vaccines, which require a drug delivery system capable of reliably reaching the cytosol. Developing such delivery systems is challenging: they must ensure cytosolic delivery and therapeutic efficacy while maintaining safety, long-term stability, and compliance with scalable manufacturing standards—including high mRNA loading efficiency and uniform particle size. Current lipid- and polymer-based systems offer distinct advantages, but integrating lessons from both may help develop more effective next-generation carriers. A major limitation remains the incomplete understanding of nanoparticle assembly and disassembly under diverse physiological conditions (e.g., extracellular fluids, endosomal compartments, cytosol).

This project will use coarse-grained molecular simulations, complemented by in-house experimental validation, to gain molecular insights in the controlled system assembly and disassembly. Our goal is to guide the rational design of improved mRNA delivery systems to advance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.

We’re excited to announce an open post-doctoral position in Robert Vacha’s Research Group!

Eukaryotic and prokaryotic plasma membranes exhibit inherent asymmetry, with distinct lipid compositions between the two leaflets. However, most studies to date have focused on symmetric bilayers. This project addresses this gap by integrating molecular dynamics simulations with experimental techniques such as solid-state NMR spectroscopy and scattering methods.

The primary aim is to elucidate the structural and dynamical properties of lipids in asymmetric membranes, particularly their interactions with integral membrane proteins, with an emphasis on bacterial lipid compositions. Initial step will involve determining lipid chain order parameters, bilayer structure, and lipid dynamics. Subsequently, lipid-protein interactions will be assessed, focusing on lipid-induced modulation of enzymatic activity in two bacterial proteins: OmpLA, a β-barrel protein, and GlpG, an α-helical transmembrane protein. The findings will offer key insights into the role of lipid asymmetry in biological membranes and its influence on membrane protein function, with potential applications in the development of lipid-targeted therapeutics and biosensors for pharmaceutical and biotechnological use.

Are you passionate about proteins and biomedical innovations?

Join our dynamic, interdisciplinary research team tackling both fundamental and translational challenges in protein engineering. We investigate enzyme molecular mechanisms and pioneer innovative therapies for Alzheimer’s disease and acute stroke.

• Investigate enzyme mechanisms and clinically significant proteins
• Conduct structural and functional analyses using advanced biophysical techniques
• Perform in-depth data analysis with state-of-the-art computational tools
• Take an active role in experimental design, execution, and data interpretation
• Gain valuable experience mentoring students and presenting at international events

The postdoctoral position is focused on the bioinformatics research under the supervision of Dr. Monika Čechová in the Bioinformatics group of the Faculty of Informatics. The successful candidate will contribute to the research project led by Dr. Monika Čechová and supported by her MUNI Award in Science and Humanities StG/CoG. The research will focus on the two main points using the latest genomics technologies and especially nanopore sequencing:

1. Streamlining the process of delivering complete genome assemblies with the ultimate goal of advancing personalized medicine
2. The analysis of complex parts of the human genomes (that require complete human assemblies), such as Y chromosome, telomeres, centromeres, or acrocentric chromosomes with the goal to better understand Y chromosome loss in cancer and with aging, the telomere length dynamics, centromere-derived aneuploidies, or common human translocations

• performing bioinformatics analysis and writing reproducible bioinformatics pipelines;
• preparing journal papers containing project results;
• presenting project results at conferences, seminars, workshops and other suitable venues;
• assisting in grant writing;
• other activities to increase the visibility of research of the Faculty of Informatics.