Centre Algatech

Researcher ID:  H-2454-2014                                                  
ORCID ID:  0000-0002-0012-4359

Research interests

Regulation and stress physiology of phytoplankton photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation; Biological oceanography; Ecophysiology of algal and cyanobacterial photosynthesis; Effects of global change on photosynthetic microorganisms; Development of biophysical optical instrumentation for photosynthesis research.

Education/Training

• 1987 RNDr. (M.Sc. equiv.)  in Biophysics (Raman spectroscopy) with Prof. Josef Štěpánek, Institute of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague, Czechoslovakia
• 1990 - 1991 research assistant with Prof. Itzhak Ohad (photosynthesis), Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
• 1993 junior research assistant, Prof. Paul Falkowski (aquatic photosynthesis). Oceanography department, Brookhaven National Laboratory – US Dept of Energy, NY, USA
• Ph.D. (1995) in Microbiology and in Plant physiology, supervisor: Dr.Ivan Šetlík, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
• 1995 - 1997 postdoc with Prof. Paul Falkowski (biophysical techniques in aquatic phyotosynthesis), Oceanography department, Brookhaven National Laboratory – US Dept of Energy, NY, USA

Professional experience

• 1997- present Scientist, Laboratory of Photosynthesis, Inst. Microbiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Třeboň, from 1997-2006 Head of the Laboratory of Photosynthesis
• 2006- 2023 Founder and Head of the Center Algatech, Inst. Microbiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Třeboň
• 2005 Associated professor (docent) and 2010 full Professor in Biophysics, Palacký University in Olomouc
• 1998 – present, Lecturer (currently full Professor), Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
• Courses taught and services provided at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
• Photosynthesis (1 semester advanced theoretical and practical course, runs biannually since 2005)
• Bioenergetics (1 semester curse, runs annually since 2005)
• Plant physiology  (30% lectures load)
• Oceanography for biologists (20% load, 2005-2010)
• Invited guest lecturer at courses overseas: in Norway (Primary production in the Arctic, 1 month courses at UNIS Svalbard 2014, 16, 18), Brazil (Optical methods in algal physiology, 1 month course Univ. Federal de Santa Catalina, Florianopolis, 2016), Portugal (Fluorescence methods in aquatic primary production, 1 week at Univ. Algarve, Faro, 2019) and Spain (Marine Primary production, 1 week online at the Univ. Balearic Islands, 2020 and 21).
• Supervision of students at various levels (B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.): altogether more than 10 students supervised and successfully defended their theses. Mentoring of 8 postdocs at the Institute of Microbiology.
• Member of the boards of the study programs Biophysics and Physiology (for Ph.D. students) at the Faculty of Science, Univ. of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Biophysics at the Palacký University in Olomouc and Biophysics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague. Member of committees for Ph.D. defenses in the Czech Republic and abroad (e.g. Norway, Finland, France, Spain).

Publications

In total author of more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, 6 book chapter and 1 monography that were cited more than 4500 times according to Web of Science (plus 500 citations of a book chapter not in WOS), h-index 37 (see the separate list of publications under Additional information).

Research grants awarded

• Principal investigator or co-principal investigator of more than 30 grant projects since 1997 from the Czech (GAČR, MŠMT) and foreign funding agencies – NATO, EU, NSF. Direct, project supported collaboration with laboratories in the USA (Rutgers Univ, Oregon State), France (CNRS Labs in Banyouls, Roscoff, Villefranche), the Netherlands (NIOOZ Yerseke), Norway (NTU Trondheim), Italy (CNR Milano) and Israel (IUI Eilat).
• From 2010-2020 principal investigator of cluster of several EU-MŠMT funded large-scale projects (Algatech, Algaman, Algain, Algamic) for establishing and supporting research, infrastructure, human resources and investment in instrumentation of the Center Algatech of the Institute of Microbiology, CAS in Třeboň. 
• Currently PI of the GACR project “Mechanisms and importance of functional heterogeneity in unicellular nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria”.

Fellowships and research stays abroad

• 1992 University of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign, USA (3 months fellowship Human Frontiers Science Program), hosted by Prof. John Whitmarsh – biophysics of photosynthesis
• 2002-4 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA (8 months, fellowship of the National Research Council of the NAS), hosted by Dr. Michael Behrenfeld – satellite remote sensing of the algal photosynthesis in oceans
• 2000-2003 participation at the French oceanographic research cruises in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Red sea and Pacific (total 3 months) – study of phytoplankton photosynthesis in situ using the newly developed biophysical tools.
• 2022 University of California, Santa Cruz (3 months Fulbright fellowship) hosted by Prof.Jonathan Zehr - photophysilogy of diazotrophy symbiosis
• Membership in learned societies and in editorial boards
• 2009-14 Head of the Czech national committee for geosphere and biosphere – IGBP
• 2008- present Member of the Czech Society of Experimental Plant Biology
• Currently member of the editorial boards of journals Frontiers in Microbiology, Journal of Applied Phycology, Photosynthetica and Folia Microbiologica.
• Currently Member of the panel "Plant Physiology and Genetics, Plant Medicine" of the Czech Grant Agency GACR

Awards

• 2010 Award for the best research project funded by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
• Organization of conferences and workshops
• Main convener (with D.Suggett) of international conferences Aquafluo 2007 (Nové Hrady, CZ, 125 participants), Aquafluo 2017 (Sydney, Australia, more than 100 participants) and 10th international workshop on primary productivity GAP 2017 (Třeboň, 80 participants).
• Member of ASLO (American Society of Limnology and Oceanography) and ISPR (International Society of Photosynthesis Research).
• Member of SCOR working group 156 "Active Chlorophyll fluorescence for autonomous measurements of global marine primary productivity"

List of publications