Curriculum vitae

Prof. RNDr. Josef Komenda, CSc., DSc

Affiliation 

Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Algatech Centre, Novohradská 237 - Opatovický mlýn, 379 81 Třeboň,  tel.+420-384-340431, fax +420-384-340415, e-mail komenda@alga.cz

Appointment

Senior Scientist, head of the Laboratory of Photosynthesis

ORCID: 0000-0003-4588-0382

Overview of employment

• March 1993 - Feb 1994, Research Assistant, J. Barber’s group, Imperial College, London
• March 1994 - Dec 2003, Scientist, Institute of Microbiology, Třeboň
• January 2004 - now, Senior Scientist, head of the Laboratory, Institute of Microbiology, Třeboň
• Jan 2005 - 2010, Associated Professor, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice
• Jan 2010 - now, Professor, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice (part-time workload)

Stays abroad

• Jan 2001 - Dec 2007, 3 months in total, MU Munich
• July 1997, one month in Plant Molecular Biology Laboratory, Beltsville, USA
• Nov 1991 - Dec 1997, 3 months in total, Instituto di Radiobiochim Ecofisiol vegetali, CNR, Rome
• March 1995, 3 months FEBS Fellowship, Imperial College, London
• March 1993 - Febr 1994, one year at the Department of Biochemistry, Imperial College, London
• One week stays at Biological Research Centre, Szeged (10x); Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (1x)

Research interest and current research work

see Biogenesis and quality control ..

Collaborators

Peter Nixon and James Murray (Imperial College); Neil Hunter (Sheffield University); Tomáš Polívka (South Bohemia University); Roman Kouřil, (University of Olomouc); Annegret Wilde (University of Freiburg); Dario Leister (LMU Munich), Leonid Sazanov (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Andreas Naschberger (King Abdullah Universsity of Science and Technology)

Mentoring and supervising students

2 MSc and 6 PhD students have successfully finished, 2 PhD students is currently working on the thesis

Obtained Czech funding

• 2024 - 2026, Czech Science Foundation, 24-10227S, PI
• 2019 - 2023, Czech Science Foundation, EXPRO 19-29225X, PI
• 2012 – 2018, Czech Science Foundation, 501/12/G055, co-PI

• 2011 - 2015, Czech Science Foundation, 501/11/0377, PI
• 2008 - 2011, Czech Academy of Science, IAA400200801, PI

• 2006 - 2008, Czech Academy of Science, 206/06/0322, PI
• 2004 - 2006, Czech Science Foundation, 203/04/0800, PI
• 2000 - 2004, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (LN00A141), co-PI
• 2000 - 2002, Czech Science Foundation, 203/00/1257, PI
• 1998 - 2000, Czech Science Foundation, 204/98/0418, PI
• 1995 - 1997, Czech Science Foundation, 204/95/1043, PI

International projects

• 2020 – 2026, H2020, ERC, 854126 PhotoRedesign, principal investigator of the project

Lectures and conference talks (2020-2024, * invited)

17th International Symposium on Phototrophic Prokaryotes (ISPP), Liverpool, 2022

18th Congress on Photosynthesis Research, Dunedin New Zealand, 2022

*8th European Workshop on the Molecular Biology of Cyanobacteria, Porto, 2020

Prizes, awards

• 2008, 2010, 2012; 2013, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2024 - Director’s prize for the best research publication of the Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences
• 2016 - Award of Czech Academy of Sciences for the outstanding results in the field ”Biogenesis and protection of Photosystem II “(leader of the team)
• 2002 – Wichterle Award for outstanding young investigators of the Czech Academy of Sciences

5 top publications between 2020 – 2024

Komenda, J., Sobotka, R,, Nixon, P.J.* The biogenesis and maintenance of photosystem II: recent advances and current challenges. Plant Cell. 2024. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koae082

Zhao, Z., Vercellino, I., Knoppová, J., Sobotka, R., Murray, J.W., Nixon, P.J.*, Sazanov, L.A.*, Komenda, J.* The Ycf48 accessory factor occupies the site of the oxygen-evolving manganese cluster during photosystem II biogenesis. Nature Commun 14,:4681, 2023; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40388-6

Krynická, V., Skotnicová, P., Jackson, P.J., Barnett, S., Yu, J., Wysocka, A., Kaňa, R., Dickman, M.J., Nixon, P.J., Hunter, C.N., Komenda J. FtsH4 protease controls biogenesis of PSII complex by dual regulation of Hlips level: Plant Commun 4, 100502, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xplc.2022.100502

Knoppová, J., Sobotka, R., Yu, J., Bečková, M., Pilný, J., Trinugroho, J.P.,  Csefalvay, L., Bína, D., Nixon, P.J., Komenda, J.* Assembly of D1/D2  reaction center complexes of photosystem II: stepwise binding of of pigments and a network of auxiliary proteins.  Plant Physiol 189, 790–804, 2022; https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiac045

Trinugroho, J.P., Bečková, M., Shao, S., Yu, J., Zhao, Z., Murray, J.W., Sobotka, R., Komenda, J., Nixon, P.J.* Chlorophyll f synthesis by a super-roque photosystem II complex. Nature Plants 6, 238-244, 2020. 10.1038/s41477-020-0616-4