I have been drawn to natural sciences since high school. Combining biology and chemistry, I was intrigued by how biological processes are driven by the chemical properties of biomolecules.

 

I left Slovakia and moved to Brno, Czech Republic, to study biochemistry at Masaryk University. During my undergraduate research in the group of prof. Michaela Wimmerova, learned how to clone genes and produce proteins. To gain more practical skills, I spent half a year working as an intern in the group of prof. Anne Imberty in Grenoble, France, where I acquired hand-on experience with X-ray crystallography and, for the first time, saw what a protein looks like in 3D. I completed my M.Sc. in Analytical Biochemistry with honors and chose to continue studying how the structure of biomolecules influence their function.

 

I began my Ph.D. in Structural Biology at the Central European Institute of Technology in Brno. Joining the group of prof. Pavel Plevka, I investigate structures of bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) using cryo-electron microscopy. I am interested in how these complex molecular machines infect bacteria and how we can leverage them in human medicine. In the fall of 2021, I spent a short period as a visiting scientist in the group of prof. Nicholas Taylor at the Center for Protein Research in Copenhagen, Denmark, where I further explored bacteriophage structures.

 

As an aspiring structural biologist, I aim to enhance our understanding of complex molecular mechanisms and contribute to the development of novel therapies. I also view structural biology as a powerful tool for communicating science to a broader public, as one picture often says more than a thousand words.