20 talents in 20 years of JCMM. Among them are scientists and graduates from BUT

The South Moravian Centre for International Mobility (JCMM) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, the organisation selected 20 exceptional individuals who, alongside many other talented students, received support over the years and were guided toward outstanding achievements. Among the selected talents are also experts and graduates from Brno University of Technology!

The most significant talents that the centre has worked with over the past 20 years were chosen from the ranks of graduates of its programmes and projects. The stories of the selected individuals highlight the positive impact of hard work and long-term talent development in the region.

One of those selected is Professor Adriána Kovalčík, who works at the Faculty of Chemistry at BUT, focusing on macromolecular chemistry, specifically the modification of biopolymers for practical applications. After eleven years at scientific institutions and universities in Austria, she moved to Brno thanks to a JCMM programme. She now leads her own team, teaches bioengineering and natural product chemistry, and supervises bachelor's, master's and doctoral theses. She is also a principal investigator of a Czech Science Foundation (GAČR) project focused on biocompatible and bioflexible scaffolds.

“What I enjoy is that even if you have the answer to a question, it's never final, because new answers keep emerging. The most important thing is patience, because even if things don’t go as expected, science finds its way,” explained Kovalčík. Besides research, she also focuses on mentoring young people and supporting women in science.

Another exceptional personality is PhD candidate and researcher Michaela Vojníková, working at the research centre CEITEC BUT and Mendel University, where she leads the Nanomedicine Laboratory. Her research focuses on lipid nanoparticles and their development for treating serious diseases, especially cancer. She works on innovative approaches that combine therapy and diagnostics within a single nanoparticle.

“I first realised that science would be my career path in high school. I knew I could not specialise in just one thing, so science became the obvious choice. What I enjoy most is asking ‘Why?’ and endlessly searching for answers,” said Vojníková, adding that her long-term dream is to build her own research group focused on nanomedicine.

Among the JCMM talents are also two graduates of Brno University of Technology:

• Jaroslav Páral, a graduate of the Faculty of Information Technology at BUT – now working at the Belgian company LAMBDA-X Ophthalmics, which produces microscopes for measuring contact and intraocular lenses.
• Jakub Dokulil, a former CEITEC BUT student – now pursuing a PhD at the Institute of Molecular Pathology, part of the Vienna BioCenter, where he builds optical microscopes for biology research.

Learn more about the project and the full list of 20 selected talents on the JCMM website.

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Author	Mgr. Lenka Hubáčková
Published	2025-11-26 15:20
Link	https://www.vut.cz/en/but/f19528/d310883