How the human genome duplicates. A Czech becomes a new EMBO Young Investigator

Hana Polášek-Sedláčková from the Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences is one of 28 young investigators who will be active members of the EMBO Young Investigator Programme for the next four years. Their research projects address a broad range of questions in the life sciences, including topics such as the gut microbiome of infants, the demographics of indigenous American populations, the neural blueprint of brain tumours, and the role of the RNA polymerase II in transcription.

“EMBO is delighted to welcome the new young investigators. Their outstanding achievements demonstrate the excellence and ambition that will drive progress in the life sciences. We are pleased to support these young group leaders as they take the next steps in their careers, and we look forward to their discoveries and contributions to our community,” says EMBO Director Fiona Watt.

The new EMBO Young Investigators benefit from a variety of networking opportunities for them and their lab members. They become part of a vibrant network of more than 800 current and former EMBO Young Investigators, Installation Grantees and Global Investigators. Further benefits include training and mentoring opportunities, as well as access to core facilities at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany. Young investigators also receive a financial award of 15,000 euros. They can apply for additional grants of up to 10,000 euros per year and gain support for networking activities, such as joint group meetings or travelling to conferences.

Of the 28 selected EMBO Young Investigators, 12 are female (43%), 14 are male (50%), and two did not specify their gender (7%). The programme received 233 eligible applications, and the success rate was 12%.

26 new young investigators are based in ten member states of the EMBC, the intergovernmental organization that funds the EMBO Programmes: Austria, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. One young investigator is based in India, which is an EMBC Associate Member State, and another is based in Taiwan, an EMBC Associate Member.

The next application deadline for the EMBO Young Investigator Programme is 1 April 2026. More information about the programme, including eligibility criteria and the application process, is available online.

Read more on the official website of EMBO.

Written by: EMBO; edits by Press Department of the CAS

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