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Admission to Doctoral degree programmes in 2025/2026 (beginning: Autumn 2025)
Doctoral degree in full-time or combined form. The language of instruction is Czech.
The programme can be studied only as a single subject.
Application deadline depending on the admission procedure chosen (midnight 30 April 2025 or 15 December 2025)
The program is product of fusion of former independent Molecular and Cellular Biology with General and Molecular Genetics. We propose the fusion to reflect modern holistic approaches dominating in both fields that converge them to close proximity and bringing benefits to both of them. The aim of the program is providing excellent scientific education in the field of molecular and cell biology and genetics. The graduates thus should be proficient to accomplish research of living phenomena on molecular, cellular, tissue or organismal levels. To achieve this aim, students are systematically guided to advance their theoretical knowledge in the field and master practical skills in applications of modern methods of molecular and cellular biology, genetics and other related fields. The key themes include study of genes and genomes and their expression in microorganisms, plants, animals and humans. Special attention is paid to their relations to pathological conditions. Research performed on microorganisms is focused preferentially on molecular diagnosis and genomics of selected pathogenic and clinically significant bacterial strains and their interactions with bacteriophages. Research of plants is concentrated mainly on genes of model plants and plants used in agriculture. In animals and humans, research is focused on genetical structure of populations, molecular diagnosis of prenatal and postnatal pathogenic situations, genetics of tumors, study of signalling processes connected with deregulation of proliferation, differentiation and programmed cell death in tumor cells and detection of genetical factors associated with certain polygenic diseases. Students are free to perform independent research in well-equipped laboratories and experienced supervisors are nominated to guide them in this effort. Students are continuously confronted with progress in the field by discussions in regular laboratory meetings, institutional seminars or conferences. Students successfully presenting their results in conferences or written articles can be awarded by special scholarships for excellent representation of the Deparmtent of Experimental Biology and following activities:
1. Successfull presentation record resulting from reaching aims of Ph.D. thesis projects, such as:
The scholarship can be used for partial covering of travel/accomodation expenses or conference fees.
The essential condition for awarding the scholarship is correct affiliation of the presentations (both papers and conference abstracts) to the Deparment of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University.
2. Participation in teaching younger students of Master programmes how to perform experimental methods and interprete the results obtained.
3. Participation in grant projects. Long-lasting participation and significant contribution to accomplishing the projects aims can be awarded by getting part-time job or contract for certain period.
“Windows of the living cell universe wide-opened.”
The students who are interested in applied research can collaborate with companies as Repromeda (assisted reproduction), MB Pharma (devising phage preparations) or to participate in grant projects funded by TACR leading to applied outcomes. We aim to further support contractual research with applied potential, search for suitable partners and provide them with option to collaborate with students interested in this kind of research.
Additional information can be found in following addresses:
http://www.sci.muni.cz/cz/DoktorskeStudium/Prehled-programu-a-oboru
http://www.sci.muni.cz/cz/UEB
The Office for Doctoral Studies, Quality, Academic Affairs and Internationalization takes care of doctoral students SCI MU
https://www.sci.muni.cz/en/students/phd
On the department's website, you can find the following information:
but also office hours, contacts, news, information on skills development and scholarships.
Detailed information on stays abroad can be found on this website:
https://www.sci.muni.cz/en/students/phd/develop-your-skills/stay-abroad
Graduates find positions in various research institutes, universities, hospitals and other medical facilities and laboratories oriented to virology, microbiology, genetics, biochemistry, immunology, pharmacology, pathology, etc. They are ready to perform independent research, draft scientific projects, create grant applications, design experimental work itself, interprete results rigorously and present them in oral as well as written forms. They are also educated to act as teachers. Graduates from this program are sought-after by employers and many of them currently work on positions of leading researchers, university teachers, top managers and directors in various research and education institutions in Brno, Prague, Ostrava, České Budějovice, Olomouc, etc. Many graduates leaves for postdoctoral stays abroad, especially to west-european countries, USA, Canada, Japan, Australia. They often become highly-appreciated members of research teams there.
More information about admission process for international applicants in general can be found here.
Date of the entrance exam
The applicants will receive information about the entrance exam by e-mail usually at least 10 days before the exam.
Please, always check your e-mails, including spam folders.
Conditions of admission
To be admitted, a candidate must obtain a total of 70 out of 100 points in the expert knowledge part and 60 out of 100 points in the language part.
Successful applicants are informed of their acceptance by e-mail and subsequently receive an invitation to the enrolment.
Programme capacity
The capacity of a given programme is not fixed; students are admitted based on a decision by the Doctoral Board after assessing their aptitude for study and motivation.
More information about admission process for international applicants in general can be found in the section Admission Process.
Date of the entrance exam
The applicants will receive information about the entrance exam by e-mail usually at least 10 days before the exam.
Please, always check your e-mails, including spam folders.
Conditions of admission
To be admitted, a candidate must obtain a total of 70 out of 100 points in the expert knowledge part and 60 out of 100 points in the language part.
Successful applicants are informed of their acceptance by e-mail and subsequently receive an invitation to the enrolment.
Programme capacity
The capacity of a given programme is not fixed; students are admitted based on a decision by the Doctoral Board after assessing their aptitude for study and motivation.
Admission to Doctoral degree programmes in 2025/2026 (beginning: Autumn 2025)
International applicants for doctoral study (Czech and Slovak Republics applicants NOT included)
Časný embryonální vývoj savců se vyznačuje zvýšeným výskytem poruch, vedoucích k jeho předčasnému ukončení. Tento problém ovlivňuje jak přirozený vývoj, kde zapříčiňuje snížení fertility, tak i umělé oplodnění, kde dochází ke ztrátám cenných buněk. Nejčastěji se poruchy týkají dělení chromosomů a souvisí se sestavením dělícího aparátu a s regulací buněčného cyklu. Z vývojového hlediska se toto období vyznačuje rychlými změnami v chování a aktivitě buněk, z nichž některé jsou zatím velmi málo prozkoumány. Projekt bude tedy zaměřen na objasnění kontrolních mechanismů časného vývoje, zejména regulace buněčného cyklu a dělení chromozomů, a na objasnění jejich role během poruch vývoje. V laboratoři budou využity techniky mikroinjekce, mikromanipulace, konfokální časosběrné mikroskopie a také analýza transkriptomu a proteomu buněk.
Early embryonic development in mammals is characterized by high incidence of errors, which leads into its premature termination. That makes it a problem during natural conception, causing subfertility, as well as during artificial reproduction, causing loss of valuable cells and embryos. The most common causes are those related to chromosome segregation, and they are associated with errors in cell cycle and spindle apparatus regulatory mechanisms. This period of development is characterized by rapid changes in cellular behavior, some of which are still not understood well. The project will be aimed on elucidation of fundamental control mechanisms of early development, especially those concerning cell cycle regulation and control of chromosome segregation, and also on the link between these mechanisms and failure of development. Techniques, such as micromanipulation, microinjection, time lapse microscopy and functional microscopy will be utilized for the project.
Laboratoř: Výzkumný ústav veterinárního lékařství, v.v.i.
Funding:
AZV ČR, funds by the Department of Experimental Biology (Laboratory of Tumor Biology) and by the International Clinical Research Center (Laboratory Oncology Translational Research).
The candidate will have a 0,5 FTE covered by the grant/institutional support + scholarship + will have full support in applying for other sources of funding (Brno PhD talent, travel grants, individual research projects, etc.). The candidate will have the opportunity to present their results at various international conferences and will be supported in undertaking a short-term research stay abroad at relevant institutions, including collaborating groups at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the University of Cambridge, DKFZ, University College Dublin or the Medical University of Vienna.
Information about Supervisor:
Assoc. Prof. Jan Škoda, Ph.D. is a cancer biologist with extensive expertise in pediatric cancer research and a long-standing focus on identifying molecular targets and therapeutic strategies to eliminate therapy-resistant cells in aggressive childhood tumors. He has published 28 articles on this topic, and his research has attracted 34.5M CZK in competitive research grants (2x AZV, 2x GAČR, ECR Kickstart Grant). The supervisor has gained international research experience at excellent institutions (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, The University of Sydney) and established additional productive international collaborations across Europe (Karolinska Institutet, DKFZ, The University of Cambridge, TU Dresden, etc.). He currently leads the Laboratory of Tumor Biology and the Laboratory Oncology Translation Research groups at the Department of Experimental Biology (Faculty of Science, Masaryk University) and the International Clinical Research Center (St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno), respectively. He has been supervising/mentoring 4 PhD, 5 Master’s, and 5 Bachelor’s students, several of them awarded for their research, e.g., 3x Dean’s Awards for Outstanding Master’s & Bachelor’s Students, or Brno Ph.D. Talent Scholarship. The supervisor fosters a collaborative and supportive team environment, working closely with PhD students to support their career development – graduates have been highly competitive on the job market, securing research positions in R&D companies and prestigious institutions such as Karolinska Institutet.
Provided by | Faculty of Science | |
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Type of studies | Doctoral | |
Mode | full-time | Yes |
combined | Yes | |
distance | No | |
Study options | single-subject studies | Yes |
single-subject studies with specialization | No | |
major/minor studies | No | |
Standard length of studies | 4 years | |
Language of instruction | Czech | |
Collaborating institutions |
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Doctoral board and doctoral committees |
Consultant
e‑mail: |
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