Young immunologist will establish his own laboratory at the Faculty of Science, Charles University

Your grant project is called Inflammation Related Transitional Dendritic Cells as Key Players in T Cell Tolerance. Could you explain what the main focus of your research and this grant is?

The main topic of my research is focused on the mechanisms of  central tolerance. These are processes that take place in the thymus and are crucial "in the education" of our immune system, especially T cells. The thymus acts as a strict "training center" through which only a very small fraction of the "conscripts" (T cells) pass. Those who successfully complete this training are not only prepared to fight various pathogens such as bacteria or viruses, but are also trained to do no harm to our bodies. In the thymus, like any training center, there are a number of teachers and trainers (other immune system cells) who have different roles in teaching T cells. One of these teachers are called dendritic cells.

However, these training processes can be severely disrupted, if the body is exposed to a long term inflammatory condition, like a chronic viral infection. Such a disruption can then severely limit the ability of the thymus to function properly as a training center, and poorly trained T cells can then give rise to autoimmune disease.

The main research goal of my grant is to study a specific type of "trainers" - transitional dendritic cells that have the ability to migrate from the site of inflammation to the thymus and rapidly train new T cells so that they do not react against our own body. I discovered the existence of these dendritic cells in the thymus during my postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Minnesota. I will now focus on their key role in central tolerance processes and protection of the body against autoimmune diseases with my future team at the Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles University.

Your research focuses on autoimmune diseases, which have been increasingly discussed in recent years. Could you explain why it is important to study autoimmune diseases in animal models and what major discoveries have been made in this field in the last few years?

Unfortunately, the incidence of autoimmune diseases is indeed increasing worldwide, especially in the last decade. A detailed understanding of the mechanisms that protect our immune system from autoimmunity is therefore crucial for possible future therapeutic interventions. In this respect, animal models in which we can genetically alter individual components of the immune system and investigate how these alterations affect the development of autoimmune diseases are of great help. This then allows us to better understand the functioning of the individual mechanisms and to look for ways to manipulate them in a targeted manner.

In recent years, the use of specific monoclonal antibodies to block the function of certain inflammatory molecules has probably achieved the greatest development. Another important step is the development of so-called reverse vaccines, which train our immune system not to respond to certain stimuli. Nevertheless, there are still many unresolved questions and room for further research in the field of targeted treatment of autoimmune diseases.

Professor Jan Černý praised your success in the grant competition, stating: "Matouš will establish a research group in our Department that aligns perfectly with its vision and complements existing groups focused on the intersection of immunology and physiology, systems immunology, and infectious immunology." Do you have plans to collaborate with other groups within the department?

I sincerely thank professor Černý for his support. The name of our group has not been finalized yet, but we really want to focus on research at the intersection of immunology, physiology and infectious immunology, where I believe our group will find topics and space that will be of interest not only to the scientific community worldwide.

The Faculty of Science has made great strides in immune system research in recent years, which offers a great opportunity for collaboration. I plan to collaborate with both immunology and non-immunology groups that are active at the faculty. Some collaborations, for example in the preparation of GACR grant applications, are already underway and I am very much looking forward to getting the ball rolling on specific collaborations on individual research topics and specific experiments.

The Junior Star Grant is intended for researchers who have had significant international experience. As part of your studies, you spent a month at the Weizmann Institute in Israel, and you have now been at the University of Minnesota for three years. Do you think foreign experience, or at least experience in another lab, is essential?

Definitely. In the scientific community, early career scientists, from Ph.D. to postdoc, are often referred to as "trainees."  I think this term is apt because we really learn a lot during this phase of our careers – not only how to do the best possible research, but also how to become the best possible scientists and often better people. And so I think it's absolutely essential to have the opportunity to learn from different mentors who have different scientific methods or different principles of team leadership and then try to implement that knowledge into our own scientific careers.

Foreign experience offers another huge advantage. It brings the opportunity to learn about different ways of doing science, different mentalities and approaches to managing research institutions, grant agencies or universities. And last but not least, a long-term stay abroad can enrich your life and you may come across experiences that will find application not only in science, but also in everyday life outside the scientific environment.

What do you see as the main difference between the Czech and American scientific environment? Are there any principles that you have learned abroad that you would like to bring to Czech science?

If I look at it "from the bench", as we call the workbench in biomedical sciences where we do most of our experimental work, the difference is not that dramatic. Technically, we are performing very similar experiments on similar instrumentation and essentially generating similar scientific outputs. But I see a fundamental difference in the setup of the scientific environment. In my experience, American science is much more open, more focused, and in some aspects more risk-taking, which can more often lead to "great scientific discoveries".  In my opinion, Czech science could benefit most from greater openness on several levels. First, it should be open to foreign students and scientists. So I would be very happy if I could put together as international a team as possible. Secondly, Czech science should also be more open to the public, not only the Czech public but also the foreign public, which would help Czech science gain more credibility and prestige. Last but not least, I also understand openness as diversity at the level of scientific teams. Attracting people from different scientific and non-scientific backgrounds could allow looking at scientific issues through "different eyes", which is key for innovative approaches.

The Faculty of Science is notoriously short of space. Do you know where your new lab will be located? In the existing buildings or in the new Biocentre within the Albertov Campus?

For the time being, our laboratory should be on the ground floor of the Viničná 7 building. After the completion of the Albertov Biocentre, we expect to move the laboratory there.  Thematically, our group should fit into the planned area "Infection and Immunity" that is planned in the Biocentre.

Do you have any idea about the composition of your future team? For example, how big will it be and are you already looking for colleagues and students?

I already have a vision in mind. This project plans for a team of around five members, including myself. Of course, much will depend on how successful I will be in recruiting the team. If anyone is interested in my research focus, I encourage you to reach out!