Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine

The Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine (IMTM) is a technological infrastructure and platform for performing molecular-oriented basic and translational biomedical research. Scientists endeavour to better understand the molecular basis of human infectious diseases and cancer. Research is aimed at identifying new biomarkers and therapeutic goals, followed by validation of biological activities of small molecules identified in high-throughput screening, preclinical testing and proof-of concept clinical trials.

The IMTM research is organized into six research programmes:

1. Molecular Basis of Diseases and Molecular Targets
2. Medicinal Chemistry
3. Chemical Biology and Experimental Therapeutics
4. Biomarkers – Identification and Validation
5. Pharmacology and Toxicology
6. Translational Medicine

The IMTM Director is one of the top specialists in drug development and molecular oncology in the Czech Republic, Marián Hajdúch. He is the author of more than 20 patents of anti-tumoural drugs and biomarkers. His team participated in a major success in the treatment of a severe disease – cystic fibrosis. In collaboration with their colleagues in Canada, they have discovered a drug able to prevent the development of an infection which is often the cause of death in patients with this hereditary disease.

The Scientific Director of the IMTM is Prof Jitka Ulrichová, one of the most prominent Czech scientists in Chemistry. One of the most important experts in the IMTM is the most cited Czech scientist in Biomedicine, Prof Jiří Bártek, who is also Head of the Genome Integrity unit at the Danish Cancer Society Research Center.

The Institute has been in operation since 2012. Its foundation was initiated by Palacký University and realised within the BIOMEDREG project, prepared in collaboration with the Teaching Hospital Olomouc, the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, and commercial subjects. The project was financed from the European Regional Development Fund and the state budget of the Czech Republic.