The ORION partner and non-profit Czech organisation JCMM (South Moravian Centre for International Mobility), was established in 2005 to support and stimulate an influx of students into the region and counteract the brain drain of scientific talent occurring at that time. Since its foundation, the range of JCMM activities has extended to now support talented young people, students, fellows and teachers. Within the ORION regional call for open science projects on local societal challenges, JCMM distributed 10 grants in 2019 to master/Ph.D.students to carry out projects containing strong elements of open science.
One of the grant winners was Lucie Pejchalová from Brno University of Technology with a project on ‘Open access to calcium phosphate scaffolds technology for regenerative medicine’. Her project is a part of efforts to develop innovative methods in prostate cancer research and neural regeneration.
Lucie’s ORION project seeks to prepare bioreactors and scaffolds based on advanced ceramic materials. With modern shaping techniques, such as freeze-casting, prepared complex and porous structure can be prepared. Bioreactors and scaffolds with incorporated channels and a specific component can support the function of cell clusters over long distances, especially in nervous tissue in the spine. Her role in the project is mainly focused on the technology of the preparation of complex structures and their characterization.
The objective of the JCCM regional call for open science projects on local societal challenges was to stimulate the usage of Open Science principles in common perception and everyday use in the research and scientific work of young students. The competition was open to both Czech and foreign students based in Brno. Project proposals had to have a focus on one of the following domains: life sciences, environmental, social, economic, technical and/or medical domain and include any of the following Open Science attributes:
- Transparency in experimental methodology, observation and data collection
- Public availability and reusability of scientific data
- Public accessibility and transparency of scientific communication
- Usage of web tools to enhance scientific cooperation.
Lucie Pejchalová successfully completed her master studies in 2020 and now works as a PhD student within a research group led by Mgr. Zbyněk Heger at CEITEC Brno University of Technology. She also happens to be the successful grant holder of another scientific programme supported by JCMM - the “Brno PhD Talent“ contest which has been designed with the help of the Brno City Council to support excellent PhD projects at the region´s universities.
The city of Brno has a long tradition of driving research on cancer treatment, represented by the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute. Established in the 1920´s, the institute strives to improve care for patients with malignant tumors as well as provide facilities for medical research.
JCMM is proud to support high-achieving students as they serve as the driving engine behind a scientific boom in the region. They also act as role models to inspire graduates and secondary school students.
More information
Please get in touch with with Ing. Michael Doležal at JCMM if you would like to know more about this inspiring story.
Further reading
- New ways to opening up life sciences research
- Open Science roundtable debate in Czech Republic
- Ten regional Open Science projects receive grants from ORION
- Regional Open Science projects â Public Peer review is now open
- Ten grants to innovative Open Science projects for university students in Czechia