IOCB Prague aims to strengthen its position as a key player in both Czech and global research. The IOCB Board and management have unveiled plans for the next five years
6 November 2025
Over the next five years, IOCB Prague plans to strengthen its position among the leading actors in global research. The institute already expanded across the ocean in 2024, becoming the first body within the Czech Academy of Sciences to open a branch in the United States. Naturally, IOCB Prague continues to focus on top-level basic research and on collaboration with many prestigious scientific institutions both in the Czech Republic and abroad. At the same time, it remains committed to fully exploiting the application potential of its scientific discoveries, relying on strong support from its own technology transfer infrastructure. Another priority is the search for young talent and their development through doctoral and postdoctoral training. The goals for the years 2026–2030 have been summarized by the IOCB Board in the strategic document Mission and Goals.
Professor Pavel Jungwirth, Chair of the IOCB Board, explains the importance of long-term planning: “It’s useful to pause from time to time and make sure we know where we stand and where we want to go. The IOCB Board and management prepare this self-assessment every five years as a sort of voluntary homework assignment. We believe it’s inspiring reading not only for our colleagues but also for the greater scientific community.”
Since its founding in 1953, IOCB Prague has been a leading national center of excellence in chemistry, biochemistry, and chemical biology. Its discoveries have helped transform the treatment of HIV and hepatitis B, helping to save millions of lives. Current research in medicinal chemistry aims to pave the way for new therapeutic developments in the future.
The institute’s primary goal is to keep pace with the world’s best science. To that end, IOCB Prague attracts outstanding early-career researchers by offering them the opportunity to establish independent research groups. In recent recruitment rounds, applicants have included candidates from some of the most prestigious European and American research institutions and universities. Group leaders operate as independent principal investigators across the institute’s three main scientific domains – chemical, biological, and physical sciences.
“IOCB makes no secret of its ambition to stand among the world’s top research institutions, such as the Max Planck Institute in Germany or the Weizmann Institute in Israel,” says Professor Jan Konvalinka, Director of IOCB Prague. “For years we’ve followed the same internal standards – open international calls for group leader positions, a strict no-inbreeding policy, and regular rigorous evaluations by our International Advisory Board.
I feel it’s very important for us to update our goals and the means to achieve them every five years.”
IOCB Prague strives to provide the best possible conditions for excellent research through state-of-the-art instrumentation and high-quality technical support. A recent milestone is the newly opened cryo-electron microscopy facility. Equally important, however, is maintaining a supportive and collegial working environment. Today, IOCB Prague employs more than a thousand people from all over the world, and management places great emphasis on fostering open communication and mutual respect within this multicultural academic setting.
A key task for the years ahead will be ensuring financial stability. In addition to continued success in securing major national and European grants, IOCB Prague plans to expand its industrial collaborations, develop business projects that build on in-house scientific ideas, and strengthen investment activities through the i&i Bio fund. The institute has long been a pioneer in bridging basic and applied research. Its effective model for translating scientific discoveries into practice is built on a network of spin-off entities – IOCB Tech, i&i Prague, and the i&i Bio fund.
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