Jan Vacek (Prof., Ph.D., Ing.)
Department of Medical Chemistry and Biochemistry
Hněvotínská 3
775 15 Olomouc, Czech Republic
e-mail: jan.vacek@upol.cz
tel: +420 585 63 2303
web: http://vacek.upol.cz
Research Topics:
- bioelectrochemistry and biophysical methods for nucleic acids and protein research
- sensors and microelectronics for the study of DNA- and protein-drug interactions
- functional polymers and the development of new microelectrode-based approaches
Main Discoveries and Technological Improvements:
- In 2007-2009, J.V. constructed new types of hybrid extractors, which were subsequently used for the screening of bioactive constituents in cyanobacterial and algal biomass. Using newly developed extraction approaches, J.V and his colleagues for the first time identified simple phenolics and hydroxybenzaldehydes, important precursors for many more complex bioactive constituents, in cyanobacteria and algae (J. Chromatogr. A, 1216, 763 –771, 2009).
- In 2011-2013, J.V’s group for the first time reported a protocol for measuring the intrinsic electroactivity of membrane proteins, which opened up new methodological possibilities in the research of structural changes and biomolecular interactions of poorly water-soluble proteins in general (Electrochem. Commun., 27, 104–107, 2013).
- In 2012-2015, J.V. coordinated a development team that constructed a new type of electrochemical LabFlow® instrument and software equipment for advanced microfluidic and microanalytical applications. The technology is based on carbon-fibre microsensors (RSC Adv. 5, 31245–31249, 2015) and has been patented and introduced to the market together with a broad spectrum of commercial partners (http://www.microdialysis.eu).
- In 2012-2017, J.V’s group prepared advanced functional components, i.e. polymers and semi-conductive thin layers, for applications in biosensing platforms and organic molecular electronics (Chem. Eur. J. 21, 2343-2347, 2015).
History:
- 1997-2001 – secondary school (Secondary technical school of chemistry in Brno)
- 2001-2005 – undergraduate study (Mendel university in Brno)
- 2005-2009 – Ph.D. study (Masaryk university in Brno)
- 2005-2009 – research position (Institute of Biophysics ASCR in Brno)
- 2009-2013 – assistant professor (Palacky University in Olomouc)
- 2013-2018 – associate professor (Palacky University in Olomouc)
- from 2018 – full professor (Palacky University in Olomouc)
Membership:
J.V. is a member of the International Society of Electrochemistry, Bioelectrochemical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, Czech Chemical Society, Czech Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Czech Society of Clinical Biochemistry.
Research Fellowships:
University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, 2008, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China, 2011, University in Limoges, France, 2012
Publications:
- J.V. is the author or co-author of 120 regular papers,
- with more than 2,000 citations without self-citations (Scopus),
- more than 150 presentations at scientific conferences,
- H-index 27,
- Papers in 2018: Biosens. Bioelectron. 100, 2018, 437-444; Eur. J. Med. Chem. 143, 2018, 843-853; J. Electroanal. Chem. 814, 2018, 184-191; Bioelectrochemistry 119, 2018, 136-141; JPBA 152, 2018, 94-101; J. Electroanal. Chem. 812, 2018, 258-264; Langmuir, 34, 6997−7005, 2018; Anal. Biochem. 550, 137–143, 2018.
Books:
- J. Vacek, B. Klejdus: Chromatography in the Research of Phenolic Secondary Metabolites, In: Chromatography Types, Techniques and Methods (Ed.: T. J. Quintin), p. 323-345, Nova science Publishers, Inc. (ISBN: 978-1-60876-316-0), New York, 2010
- N. Cibicek, J. Vacek (Eds.): Principles and Applications of Analytical Methods in Laboratory Medicine, Palacky University (ISBN: 978-80-244-3951-8), Olomouc, 2014.
Grant Projects (J.V. as principal investigator):
- Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, No. 1468/2007
- The Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, No. P503/11/P312
- Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, No. FR-TI4/457
- The Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, No. 14-08032S
- European Cooperation in Science and Technology, EU COST Action BM1203 EU-ROS, COST Action CM1206 EXIL and COST Action CA15135 MuTaLig (J.V. as MC member)
- Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, project No. LD14033
- OPPIK III Aplikace (2018-2020), CZ.01.1.02/0.0/0.0/16_084/0010374
Actual COST Interanational Cooperation (J.V. as MC member):
- COST Action CA15135, Multi-target paradigm for innovative ligand identification in the drug discovery process (MuTaLig), http://www.mutalig.eu
- COST Action CA16113, CliniMARK: ‘good biomarker practice’ to increase the number of clinically validated biomarkers, http://www.cost.eu
Current International Collaborations:
- Milos Mojovic – University of Belegrade, Serbia. Topic of collaboration: EPR spectroscopy and its application in the study of the oxidation of drugs and proteins.
- Patrick Trouillas – Université de Limoges, France. Topic of collaboration: computational chemistry and the study of interactions of easily oxidized compounds and drugs with DNA, proteins and lipid membranes.
- Ana Maria Oliveira Brett – University in Coimbra, Portugal. Topic of collaboration: the electrooxidation of drugs and antioxidants and study of damage to and molecular interactions of both DNA and proteins.
- Jian-Guo Zeng – Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China. Topic of collaboration: Isolation and analysis of isoquinoline alkaloids and study of their interaction with enzymes and DNA.
- Jeanne Crassous – Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes UMR 6226 CNRS – Université Rennes 1, France. Topic of collaboration: preparation and spectral characterisation of thin organic (chiral) conductive layers.
- Renata Bilewicz – Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Poland. Topic of collaboration: electrochemistry of membrane proteins and their interaction with complex lipidic systems.
Awards:
Elsevier award for most cited paper – top 10 (JPBA) 2012. Participation Award of the 63rd Meeting of Nobel Prize Winners in Chemistry, Lindau, 2013. Palacky University Career Award, 2014. Early Career Analytical Electrochemistry Prize of the International Society of Electrochemistry, 2014. Best Educational Material Prize, Czech Society of Clinical Biochemistry, 2015. Metrohm Prize 2016 for young electroanalytical chemists, 2016.
Teaching Activities:
J.V. is the guarantor and lecturer of Medical Chemistry for Czech and international dentistry students, and tutorial lecturer of Biochemistry for international general medicine students. From 2015, J.V. is also member of the doctoral committee for Ph.D.s in Medicinal chemistry and clinical biochemistry at Palacky University. J.V. is a supervisor for one Ph.D. student and three bachelor’s students.
Patents:
PV 2012-266, 2012-222, 2014-30507 and 2015-249.