The Vice-Rector’s Award of Masaryk University for excellent results in doctoral studies was received by 31 graduates, their supervisors, and consultants. Among the awardees was also Tomáš Janoš from the RECETOX center.
On November 7th, Vice-Rector for Research and Doctoral Studies Šárka Pospíšilová presented awards to doctoral graduates of Masaryk University in the Great Hall of Karel Engliš at the Faculty of Law. The recipients were selected based on several criteria, including successful completion of their studies within the standard four-year period, extended by a maximum of one year, and achieving high-quality research results included in their dissertations. This year, 31 doctoral students, along with their supervisors and consultants who significantly contributed to the preparation of their work, received the awards.
For the RECETOX center, this prestigious award went for the second consecutive time to the Human Exposure and Risk Assessment group led by Associate Professor Pavel Čupr. This year, Tomáš Janoš was recognized for his excellent evaluation of PhD research.
“Tomáš focused on assessing health risks associated with exposure to chemicals using a unique method of human biomonitoring, where chemicals or their exposure biomarkers are monitored directly in human matrices such as urine, blood, or breast milk. This unique approach offers the possibility of accurately assessing human exposure and the resulting potential health risks. In his doctoral thesis, he used the method in combination with the implementation of effect biomarkers, such as DNA methylation and oxidative stress epigenetic markers, which can indicate early stages of health damage and thus help prevent various diseases. These effect biomarkers were used for the first time in children in the dissertation and were also evaluated for associations with exposure to currently used pesticides for the first time,” explains the supervisor Pavel Čupr.
The significance of this contribution lies mainly in revealing the health risks of various chemicals and understanding their mechanisms of action. The outputs of the work already contribute to the regulation of chemicals in the environment and serve as a source of important regulatory-relevant information – for example, they were used to assess the adverse health effects of chlorpyrifos evaluated for inclusion in the Stockholm Convention with the aim of completely eliminating their exposure in the human population.
“Tomáš Janoš’s work is primarily based on a series of five excellent scientific papers published in the best journals in the field with significant impact (4x first decile, 1x Q1 according to WoS). Another aspect in which Tomáš Janoš’s dissertation clearly excels is the duration of the doctoral study, which lasted only three years,” adds Pavel Čupr.
Currently, Tomáš is on a work placement in Barcelona, where he received a two-year MSCA grant implemented at ISGlobal in Barcelona. Therefore, the award was accepted on his behalf by his supervisor Pavel Čupr and consultant Lucie Bláhová.
In their latest study, scientists from RECETOX (MUNI), the University at Buffalo in the U.S., the National Institute of Public Health in Prague, and University College London in the U.K. found that education plays a role in protecting lung health during the aging process.
From November 5–7, 2024, we participated in the annual meeting of the European consortium ACTRIS. This event serves as a key platform for regular partner meetings, fostering collaboration, sharing the latest updates and experiences, and discussing critical topics related to the development and operation of the ACTRIS research infrastructure.
