Speakers

MUDr. Marek Gančarčík is the executive director of CzechBio - Association of Czech biotech companies. He worked in various positions in major pharmaceutical companies (Cegedim, Teva, Apotex). He studied medicine at the Medical Faculty of Masaryk University in Brno and acquired MBA at Nottingham Trent University.

Prof. Libor Grubhoffer currently holds the post of the Rector of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. He also works at the Faculty of Science and at the Institute of Parasitology of the Biology Centre AS CR. He studied biochemistry at the Faculty of Science at Charles University in Prague and postgraduate (doctoral) studies at the Institute of sera and vaccines in Prague. 


 

RNDr. Karel Drbal is a researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague. His scientific work focuses on immunology and bioinformatics. Previously, he worked at the Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, and he has been the head of research department at Exbio for more than two years.
 

Ing. Hana Chlebná has been operating since 1993 in the state agency CzechInvest, where she was previously responsible for development of regional offices and their introducing to marketing and services for foreign investors. She was deputy director for strategic development in 1995 – 2005, and was a head of the CzechInvest office in the Great Britain and Ireland in 2006 – 2011. After her return, she is responsible for international marketing and sector development including sector of „Life sciences“.

Ing. Václav Suchý is the project manager of the Technology Centre AS CR aimed at strengthening the participation of Czech small and medium-sized enterprises in European and domestic programmes to support research, development and innovation. Prior to joining the Technology Centre in 2008, he held various positions in basic research, in the corporate sector and in public administration. He graduated from the Moscow Institute of Petrochemical and Gas Industry and postgraduate research at Charles University in Prague.

 Ing. Miroslav Janeček is currently the vice-chairman of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic. After 20 years in various positions in the company VCHZ Synthesia Pardubice (up to the position of Director of Strategy), he became head of a department and later Managing Director of the Research Institute of Organic Synthesis in Rybitví. He has been a consultant active in research, development and innovation since 2001. For 18 years, he was the president of the Association of Research Organizations.
 

Dr. Gottfried Himmler has been involved in the establishment of several biotech companies including f-star and igeneon where he served as Chief Scientific Officer and Managing Director. He is a Member of the Supervisory Board at Heliovis AG. Prior to his entrepreneurial activities, Mr. Himmler was Assistant Professor at the Institute of Applied Microbiology in Vienna, Austria. He is lecturing Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Applied Sciences in Vienna where he received his doctorate. He is named inventor on more than 240 patents and patent applications.
 

Prof. František Sehnal was since 2007 the director of the Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences. He operates in the Institute of Entomology, where he leads the Laboratory of Applied Physiology of Insects. His scientific work focuses primarily on insect endocrinology, developmental biology and genetically modified organisms.



 

Doc. Vladimír Velebný is the founder and Managing Director of Contipro, which produces connective tissue, and is one of the largest manufacturers of hyaluronic acid in the world. Recently, the company introduced a device that allows creating nano-fibres from natural polymers. Vladimir Velebný studied biochemistry at the Masaryk University in Brno, where he still teaches.
 

Dr. Michael Hofer is a research fellow at the The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology, where he works in the project group Biocat(Catalytic Processes for a Sustainable Supply of Raw Materials and Energy on the Basis of Renewable Resources).The group focuses on the development of new biocatalysts for chemical industry. Dr. Hofer collaborates also with the Technical University of Munich.
 

Ing. Petra Vachová currently holds the position ofDirector of theSouth BohemianAgency forSupport to Innovative Enterprisingops(JAIP). Additionally to the company management, she deals with preparation andimplementation of projects financedfrom national andinternational sources. Before that, she worked at Koh-i-noor in the department ofmarketing and development. She graduated from commercialbusiness at theFaculty of Agriculture,University of South Bohemiain České Budějovice.
 

 Ing. Martin Hanzlík is a co-founder and member of the board of directors at non-profit organisation Czech Innovation. Martin Hanzlík is a recognized expert in the sphere of collective investments and capital markets. He is specialized on Funds of Qualified Investors. He is owner of ATRET Consulting focused on investment structures, financial instruments creation and strategic management.
 

 Dr. Markus Dettenhofer is executive director at Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC). Before joining CEITEC he ran research projects in the company Crucell (Johnson & Johnson) dealing with for example the discovery of antibodies and vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus. Markus studied microbiology and immunology at the University of California at Berkley and gained his Ph.D. in molecular microbiology and immunology in 1999 at Johns Hopkins University.
 

Martin Fusek, PhD is director of technology transfer office at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry. Martin Fusek has studied organic chemistry and then finished PhD in biochemistry in 1988. After spending 6 years as a postdoc in laboratories in USA and Germany he started to work for companies Sigma-Aldrich and for Merck. Since 2007 he is focused on the tech transfer.
 

RNDr. PhDr. Zdeněk Hostomský is a director of the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry AS CR from June 2012. Before emigrating in 1987, he worked at the Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. In the years 1987-2000 he was the head researcher in molecular biology and since 1997 director of the U.S. biotech company Agouron Pharmaceuticals. Since 2000 he held the post of chief of the U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer in San Diego.