CEITEC and the Max Planck Society will develop scientific cooperation

CEITEC (Central European Institute of Technology) welcomed Patrick Cramer, the President of the German Max Planck Society, who signed a memorandum on future scientific cooperation with representatives of the CEITEC consortium. During his visit, he also met with scientists from Brno University of Technology, Masaryk University, Mendel University, the Institute of Physics and Materials of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine.

The Memorandum includes research cooperation in areas of common interest, sharing of expertise and best practices as well as support for mobility of researchers and early career scientists. Patrick Cramer's visit was an opportunity to establish mutually valuable contacts at scientific and political level.

"Brno is the epicentre of electron microscopy, a technology commonly used by Patrick Cramer to unravel the mysteries of life. Brno also aspires to become a leading centre of basic research in the Czech Republic and CEITEC's cooperation with the Max Planck Society will help to fulfil these ambitions," commented Pavel Tomančák, Director of the CEITEC consortium, on the signing of the Memorandum.

The Max Planck Society will also enable the development of future research talent. This is because the company's Dioscuri programme, which builds top research groups from Central and Eastern Europe. The first three Dioscuri centres are already in the Czech Republic.

I'm not surprised by the breakthrough results

Patrick Cramer is a researcher in the field of structural biology and cryo-electron microscopy. That is why he visited the state-of-the-art laboratories of CEITEC BUT and CEITEC Masaryk University. "Brno has a high concentration of companies and institutions developing electron microscope technologies, which have a long tradition and support here. Both research institutes have laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art electron microscopes. It is therefore not surprising that colleagues from these institutes are achieving breakthrough results in the field of life and material sciences," Cramer said during his visit.

Cramer also visited the Mendel Refectory, where he presented his research on genome regulation as part of the Mendel Lectures, and a ceremony in Prague. Details of his trip and other activities can be read here.


Author: Halina Jílková