IDWGS 2022 ****************************************************************************************** * ****************************************************************************************** On the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11 February), we h articles and interviews with several interesting female doctors from the Faculty of Medici Faculty of Medicine who are engaged in scientific activities. doc. MUDr. Pavlína Králíčková, Ph.D. MUDr. Miriam Lánská, Ph.D. doc. MUDr. Ivana Kacerovská Musilová, Ph.D. MUDr. Kristýna Néma What they enjoy about science, what they do in particular, who their role models are or wh would give to women and girls starting out in science - you can read about it in the follo *========================================================================================= * Current science is very exciting, says immunologist Assoc. Prof. Pavlína Králíčková *========================================================================================= "I am not a typical scientist, rather a link between science and clinical practice," says Professor Pavlína Králíčková from the Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergology at of Medicine in Hradec Králové and the University Hospital Hradec Králové. She adds that sc her hobby, through which she tries to contribute to solving some immunological questions a patients. Associate Professor Pavlína Králíčková has been attracted to medicine since she was a chil enjoyed studying natural sciences, and so she considered medicine as something natural tha gradually work towards. Her mother, who as a doctor discouraged her daughter from studying influenced her decision to become a doctor to some extent. "My mother always talked me out of studying medicine a lot, so maybe it was partly defianc her wrong," she says with a smile, describing what also motivated her to study medicine at decided to become a doctor in primary school when they started discussing the human body i in Grade 7. "I said to myself - this is finally something for me. I was excited about it a about it. And I have to say, if I had to make the decision again, I wouldn't change." Associate professor Pavlína Králíčková graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kr that she joined the University Hospital in Hradec Králové at the 4th Internal Medicine Cli took care of patients with haemato-oncological diseases for several years. At that time, s her postgraduate studies, but eventually discontinued them and preferred to spend a few ye family. When she returned after maternity leave, she was approached by colleagues in anoth encouraged her to change her field. She decided to go into immunology and gradually began scientific career. "Immunology is a field in which you find a lot of questions, but you don't often get answe leads you to look at what's really behind it all. When I try to conceive a new research ac my patients first. I always ask myself how our potential results will benefit clinical pra the associate professor. She adds that all research is related to the specific cases of th suffer from rare diseases, inborn immune system disorders. These patients quite often suffer from atypical complications associated with a malfunctio system. They deviate from the normal rules and cannot be fitted into precisely described c Also for these reasons, there are no clear rules of treatment for them. "And this is a cha are trying to determine which patient and under what circumstances is at risk for developi complication and how to monitor them. We need to find the right time and way of treatment increase the risks arising from the combination of the underlying disease and immunomodula she says, describing his scientific work.   "It is highly likely that a significant proportion of patients with inborn immune system d sensitive to radioactive radiation and at the same time have a higher likelihood of develo complications. Thus, they must undergo regular screening. In our projects, we are trying t parameters from peripheral blood or urine that would point to certain complications withou frequently X-ray patients or subject them to CT scans," she says, adding that he plans to on this topic in the future.   At the same time, it is not the only topic she has researched or is interested in. While i she and her colleagues have researched the risks in pregnant patients with immune disorder the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, they are also studying patients with immune disorders i vaccine effectiveness. This is a group for whom vaccination has not been universally recom perceived ineffectiveness due to the underlying nature of the disease. "What we are finding today is that mRNA vaccines, even in patients with impaired antibody can work paradoxically well in a relatively favourable percentage and in some individuals situation we know in a completely healthy population. This fundamentally changes our view in patient groups with primary immunodeficiencies. The results of our research are now bei for publication. They look very promising, so at the moment I am proud that we have reache conclusions," says Associate Professor Králíčková about her current research. And, she add years with covid-19, although they have brought a lot of negativity, have been a very exci immunology research.   Professor Jan Krejsek, now the head of the Institute of Clinical Immunology and Allergy at Medicine, awakened her interest in linking science with clinical practice during her stude Faculty of Medicine. "He made us enthusiastic about the field and gave us an insight more ago into where to look for the essence of many diseases and what direction many scientific will take in the future," she explains. Currently, she considers her scientific and human to be Professor Jiří Litzman, Head of the Institute of Clinical Immunology and Allergology University Hospital in Brno, and Professor Anna Šediva from the Institute of Immunology at Hospital, with whom she works closely and with whom, she says, she also shares a personal   Although she has been working in science for about ten years and speaks with great enthusi research she is involved in, she admits that she has had several moments in the past when whether she should continue her scientific activities at all. "If you spend a lot of time believe in it and then maybe you don't discover anything, or if you feel that you have dis something, but the people who review the results before they are published in peer-reviewe you that your confidence is definitely not there and that there is still a lot of work to wonder whether to start again or to do something different, or to give up and do something But in the end, it was always her attitude that helped her in such moments. As she says, s up easily, she always tries to break things and take them as a challenge.   She herself would like to see more young women choose to study medicine and not be afraid doctors, even though she acknowledges that it is a very demanding profession. "But the gre the feeling that you have managed to help someone, to heal them or at least to move them o to returning to normal life. And if even this is not possible, to accompany and support th difficult times. All of this will make up for the countless hours you have devoted to work study," she says. And she adds to her scientific work: "It's not about being on the top of ladder somewhere and aiming for big goals, it's about picking up the very questions that l of you, those little sub-tasks that are directly related to the needs of our particular pa *========================================================================================= * Dr. Miriam Lánská: Science brings many interesting findings and encounters *========================================================================================= Doctor, why did you decide to study medicine? And why did you choose the Faculty of Medici Králové? I come from Slovakia. I didn't want to study in nearby Košice or Bratislava, and Prague wa so I decided on Hradec Králové. I chose medicine because I wanted to help people and I lik technical things in medicine. What was next, how did you get to the IV Internal Hematology Clinic? After graduating from medical school, I wanted to do general internal medicine, I was attr intensive care, so I started working at the then II Internal Medicine Clinic at Pospíšilov two years after graduation I started specializing in hematology and I have stayed with tha You are the head of the Separator Centre at the 4th Department of Internal Medicine – Haem introduce it a bit? In our clinic we take care of patients with hematological diseases, non-cancerous ones, su thrombocytopenia. Most of our work is with patients with hematological malignancies, espec lymphomas. My specialty is the care of patients indicated for hematopoietic cell transplan care of patients from all over the Hradec Králové and Pardubice regions. The Separator Cen care for haematological patients, it is an interdisciplinary centre, we treat patients fro country, we are one of the largest centres in the Czech Republic. How does the separator you use actually work? The separators we use work on the principle of centrifugation, they can separate the indiv of the blood, and we can remove pathogenic substances from the blood, such as pathological (paraprotein), extremely elevated cholesterol, some types of antibodies. We can significan number of pathological cells if the number of white or red blood cells or platelets is ext The patient is connected to the separator with a disposable set of tubing, we remove what the blood, the remaining blood is returned to the patient. Most of the time, patients who the early stages of their illness, who have, for example, acute leukaemia, have an extreme cell count. If we started treating such patients with chemotherapy right away, the cells w and organ failure could occur. Therefore, we reduce his white blood cell count with a sepa beginning and then start treating him with chemotherapy. In addition, we have patients with familial hypercholesterolemia who have a genetic disord metabolism, are inadequately treated with medications, and are at risk of premature athero myocardial infarction, or sudden death at a young age. In their case, using special method selectively remove cholesterol from the blood, thus slowing down the development of athero have the largest cohort of patients with this diagnosis in the entire Czech Republic. Anot work is to prepare cells for hematopoietic cell transplantation, both autologous, when the cells are used in the treatment of hematological malignancies, and allogeneic cells, which related donors for our patients. What makes you happy in your work? You probably encounter various unhappy life stories. There are different stories, with good and bad endings. It makes me happy when things turn patients can go back to their lives, families, children, work after treatment. We take car the long term, we see them at the beginning of the disease, how they cope with all the com treatment during the difficult and long-term treatment and how they return to life after t What do you do in your research? We focus on several areas. We look at long-term changes in many diseases. We treat patient aforementioned familial hypercholesterolemia. We treat these patients repeatedly, some for which allows us to follow in detail the mechanisms of atherosclerosis in these patients an of long-term therapy. Another research aim of our department in cooperation with the Eye C treatment of patients with age-related macular degeneration of the retina. In developed co disease is the most common cause of blindness, so our aim was to modify the rheological pr blood using special methods to stop the process of retinal damage and save their vision. W in treating more than a hundred patients with this diagnosis. This was also the topic of m thesis. Do you have a role model in your work, someone who inspires you? I was lucky enough to start working at the Separator Centre under the guidance of Prof. Mi was at the very beginning of the development of separator technology in the Czech Republic one of the first in the Czech Republic, back in 1976. Prof. Bláha introduced me to the var at our department and patiently guided me in the beginning of my research work. How many hours a day do you devote to your work? Most of my work is within the hospital, routine care of patients who come to the Separator also to our outpatient clinic, with normal eight-hour working hours. But, like most clinic part of my job is to work in the haematology intensive care unit, where we look after pati intensive chemotherapy, including haematopoietic cell transplantation, so that's about fou month, including weekends. If we are preparing a publication, a lecture, then those are th can find some time. What do you enjoy most about this job? Working with patients when we manage to cure them or prolong their lives. We have patients been coming to us for many years, we have a different relationship with them than the pers emergency medicine once in a lifetime. We know the whole stories of people and their famil doesn't just affect them in terms of health, they have to deal with many work, social and issues. How do you relax? I enjoy gardening, walking in nature, travelling, skiing in winter. It's important to enga completely different type of activity where you can relax. Is it manageable when one has young children? My children survived it safely, I hope. It can be managed, but it depends on the support o family, but it can be done. You have to prioritize. By working on a ward where we encounte young patients, like mothers of young children, I realise that we have to find time to rel with family, children grow up faster than we would like. Research is not the most importan world. What do you do for a living? I try to live in a way that I am happy with my life, to do things the best I can, to be in conscience and to enjoy the little things. What advice would you give to young women students who are considering going into science, cusp of their future careers? What should they consider? Today, women are doing medicine in all fields. If they are studying medicine, they have to they want to have direct contact with patients or whether they want to do laboratory work theoretical fields. All fields of medicine are developing rapidly, the work brings many in findings and encounters. *========================================================================================= * Assoc. Prof. Ivana Kacerovská Musilová: Science offers exact solutions to clinical quest *========================================================================================= Associate Professor, when and why did you decide to pursue scientific activities? What mot so? I am and I believe it will remain, especially as a clinician. Clinical work brings many qu food for thought. Searching for their nature and finding logical explanations is extremely me. Such an approach not only advances ourselves, but should be especially beneficial to o scientific activity is precisely the activity that offers exact solutions to clinical ques What do you do in particular? What does your scientific activity look like in practice and enjoy most about it? My area of expertise is perinatology and feto-maternal medicine with an emphasis on diagno Ultrasound diagnostics is then the common denominator of my research projects. These conce typical role in congenital fetal malformations, but also its application in the problem of Preterm birth is not an area where ultrasound diagnostics is significantly dominant. I cam thanks to my husband, Prof. Kacerovsky, who started the research on premature birth at our managed to build an absolutely perfectly functioning team and incredible conditions for th of other people. It was not at all difficult to get on such a "runaway train" and join wit erudition. It may sound exaggerated, but if it weren't for my husband, you would have no r interview with me. Was there ever a time when you thought you'd give up science? What helped you not to give Thinking about quitting altogether probably never was. However, there was a period when we the ultrasound projects from our department. The reason was that we only had an ultrasound primarily for clinical work, and its full load during working hours limited us in our rese However, this has now changed thanks to great support from the University Hospital Hradec which we have a state-of-the-art ultrasound machine exclusively for research. What do you consider to be your greatest scientific achievement so far? How do you see you activity in the future? I consider two papers published in the journal Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, wh prestigious journal publishing papers on ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology, to be a These papers demonstrated the potential of our team also in the direction of ultrasound re supported the purchase of the aforementioned ultrasound machine exclusively for research. not only a great opportunity but also a commitment for us. Thus, my future activities will ultrasound direction and I believe that we will expand our areas of interest beyond the is birth. Do you have a scientific model? A scientist you admire or who has inspired you? I have two great role models. The first is Prof. Bo Jacobsson from Gothenburg, Sweden, who of the leading scientists in preterm birth research. He has been an invaluable professiona a great friend not only to me but to our entire team for more than a decade. Furthermore, Prof. Torvid Kiserud from Bergen, Norway, who is the father of functional fetal blood flow ultrasound. He is a man who, in his time, was able to grasp this issue in an incredibly ex link clinical results with animal experiments and to base them on mathematical models. Thi fascinating to me as a sonographer. Both Prof. Jacobsson and Prof. Kiserud have one import common, and I respect them for that. In their scientific work, they place enormous emphasi quality and its ethical principles. Although women scientists have recently been heard more and more in the public space, for appear more frequently in lists of science and research personalities in various magazines very few compared to male scientists. Do you have an explanation for this? Do women/girls in scientific activity compared to men? There are significantly fewer women than men in research positions in the Czech Republic. pronounced differences are in technical fields and natural sciences. Representation in the certainly fundamentally influenced by their focus, and I would not see a gender problem th that in the medical and social sciences, the ratio of men to women is quite equal. However fact is that the representation of women has changed over the course of their careers. At the representation of women is fairly close to that of men, but from the end of doctoral s men start to dominate significantly. I think that motherhood and childcare play an importa which in our society still represents a greater restriction on women's employment than on ignore the pay disadvantage of women compared with men. *========================================================================================= * Dr. Kristýna Néma: The most important thing is to persevere and do what you enjoy *========================================================================================= Dr. Kristýna Néma, a young talented physician and scientist from the Department of Otorhin Head and Neck Surgery of the Faculty of Medicine in HK, considers herself lucky to have ch that she enjoys and finds fulfilling. In her own words, she was inspired to study general fictional but engaging TV series Doctor Quinn. Dr. Néma drew attention to herself during her studies at the Faculty of Medicine of the Re she won the clinical section of the SVOČ conference in 2020. However, she had already achi year earlier when she came second in the same competition. While in 2020, her research foc outcomes of reconstructive eardrum surgery, her 2019 thesis was on the research of hearing otosclerosis surgery. "I was investigating factors that could predict postoperative healin we could immediately after surgery determine with some probability the future prognosis of patients," the doctor specifies the goals of her research at the time. In addition, she was involved in research on the implementation of laser spectroscopy in t of skin tumours. "It was a very interesting project to see if the chemical composition of help in more accurately determining the boundaries of tumours, and thus contribute to more margins in their surgical removal." After completing her medical studies in June 2021, she started working at the Department o Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at the HK Hospital, where she continues her activities. "My current research focuses on the voice - voice education, therapy and surgi within phonosurgery." And why did she get into this field in the first place? "A key momen internship abroad at a hospital in Braunschweig, Germany, where I first became fascinated about the field of ENT, and subsequently applied for voluntary internships at the Universi well." Kristýna Néma has set many goals and plans for herself in science, but she realises early that she may not be able to achieve everything. However, she believes that she can apply n findings to clinical practice. "First and foremost, it is important for me to see what imp can have for practical use in treating disease, so that science can help improve the healt our patients." She clearly enjoys her work and is becoming increasingly convinced that stu and then becoming an ENT specialist was the right choice. Moreover, she says she is lucky around her who encourage her and stimulate her curiosity while she works. "It is the team can emerge, which can then be turned into reality. At the moment, I am inspired by all the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, headed by Prof. Viktor Chrobo The young scientist's normal day starts at 4:30 a.m., first with exercise and then with pr the upcoming workday. At the hospital, she starts at seven in the morning, attending to he ambulances, ward work, the workload is different every time. Keeping a regular sleep sched cope with all the demanding activities. "Of course, I can't do it on duty, but on a weekda everything done by 10 p.m." Outside of work she finds time for hobbies, she is interested in music, playing the piano she also enjoys sports and learning foreign languages. She also enjoys yoga, sauna and nat what advice would she give to young women scientists who are considering pursuing scientif "Certainly this will not only apply to women and students, but the most important thing is while choosing an area that interests one and finding a liking in each area of research."