I completed my PhD at the University of South Bohemia (Czech Republic) in parasitology program that is supported by the Institute of Parasitology of the Czech Academy of Science. This gave me an opportunity to work on numerous diverse projects with various research groups. My empirical work has utilized a wide range of organisms, mostly unicellular eukaryotes (protists) but also metazoans.

I am a microbiologist/protistologist interested in symbiosis in general and particularly in all kinds of intracellular associations within eukaryotes. I joined LRC systems as a postdoctoral researcher and my role is to develop new model systems for studying intracellular associations in unicellular eukaryotes. To do this, I use a mixture of techniques including traditional cultivation methods, microscopy, and genomics.

I am very excited by all current discoveries helping us to better understand one of the major transitions in the history of life - the origin of the eukaryotic cell. I am also thrilled by the emergence of new tools (e.g. novel single-cell and microbial culture techniques) that move us forward in uncovering the role of symbiosis in the evolutionary history of life.