Josef Srovnal: The main goal is to benefit cancer patients

When as a fresh graduate from the First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Josef Srovnal applied for a doctorate in Olomouc 20 years ago with the aim of getting a job as a paediatrician at the local university hospital, he had not given much thought to a career as a researcher. But science kindled his interest and he became involved in the development of non-invasive methods that refine the diagnosis or monitoring of cancer diseases. In addition, Josef devotes himself to students and, as a paediatrician and geneticist, to patients. It is his efforts to benefit the sick that matter the most to him.

At the start of his career, detection of circulating tumour cells was a largely unexplored topic. Coincidentally, he was able to participate in projects in a laboratory at the Children‘s Clinic led by the current head of the Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine (IMTM) Marián Hajdúch, where, together with colleagues, he was able to develop sensitive and non-invasive methods. “Specifically, this involves the detection of biomarkers in the blood of patients with tumour disease, which can detect the disease, monitor it and provide information about the course of treatment in a timely manner. The monitored biomarkers can also signal any return of the disease,” he explained. The acquired knowledge equips doctors with new possibilities. Some of the oncological diseases against which they were previously helpless can now be treated and could perhaps be cured in the foreseeable future. This would not be possible without basic research, including that initially conducted at the IMTM.

“Most of what we research here may not radically change the world, but we’re adding tiny pieces to the overall mosaic of knowledge in an effort to benefit patients. The process is, of course, lengthy. But, I can see that the methods we developed years ago have now been translated into practice, and patients can benefit from them,” he said.