Metabolic Energy Substrates in Avian Blood.

Czech Science Foundation, No. 26-22858S (2026-2028) Research partners: Oldřich Tomášek – Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences; Tomáš Albrecht – Faculty of Science, Charles University This project, funded by the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR), investigates the ecological and evolutionary significance of circulating metabolic energy substrates in birds, with a particular focus on blood glucose and free fatty acids (FFAs). These … Read more

Johannes Overgaard

Aarhus University; Department of Biology – Zoophysiology; DK Our collaboration with Prof. Johannes Overgaard focuses on the physiological and metabolic mechanisms underlying insect cold tolerance, seasonal acclimation, and thermal adaptation. By combining comparative physiology, experimental ecology, and metabolomics, we investigate how insects adjust their metabolism and cellular function in response to low-temperature stress across diverse … Read more

Fernando Noriega

Florida International University; College of Arts, Sciences & Education; Florida, US Our collaboration with Prof. Fernando Noriega focuses on the molecular and hormonal regulation of insect reproduction and development, with a particular emphasis on juvenile hormone and ecdysteroid signaling pathways. Together, we combine advanced bioanalytical mass-spectrometry-based approaches with molecular biology and functional genomics to quantify, … Read more

Brian Sedio

The University of Texas at Austin; Texas, US Our collaboration with Dr. Brian Sedio focuses on plant chemical diversity and induced defense responses, particularly the metabolic variation underlying plant–herbivore interactions. By integrating chemical ecology, metabolomics, and evolutionary perspectives, we investigate how plants modulate both volatile and non-volatile metabolites in response to herbivory across related species. … Read more

Simon Segar

Harper Adams University; Agriculture and Environment; UK Our collaboration with Dr. Simon T. Segar focuses on tropical plant–insect interactions and community-level drivers of herbivory, with an emphasis on how plant defensive traits shape insect herbivore diversity and structure. By combining field-based ecological research, chemical ecology, and metabolomic analyses, we investigate multitrophic interactions across environmental gradients … Read more

Nicole van Dam

Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops; DE Our collaboration with Prof. Dr. Nicole van Dam centers on the chemical ecology of plant–insect interactions, with a focus on how plant chemical diversity shapes herbivore behavior, performance, and ecological interactions. By integrating metabolomics and advanced chemical profiling with ecological and evolutionary frameworks, we investigate how genetic … Read more

Agata Kaczmarek

Museum and Institute of Zoology; Witold Stefański Institute of Parasitology; Warsaw, PL Our laboratory is collaborating with Prof. Agata Kaczmarek (Witold Stefański Institute of Parasitology, Warsaw, Poland) on a Polish–Czech project exploring how dietary fatty acids can shape innate immune responses to fungal infections, with particular emphasis on the opportunistic pathogen Conidiobolus coronatus. As fungal … Read more

Fatty Acid–Driven Immune Modulation in Antifungal Host Defence

Czech Science Foundation, No. 26-19900L (2026-2028) Research partners: Agata Kaczmarek; Witold Stefański Institute of Parasitology; Warsaw, PL This Polish–Czech collaborative project investigates how dietary fatty acids modulate immune responses to fungal infections, with a particular focus on infections caused by the opportunistic pathogen Conidiobolus coronatus. Fungal infections pose an increasing threat to human and animal health, exacerbated … Read more

New International Grant on Nutritional Immunology and Fungal Infections

We are pleased to announce a new Polish–Czech collaborative research grant focused on understanding how dietary fatty acids modulate immune responses to fungal infections. The project uses the wax moth Galleria mellonella as a well-established alternative infection model with strong relevance to mammalian innate immunity. The main goal of the project is to determine whether fatty acid supplementation can enhance host … Read more

New GAČR Project: Metabolic Energy Substrates in Avian Blood

Our laboratory is a co-investigator in the newly funded Czech Science Foundation project 26-22858S, led by MVDr. Oldřich Tomášek, Ph.D. from the Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences (IVB). The project team also includes collaborators from the Faculty of Science, Charles University. The project, “Metabolic energy substrates in avian blood: sources of variation, … Read more