Jana studied Biology and Developmental Biology at Charles University in Prague, receiving her Master’s degree in 2003. She continued with a PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology, Genetics and Virology, focusing on cell death and superinfection exclusion in vaccinia virus-infected cells. During her doctoral studies, she also completed a research stay at the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología in Madrid, where she used confocal microscopy to investigate vaccinia virus–host cell interactions.
After completing her PhD, Jana worked at the Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, where her research expanded into cell biology, biomaterials, and tissue engineering. She also completed research stays at Ghent University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Sydney, gaining broad experience in cell biology, microscopy, and cellular responses to biomaterials.
Jana joined the Department of Biotechnology at UCT Prague in 2023, returning her research focus to virology. Her current work investigates retrovirus–host cell interactions and the intracellular dynamics of Mason–Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV), with a strong emphasis on microscopy-based approaches. She leads a research project investigating the mechanisms of M-PMV nuclear entry, including capsid interactions, host cellular pathways, and viral core mobility.
With extensive experience in cell biology and microscopy, Jana brings an important cellular perspective to the group’s research and helps connect the molecular biology of retroviruses with what happens to viral particles inside the cell.