Czech Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry opens branch in Boston, USA, prepares to make progress in cancer research

One of the most successful Czech research institutions is establishing its first laboratory in the United States. The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague) has founded a new branch in Boston, USA, the very heart of global biomedical research, positioning itself to leverage the proximity of world-renowned academic institutions such as Harvard University, MIT, and Boston Medical Center. By staying up to date with the latest developments in American academia and science, IOCB Prague researchers will gain insights of considerable value to their current work.

“The IOCB branch represents an outstanding opportunity for Czech science to interact closely with the best research institutions in the world. It will benefit not only local academia but also the whole of Czech society,” says Dr. Zdeněk Havlas, vice president of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

IOCB Boston will continue the strong tradition of Czech medical chemistry. IOCB Prague has achieved significant successes in the field, including discovery of the most successful anti-HIV drug to date, tenofovir, developed and marketed by Gilead Sciences in Foster City, USA. Tenofovir changed the course of anti-HIV therapy and has saved millions of lives worldwide.

“Scientists from IOCB Prague have benefitted from their connections to prominent world institutions such as Stanford University, Max Planck, and the Weizmann Institute of Science,” says IOCB director Prof. Jan Konvalinka. “The combination of talent, technology, and investment opportunities is crucial to success in modern biomedicine, and our Boston branch grants us access to all of it.”

The first laboratory of the new branch will be headed by the distinguished biologist David M. Sabatini, whom IOCB Prague hired in October 2023. Dr. Sabatini will continue to lead his research group in Prague while building the infrastructure of his new lab in the United States. Plans are underway to expand the new branch in the near future with one or two additional research laboratories.

“I’m very excited to start a branch of IOCB in the Boston area,” says David Sabatini. “This opportunity is only possible because of the amazing generosity and tireless efforts of dozens of people, some of whom have been very public in their support, while many others have worked behind the scenes. The Boston lab will study questions related to growth, metabolism, and ageing, which I’ve been interested in for decades. In addition, we’ll collaborate with our machine learning friends to generate and exploit datasets that enable us to tackle new questions on varied topics, including drug action and enzymes.”

IOCB Boston will be located in Cambridge-Riverside and funded by a generous gift from the Pershing Square Foundation.

The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences / IOCB Prague (www.uochb.cz) is a leading internationally recognized scientific institution whose primary mission is the pursuit of basic research in chemical biology and medicinal chemistry, organic and materials chemistry, chemistry of natural substances, biochemistry and molecular biology, physical chemistry, theoretical chemistry, and analytical chemistry. An integral part of the IOCB Prague’s mission is the implementation of the results of basic research in practice. Emphasis on interdisciplinary research gives rise to a wide range of applications in medicine, pharmacy, and other fields.