Michal is a theoretical chemist, scientist, university teacher and occasional organizer of social events at UCT Prague. He grew up in a small Moravian town, from which he moved to Prague, where, as he expected, he encountered a wild variety of opportunities. 

In Prague, he entered the Faculty of Science of Charles University and studied chemistry, later focusing on theory and molecular modelling. He enthusiastically remembers the years spent at the Budeč dormitory. He received his doctorate while working at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, during which he also completed several internships abroad. For example, he regularly spent the autumn period in 2009-2011 at the University of Nahang in South Korea, from where he returned to Europe by train. Travelling by himself through Asia had brought him an enormous range of experiences. 

After completing his doctorate and a short internship in France, he joined the German Research Centre Jülich as an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation scholarship holder. He therefore gained access to the most powerful supercomputer in Europe at the time, which slightly directed his further career. On the other hand, he experienced some disappointment from the academic world. He completed his second postdoctoral fellowship much happier at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany. That is when he began to deal with protein synthesis and ribosomes, which he is still doing today. 

He returned to the Czech Republic in 2018 and founded his own group at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, focusing on using computer simulations for large biomolecules research. In addition, he volunteered for the Czexpats in Science initiative,  which brings together scientists with international experience. His free time is devoted to his three children, he likes visits to forests, drinking good coffee, indulging in the magical world of Harry Potter, but does not enjoy eating tomatoes.  

As a mentor, he would like to share his experience, support mentees in their career steps or help make it easier for them to step out of their comfort zone. He himself would like to broaden his horizons and expose himself to new ideas.