Institute of Microbiology of the CAS, v. v. i., (IMIC)
The Institute of Microbiology of the CAS, v. v. i., (IMIC), is a non-university type basic research institution initially founded as part of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in 1962 and transformed from January 1, 2007, into an independent legal entity called "public research institution". IMIC is the largest specialized basic microbiology research institution in Central and Eastern Europe, having for mission the promotion of fundamental knowledge and scientific excellence in the field of microbiology. Traditional fields of expertise at IMIC comprise biochemistry of natural compounds of microbial origin, such as antibiotics, gnotobiology and systemic and mucosal immunology of host-pathogen interactions, molecular bacteriology and molecular and cellular biology of microorganisms, molecular mechanisms of bacterial virulence and action of bacterial toxins. The IMIC has a Laboratory of Molecular biology of Bacterial Pathogens (LMBBP) that enables the development of experimental vaccines for prevention of infections and cancer immunotherapy.
IMIC’s main participation and tasks within PERISCOPE project will consist in the participation in clinical trials and in the interaction with authorities and the management of public health research activities.
Prof. Peter Sebo is Head of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Bacterial Pathogens at IMIC. He is professor of microbiology at the University of Chemical Technology, School of Food and Biochemical Technologies in Prague and has 30 years of research experience in molecular and cellular microbiology and immunology and T cell vaccine development, focusing on Bordetella pertussis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. His main research interests and internationally leading position are in molecular mechanisms of the immunity subverting action of the B. pertussis adenylate cyclase toxin (ACT).