Having been attracted to science since her childhood, now Veronika Skoupilová is studying toxicology in the USA thanks to the Fulbright scholarship.
Author: Kristýna Vávrová
Veronika Skoupilová, a graduate of the Master's degree program in Bioorganic Chemistry, received the prestigious Fulbright scholarship. Thanks to the scholarship she will study at the American University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She will join a research group dealing with acetylcholinesterases in order to study new oxime reactivators and their characterization in vitro and in silico afterwards.
"As a child, I was attracted to natural sciences and in the backyard I kept carrying out various 'experiments'," says Veronika laughing at her childhood beginnings in chemistry. However, the turning point came in 2013 when she went to Egypt to work at a hotel resort in the summer.
"One of my friends working there was a Syrian. At that time there were attacks near Damascus from which my friend came. Those were probably attacks in which nerve gases were apparently used. All that affected me considerably so I started thinking what I could do for the people of Syria. I asked myslef whether an individual has the power to contribute to solving such complex problems, " she describes.
Veronika Skoupilová in laboratory
Studying at university brought new horizons, Veronika began studying the Toxicology and Pollutant Analysis program at the Faculty of Science of the University of Hradec Králové. Since local research teams deal with antibodies in nerve-paralytic poisoning, she could soon get involved in the research. "I finished an English-written bachelor thesis dealing with new reactivators of acetylcholinesterases, ie substances potentially effective in the treatment of poisoning by nerve paralytic substances." Her thesis was awarded the Dean's Award of the Faculty of Science UHK.
Veronika also gains experience from internships: “I wrote part of my bachelor thesis during an internship in Zagreb. I completed another internship at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. There I dealt with my diploma thesis on the topic of aging and testing of substances that could have a senolytic effect (senolytics are substances that suppress aging and diseases resulting from aging at the cellular level and thanks to their effect it is possible to increase the quality of life of aging patients – editor´s note).
In the future Veronika would also like to carry out a research: “I am starting my doctoral studies in the Toxicology program. I enjoy science and I will be happy to pass on my experience to other students - academic ones as well as foreign students met during my trips abroad. I also intend to motivate and encourage students to travel abroad to expand their horizons.
The J. W. Fulbright Commission is a Czech-American organization founded on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement in 1991. It supports educational and cultural exchanges between the Czech Republic and the United States of America.
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