Back home from America: Maroš Huličiak begins a new chapter leading Centre of Molecular Structure

From the Institute of Biotechnology to the U.S. and back. After three years at Emory University in Atlanta, Maroš Huličiak returned to the institute where he once began his career. Thanks to his newly acquired experience, he took on the role of head of the Centre of Molecular Structure. What did he bring back from his time abroad, where does he want to take the CMS, and what is it like to return “home”?

After three years in the U.S., you’re returning to IBT. What’s it like to be “home” again - both professionally and personally?

I’ll admit that my feelings are mixed. In Atlanta, I built a great community of people around me whom I already miss very much. It wasn’t easy for me to leave the U.S. On the other hand, I’m closer to my family in Slovakia again, and I still have many friends here in the Czech Republic from my doctoral studies. As for my new position, I’m excited about this opportunity; I believe it’s the right step in my professional life.

What excited you most about the American academic environment, and what, on the other hand, made you even more certain that you want to return?

In the American academic environment, I highly appreciate the environment the university has created for students and staff. I’m referring to the university campus with its own infrastructure and services, such as the university police or emergency response system, and the abundance of sports and cultural events. It was very easy to integrate into this
community. Another major advantage of the university was its close collaboration with people from the commercial sector and technology transfer. Every potentially applicable result of my work essentially ended up as a patent application. To answer the second part of the question, I would have to touch on political topics, which I’d rather not elaborate on here.

Is there anything about the American way of working or how laboratories operate that you’d like to implement here?

I was particularly fascinated by the efficiency and level of collaboration. There was a direct path from idea to results and publications; I had access to unlimited resources, and combined with the expertise and willingness of my colleagues in the department - as well as those from other universities in the U.S. - it was much easier to plan, carry out, and evaluate experiments. I believe that here at the institute - and indeed throughout the entire Czech academic
community - we could draw more inspiration from this, collaborate more, and share ideas, methods, and
visions.

You’re taking over the Centre of Molecular Structure from Honza Dohnálek as a highly efficient research facility. Do you see this more as a responsibility, or as an opportunity to take things to the next level? And where would you like to steer the CMS?

I think it’s appropriate to thank Dr. Dohnálek for his excellent work at the CMS and for the excellent state in which I’m taking over the CMS. Of course, this wouldn’t be possible without the experts in the individual facilities, and yes, it’s definitely a commitment for me going forward. My vision is to turn CMS into an excellent service facility that will be
recognized in a European and global context; I would like to attract and establish more collaboration with commercial users and focus on developing unique methods in collaboration with internal users. I believe that the combination of the high expertise of CMS staff and the state-of-the-art equipment at each facility guarantees that we will achieve these goals.

I can cite one specific example right away. During my stay in the United States, I visited a number of universities and brought back to the Czech Republic the expertise that will help us at CMS build a state-of-the-art protein facility. And now, thanks to the combination of this know-how and the first-class equipment we have available here, those universities are expressing interest in collaborating with CMS and utilizing our protein engineering services. 

Now that you’re returning in a leadership role, what are you most looking forward to, and what message would you like to share with your colleagues?

This is a huge step in my career, and I’m already very much looking forward to communicating and collaborating with people who are passionate about science, to developing my managerial skills, and to gaining new experiences. To my younger colleagues, I’d like to say: don’t be afraid of opportunities, and if you have the chance to travel abroad, go for it. It is very important for gaining a new perspective, independence, and personal development. I wish all institute employees and colleagues much success in their personal and professional lives, and I look forward to our future interactions.