Starting next year, the Czech Science Foundation (GACR) will fund 18 new JUNIOR STAR projects with more than CZK 425 million (approx. €17.5 mil.) The aim of this highly selective tender is to enhance Czech science with new research topics, and enable promising early-career researchers to become scientifically independent.
“Early-career researchers are key to the development of science. Not only do they represent the future of research, but they are often the ones who come up with fresh, new ideas,” says GACR President Prof. Milan Jirsa. We are delighted to see such great interest in the JUNIOR STAR tender, but I am even more pleased that, as a result, excellent scientists are staying in the Czech Republic or coming to us from abroad.
Five-year projects from all areas of basic research will focus, for example, on the development of algorithms, new materials, plastic recycling, and the study of protein interactions in the fight against cancer. Other projects focus on corruption and social norms in business, religion in ancient Rome, and the development of intelligent robots.
JUNIOR STAR 2026 Projects
| Registration No. | Applicant | Title | Organization | Project duration | Discipline Committee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26-23128M | Mgr. Adam Přenosil, Ph.D. | Algebraizing first-order logics | Ústav informatiky AV ČR, v.v.i. | 5 | EX1 |
| 26-23430M | Dr. Sumit Das | Redefining Landslide Dynamics: Landslide-Driven Divide Migration and Carbon Sequestration | Univerzita Karlova, Přírodovědecká fakulta | 5 | EX1 |
| 26-23599M | Vaclav Rozhon | Algorithmic Efficiency via Instance-Optimal Understanding (AEIOU) | Univerzita Karlova, Matematicko-fyzikální fakulta | 5 | EX1 |
| 26-21794M | Filipa Oliveira, Ph.D. | Pioneering Tubular MXenes for Supercapacitor Energy Storage | Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická v Praze, Fakulta chemické technologie | 5 | EX2 |
| 26-21795M | RNDr. Michal Vališka, Ph.D. | STiUS: Symmetry and Topology in Ultraclean Superconductors | Univerzita Karlova, Matematicko-fyzikální fakulta | 5 | EX2 |
| 26-21125M | Mgr. Tomáš Fiala, Ph.D. | Decoding Extracellular Protein–Protein Interactions with Synthetic Peptides | Masarykova univerzita, Přírodovědecká fakulta | 5 | EX3 |
| 26-23601M | Stella Gonsales | Catalysts and Methods for Recycling Commodity Polymers | Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická v Praze, Fakulta chemické technologie | 5 | EX3 |
| 26-22371M | Aniruddha Mitra, PhD | Molecular mechanisms of protein sorting in sensory cilia | Biotechnologický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i. | 5 | EX4 |
| 26-22773M | PharmDr. Martin Andrš, Ph.D. | Mechanisms of R-loop-mediated DNA Replication Stress: From Basic Principles to Cancer Therapy | Ústav experimentální medicíny AV ČR, v.v.i. | 5 | EX4 |
| 26-20529M | Mgr Jakub Hajný, PhD | Programmable sugar distribution in plants | Ústav experimentální botaniky AV ČR, v.v.i. | 5 | EX5 |
| 26-23464M | Dr. Danny Haelewaters | A multiscale perspective on multitrophic interactions of bats, their parasites, and pathogens | Biologické centrum AV ČR, v.v.i. | 5 | EX5 |
| 26-22987M | Mgr. Tibor Žingora, Ph.D. | Rethinking Segregation within Schools: Ways of Spreading Positive Attitudes and Behaviors among Youth | Masarykova univerzita, Fakulta sociálních studií | 5 | EX6 |
| 26-23470M | Kristýna Bašná, M.Sc., Ph.D. | Doing business at home and abroad: Corruption & social norms | Sociologický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i. | 5 | EX6 |
| 26-21025M | Mgr. Tomáš Glomb, Ph.D. | Socio-Spatial Situatedness of Roman Professions and its Impact on Religion in the Roman Empire: A Formal Modeling Approach | Masarykova univerzita, Filozofická fakulta | 5 | EX7 |
| 26-21286M | Mgr. et Mgr. Katarína Adameková, Ph.D. | Flames of the past: Prehistoric combustion features as a mirror of palaeoenvironment, technology and culture changes in Central Europe | Archeologický ústav AV ČR, Brno, v. v. i. | 5 | EX7 |
| 26-22525M | Ing. Vojtěch Mrázek, Ph.D. | EvoML-EDA: Synergy of Evolutionary Algorithms and Advanced Machine Learning Algorithms for Digital Circuit Design | Vysoké učení technické v Brně, Fakulta informačních technologií | 5 | EX8 |
| 26-22610M | Mgr. Karla Štěpánová, Ph.D. | PersonalRobot: Customizing Robots via Multimodal Interactive Human-Robot Dialogues | České vysoké učení technické v Praze, Český institut informatiky, robotiky a kybernetiky | 5 | EX8 |
| 26-23410M | Ing. Markéta Klíčová, Ph.D. | Next-Generation Antiadhesive Nanofibrous Materials: Fundamental Insights into Their Design and Function | Technická univerzita v Liberci, Fakulta textilní | 5 | EX8 |
Seven projects will be carried out at the Czech Academy of Sciences, three projects at Charles University and Masaryk University, two projects at the University of Chemistry and Technology, and one project each at the Czech Technical University in Prague, the Brno University of Technology, and the Technical University of Liberec.
About JUNIOR STAR
The JUNIOR STAR tender is intended for excellent early-career scientists within eight years of completing their PhD who have already published in prestigious international journals and have significant international experience. Due to a five-year project with the possibility of drawing up to CZK 25 million (approx. €1 mil.), they get the opportunity to become scientifically independent, or even establish their own research groups that can introduce new research topics into Czech science.
JUNIOR STAR project proposals are evaluated by scientists from abroad only who guarantee the expertise and objectivity of the evaluation. Four reviews are prepared for each project by members of Discipline Committees abroad, and additional reviews by external reviewers, on the basis of which the evaluation panels recommend the best projects for funding.
The results of the Standard Projects, POSTDOC INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP, and Restart Grants tenders will be announced on 28 November 2025.