The Czech Science Foundation (GACR) will fund 16 EXPRO projects and 35 JUNIOR STAR projects starting next year. A total of 521 Project Proposals were submitted to the two highly competitive tenders, the highest number in the past five years. The aim of the tenders is to offer extraordinary conditions to excellent researchers whose proposals have passed rigorous evaluation by international experts. Approximately one in ten proposals received funding.
“The strong interest in both tenders shows that a number of ambitious research projects are emerging in the Czech research environment. We are very pleased that, thanks to an increase in GACR’s budget, we have almost doubled the number of new JUNIOR STAR projects compared with last year—35 instead of 18. This means more opportunities for early-career researchers to establish their scientific independence, develop their own research topics and build teams that can advance Czech science,” says GACR President Prof. Milan Jirsa.
This year was also the first in which Project Proposal submission and evaluation for both tenders took place through the new GRITA information system. “Its introduction is an important step towards modernising and simplifying grant administration. Next year, Project Proposals for all GACR tenders will be submitted and evaluated through GRITA,” the President adds.
EXPRO
The EXPRO grants aim to create conditions for the development of excellence in research, set standards of excellent research, and help overcome barriers that reduce the chances of Project Proposals succeeding in the highly prestigious European Research Council (ERC) grant tender. Principal Investigators are required to submit an application for an ERC grant. EXPRO project costs, intended primarily for experienced researchers, can reach up to CZK 50 million (approx. €2.05 mil.) over five years.
| Registration No. | Applicant | Title | Organization | Project duration | Main Panel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27-00067X | Dr. rer. nat. RNDr. Leoš Valášek DSc. | Beginning … eIF1, eIF2, eIF3 and eIF5 make 8 reasons to study human translation initiation. | Mikrobiologický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX4 |
| 27-00093X | prof. Ing. Branislav Jurčo DSc. | Geometry of Theories: Deformation, Homotopy, and the Moduli of Quantum Fields | Matematicko-fyzikální fakulta UK | 5 | EX1 |
| 27-00128X | Jiří Fajkus | RNA pseudouridylation and conserved noncoding RNAs in plant stress adaptation, genome stability and telomerase regulation | Masarykova univerzita | 5 | EX5 |
| 27-00148X | doc. Mgr. Aleš Pečinka Ph.D. | Harnessing molecular mechanisms of hybridization barriers for improved cereal breeding (HYBRIX) | Ústav experimentální botaniky AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX5 |
| 27-00257X | Dr Jakub Sawicki | FEAST: Foodways, Elites, and Spice Trade - Consumption Patterns in the Early Modern Central Eastern Europe (Prague - Kraków - Gdańsk) | Archeologický ústav AV ČR, Praha, v. v. i. | 5 | EX7 |
| 27-00296X | prof. RNDr. Radek Zbořil Ph.D. | Chemically Active Supports for Single-Atom Technologies in Catalysis and Biomedicine | Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava | 5 | EX8 |
| 27-00297X | prof. JUDr. David Kosař Ph.D., LL.M., J. S. D. | Prosecutors under Political Pressure: Prosecutorial Agency in Times of Democratic Decline and Recovery | Právnická fakulta, Masarykova univerzita | 5 | EX6 |
| 27-00401X | RNDr. Andrej Kugler CSc. | Searching for critical behavior and limitations of the universal Freeze-out line of nuclear matter | Ústav jaderné fyziky AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX1 |
| 27-00406X | prof. Mgr. Petr Svoboda Ph.D. | How intrinsically disordered regions control Dicer function | Ústav molekulární genetiky AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX4 |
| 27-00456X | prof. RNDr. Filip Matějka M.A.,Ph.D. | Attention, Government, and the Formation of Economic Behavior | Ekonomický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX6 |
| 27-00536X | Mgr. Otakar Frank Ph.D. | Electrode–Electrolyte Interfaces at the Nanoscale: Illuminating the Chemistry of Energy Storage and Conversion | Ústav fyzikální chemie J. Heyrovského AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX3 |
| 27-00580X | prof. Ing. Jiří Homola CSc., DSc. | Digital Plasmonic Biosensing toward Next-Generation Medical Diagnostics | Ústav fotoniky a elektroniky AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX2 |
| 27-00594X | prof. Ing. Zdeněk Sofer Ph.D. | Intercalation-Driven Chemistry and Physics of Printable 2D Material Architectures | Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická v Praze | 5 | EX8 |
| 27-00671X | prof. RNDr. Petr Pyšek CSc. | Socioecological drivers of Naturalized Alien Floras and Faunas (SoNAFF): Integrating human dimension into the macroecology of biological invasions | Botanický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX5 |
| 27-00679X | prof. Tomáš Jungwirth Ph.D. | Unconventional spectroscopic signatures of higher-partial-wave spin ordering in altermagnets and antialtermagnets | Fyzikální ústav AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX2 |
| 27-00737X | prof. Alexander Dömling Ph.D. | ATLAS: Mapping and Engineering Transformationally Linked Multicomponent Reaction Space | Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci | 5 | EX3 |
* Announcement of the results of the public tender for EXPRO grant projects – 2027 (*.pdf)
A total of 205 Project Proposals were submitted to this year’s EXPRO tender, of which 16 received funding. The largest number of funded projects—ten in total—will be carried out at institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Masaryk University received funding for two projects, while Charles University, Palacký University Olomouc, VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, and the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, each received funding for one project.
JUNIOR STAR
JUNIOR STAR grants are intended for excellent early-career researchers who obtained their PhDs no more than 8 years ago, have published in prestigious international journals, and have substantial international experience. A five-year project with funding of up to CZK 25 million (approx. €1.025 mil.) gives them the opportunity to establish scientific independence and potentially set up their own research groups which can introduce new research topics to Czech science.
| Registration No. | Applicant | Title | Organization | Project duration | Main Panel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27-00069M | Mgr. Adriana Roithová PhD | Silent Ribosomes and T Cell Readiness: Translational Control of Immune Quiescence | Mikrobiologický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX4 |
| 27-00080M | Robert Roreitner | REASON AND NATURE: LOST SOURCES AND INSIGHTS OF ANCIENT ARISTOTELIANISM | Filozofická fakulta UK | 5 | EX7 |
| 27-00087M | Ing. Vladimír Petrík Ph.D. | PRINCIPIA: Scaling Up Physical Robotic Intelligence with Newtonian Compliance | Český institut informatiky, robotiky a kybernetiky, ČVUT v Praze | 5 | EX8 |
| 27-00137M | Simrjit Singh | Polarization Engineering and Single-Atom Architecture for Next Generation Solar Hydrogen Production (POLARSAN) | Centrum nanotechnologií, Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava | 5 | EX2 |
| 27-00173M | Ondřej Mrózek | PHOTOMAG: Photoluminescence magnesium complexes with emission involving triplet excites states | Ústav anorganické chemie AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX3 |
| 27-00179M | Mgr. Soňa Krajčovičová Ph.D. | Synthetically Engineered Polyvalent Bicyclic Peptides for Next-Generation Therapeutics | Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci | 5 | EX3 |
| 27-00206M | Ing Michael Jirásek PhD | From Optimisation to Reasoning: Self-Driving Laboratory for Chemical Discovery | Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická v Praze | 5 | EX3 |
| 27-00210M | RNDr. Pavel Malý Ph.D. | Imaging multi-exciton dynamics by light and heat | Matematicko-fyzikální fakulta UK | 5 | EX2 |
| 27-00220M | Ing. Marek Matas Ph.D. | Chiral Phonons for Next-Generation Quantum Sensing | Fakulta jaderná a fyzikálně inženýrská, ČVUT v Praze | 5 | EX2 |
| 27-00253M | Sebastian Ottinger Ph.D. | Technologies of Connection and Their Effects on Society: Evidence from the Habsburg Business Registry in the Age of Railroads | Centrum pro ekonomický výzkum a doktorská studia UK | 5 | EX6 |
| 27-00258M | Tomas Figura | Engines that drive a “reinvented wheel”: Convergently evolved physiological mechanisms in mycoheterotrophy | Botanický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX5 |
| 27-00278M | RNDr. Ing. Jana Pilátová Ph.D. | Purine biocrystallization: From structures to molecular mechanisms and functions | Biologické centrum AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX5 |
| 27-00300M | Mgr. Dominik Hrebík Ph.D. | SPLITSVILLE - Structural Studies of Bacterial Cell Division | Masarykova univerzita | 5 | EX4 |
| 27-00326M | Šimon Borna | Characterization of self-reactivity and phenotypical heterogeneity of human regulatory T cells across tissues. | Ústav molekulární genetiky AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX4 |
| 27-00335M | Ing. Viktor Walter Ph.D. | Steps to Enable Near-distance Teamwork under Imperfect Neighbor Localization | Fakulta elektrotechnická, ČVUT v Praze | 5 | EX8 |
| 27-00341M | Mgr. Jindřich Libovický Ph.D. | Language Agnostic Language Models | Matematicko-fyzikální fakulta UK | 5 | EX8 |
| 27-00378M | PhDr. Mgr. Kristýna Kaucká Ph.D. | The Insectocene: Non-Human Arthropod Agency in Modern Governance (1870–1960) | Masarykův ústav a Archiv AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX7 |
| 27-00404M | Zdeněk Prudil | GALACTICA: Galactic Archaeology with RR Lyrae Age Constraints and Tracing of Inner Components and Assembly | Přírodovědecká fakulta, Masarykova univerzita | 5 | EX1 |
| 27-00413M | Dr.Techn. Zdeněk Jakub | Atomic-scale Insights into Dual-Atom Catalysis | Vysoké učení technické v Brně | 5 | EX3 |
| 27-00416M | Dr. Anna Schulten | Protein-driven mechanisms underpinning cold-responsive epigenetic silencing by VEL-PRC2 | Masarykova univerzita | 5 | EX5 |
| 27-00437M | Giuseppe Silano PhD | Knowledge-State-Driven Aerial Inspection of Electrical Energy Infrastructure | Fakulta elektrotechnická, ČVUT v Praze | 5 | EX8 |
| 27-00466M | Mark Peter Kamsma Ph.D. | Enriching Model Theory with Category Theory and Positive Logic | Přírodovědecká fakulta, Masarykova univerzita | 5 | EX1 |
| 27-00477M | Siu Hang Man | Trace formulae for GSp4 automorphic forms | Matematicko-fyzikální fakulta UK | 5 | EX1 |
| 27-00511M | Sylva Drtikolová Kaupová | Kinship, Mobility and Social Differentiation in Early Medieval Bohemia: Towards a Bioarchaeology of Early State Formation | Národní muzeum | 5 | EX7 |
| 27-00557M | Marco Loche M.Sc. Ph.D | Extreme heat events to explain changes in rock-mass movements: Can thermo-hydro-mechanical thresholds improve hazard prediction? | Ústav struktury a mechaniky hornin AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX1 |
| 27-00565M | Mgr. Jana Wiedermannová PhD. | Modified and hypermodified nucleotides on mRNA as drivers of genetic information recoding and gene-expression control | Mikrobiologický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX4 |
| 27-00601M | Tomáš Lintner PhD | THE SUBSTITUTION: How GenAI Reconfigures Human Agency and Learning | Filozofická fakulta, Masarykova univerzita | 5 | EX6 |
| 27-00700M | Ing. Simona Dzurendová Ph.D. | Y-VISTA: Yeast Variability: Interplay of Storage, Tension and Architecture | Vysoké učení technické v Brně | 5 | EX5 |
| 27-00733M | Adam Gemar Ph.D. | Sport as Collective Ritual: Social Integration under Polarization and Secularization in Contemporary Democracies | Fakulta sociálních studií, Masarykova univerzita | 5 | EX6 |
| 27-00741M | Dr. Rodrigo Ernesto Polo Mendoza Ph.D. | Discovering Hidden Mechanisms Governing High-Cycle Soil Behaviour in Geotechnical Systems Using Physics-Informed Artificial Intelligence | Přírodovědecká fakulta UK | 5 | EX8 |
| 27-00760M | RNDr. Lenka Kubíčková Ph.D. | Spin Supersolidity and Probing Quantum Criticality through Cooling | Fyzikální ústav AV ČR, v. v. i. | 5 | EX2 |
| 27-00780M | Mgr. Michal Šimek Ph.D. | Site-selective Radical Diversification of Functional Groups in Biomolecules and Natural Products | Univerzita Karlova | 5 | EX3 |
| 27-00787M | Lukáš Gráf | Probing Lepton-number-violating Interactions across Energy Scales (PLIES) | Matematicko-fyzikální fakulta UK | 5 | EX1 |
| 27-00831M | Mgr. Matúš Adamkovič PhD. | Leveraging the Capabilities of Large Language Models for Automating Quantitative and Qualitative Meta-Research | Pedagogická fakulta UK | 5 | EX6 |
| 27-00832M | Ing. Anna Poryvai Ph.D. | VisDia: Visible-Light Carbene Photochemistry and Multifunctional Lipid Probes for Cell Imaging and Proximity Labelling | Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická v Praze | 5 | EX3 |
* Announcement of the results of the public tender for JUNIOR STAR grant projects – 2027 (*.pdf)
A total of 316 Project Proposals were submitted to the JUNIOR STAR tender, of which 35 received funding. The number of funded projects is almost twice that of the previous year. The largest number of projects will be carried out at Charles University and institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences, with nine each. Masaryk University received funding for six projects, the Czech Technical University in Prague for four, and the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, and Brno University of Technology for two each. VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, Palacký University Olomouc and the National Museum will each carry out one project each.
“It is worth noting that most JUNIOR STAR projects will be carried out at universities, which therefore play an important role in developing a new generation of scientific talent. In the EXPRO tender, which is aimed at experienced researchers, institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences predominate,” concludes GACR President Prof. Milan Jirsa.
The evaluation process for both tenders involves international researchers only. It takes place in two stages: each funded project is first evaluated by six subject-matter experts and then discussed in detail at a Discipline Committee meeting.
The results of the other GACR tenders—Standard Projects, Restart Grants and POSTDOC INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP—will be announced on 26 November 2026.