At a ceremonial event in Prague’s historic Carolinum, newly appointed professors of Czech universities received their official appointment decrees from the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, and Minister of Education Mikuláš Bek. Among them were several distinguished figures affiliated with Palacký University Olomouc — including Milan Urban.
Professor Milan Urban has been researching the medicinal chemistry of natural compounds with anti-cancer and neuroprotective effects since 2012, teaching and conducting research at both the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Science at Palacký University. He is also actively involved in the activities of the National Institute for Cancer Research. His main goal is to guide promising compounds toward real-world applications while uncovering their mechanisms of action at the molecular level.
A graduate of the Faculty of Science at Charles University, Urban has worked at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences and completed a six-year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado Boulder, gaining valuable interdisciplinary experience at the intersection of chemistry and biology.
“I would like to thank all my colleagues and students who have inspired me, as well as the two institutions where I currently work for their professional support and infrastructure,” said the newly appointed professor. “I believe research and education should be closely linked — which is why my lab is always open to students at all levels. Today, we face a number of challenges: shifts in educational approaches, growing concerns about the reproducibility of scientific results, and the rise of transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence. That’s why I see it as my responsibility to actively contribute to the professional development of the next generation of scientists and prepare them for these changes.”
Photo: zurnal.upol.cz
