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30. Sept. 2024
As of 1 July, Petr Mokroš is the new Head of the Shared Plant Research Laboratory at Masaryk University CEITEC (MUNI), who also divides his time between the Operations Department. Petr Mokroš studied botany and has experience in plant cytogenetics. He also brings to his new role previous experience in building and managing the operation of greenhouses and phytotrons. As the new head of the shared laboratory, his main goals are to improve the service to users, to ensure the long-term sustainable and efficient operation of existing cultivation facilities and to innovate the technologies available in shared plant research laboratories.
Petr, you have recently taken over the role of Head of the Shared Plant Research Laboratory. What are your first impressions of your new position?
Taking over the leadership of the lab is a return to my roots. I was involved in the planning and specification of the cultivation facilities of the E26 Pavilion when the CEITEC was built and I have spent the last few years in the role of Deputy Head of Operations Department at CEITEC MUNI, which has been a valuable experience for me. I am now returning part-time to an area that is close to my heart and I am looking forward to once again working on plants, cultivation technologies and generally supporting plant science research at our institute. So, first impressions are very positive. Initial euphoria is usually followed by sobering, however, after the short time I have already spent in the position, I have to say that I can rely on the small lab team, which makes the difficult situation of a part-time position easier. The team I am now working with is very familiar with the technologies it manages and I believe that together we will continue to underpin the very successful plant research at CEITEC MUNI and contribute to its further development.
You are a graduate botanist with expertise in plant cytogenetics. How does your experience influence your approach to laboratory management?
During my studies at the Botany Department, I focused on ecobiology, in other words, I studied the effect of the environment on plants. Similarly, in our lab, we create the environment in which we cultivate plants to achieve the expected results or, conversely, we expose plants to stressful conditions and study their responses. Thanks to my previous work at the Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences and then at MUNI, I was able to gain insight into molecular methods and technologies for plant cultivation. I will now try to capitalize on all these experiences, along with other skills gained during my time in the Operations Department, in a new position where I hope to successfully combine my operational and scientific experience.
What key areas do you want to focus on in your new role? What are your main priorities?
I have three main objectives. The first is to maintain the quality and further develop the services we offer to our users – scientists from CEITEC and other institutions. Our technology and processes must always be state-of-the-art so that scientists have everything they need for their experiments. The second goal is to ensure the long-term sustainability and efficient operation of our growing facilities. This area is crucial because our technologies are operationally demanding. Therefore, we want to streamline maintenance and use of resources so that our laboratory can operate efficiently, economically and as cheaply as possible while maintaining the services we need. Finally, the third objective, which goes a little against the previous sentence, is that we need to renew and further develop our cultivation and plant phenotyping technologies. However, this will be very resource-intensive, and we will try to continue to acquire them in cooperation with our users.
How are plant cultivation technologies evolving and how do you intend to use these innovations in your shared laboratory?
Most of our facilities were built more than 10 years ago, and although they were built on state-of-the-art technology at the time, they are now obsolete and it is time to upgrade or renew them. There have been obvious advances in cultivation lighting using LED technology, multichannel lighting technology with precisely defined wavelengths is now more available, and the efficiency of LED chips has also increased. Further potential for innovation in our technology lies, for example, in the extension of the range of cultivation temperatures – all these improvements allow us to simulate natural conditions to the greatest possible extent. The area of phenotypic analysis, which has recently become increasingly popular in science, also represents an important area for development.
How do you assess the current state of plant research at CEITEC and what role do you think a shared plant research laboratory should play in the scientific community?
According to what I know about the evaluation of science at CEITEC, plant research at our institute is generally above the overall average, and the "plant" groups here are among the most productive. Many of our colleagues are world-renowned leaders in their fields, and the cultivation technologies they use in their research are essential tools for obtaining experimental material. There is therefore a clear link to our shared laboratory. This relationship is more of a symbiosis, we need each other. We try to adapt as much as possible to the needs of our users – taking into account the possibilities, both financial and technological. And that is the basic role of our shared lab, to provide the scientific community with the best possible support and service. At the same time, we have to follow trends in the world, collaborate with other institutions, try to integrate into larger infrastructures in order to further develop and expand the services we offer.
What would you say to young scientists who are just starting their careers in plant sciences? What role can your shared lab play in their professional growth?
To not be afraid to explore new things and to always be open to collaboration. Despite the significant development of sequencing methods and bioinformatics approaches, there will always be a need to grow plant material, to test the ability of plants to respond to stress, to increase the utility value of plants for society, and last but not least, to find and create forms of cultivated plants capable of growing and producing effectively even in the challenging conditions brought about by ongoing climate change on the planet. And essentially all plant science research starts with growing a plant ...preferably in our laboratory.
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Head of Core Facility, Building Service Manager, Deputy Head of Operations Department
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