Prof. Michal Hocek

Professional background: Michal Hocek specialises in the chemistry and chemical biology of nucleosides, nucleotides and nucleic acids. His research group have contributed significantly to organic and medicinal chemistry, by developing methods to synthesise modified nucleobases, nucleosides, nucleotides, and nucleic acids through cross-coupling reactions and C-H activation.

He studied at the IOCB, where he completed his Ph.D. under the supervision Dr. Antonín Holý in 1996. He carried out his postdoctoral research under the guidance of Léon Ghosez at the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium). He later returned to the IOCB, where he worked as a staff scientist between 1998 – 2002. In 2002, he was promoted to group leader of the Group of Modified Nucleobases (IOCB). Between 2004 – 2006, he served as the head of the Department of Organic Synthesis for Biomedicinal Applications (IOCB). In 2006, he was awarded a Doctor of Science degree (DSc) at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic at UCT Prague while also serving as an associate professor. His independent research career began when he was promoted to the Head of Research Team at the IOCB in 2007. From 2011 – 2024, he served as an associate professor in the Department of Organic and Nuclear Chemistry at Charles University and was promoted to full professor in 2014. He is an editor for several academic journals and is currently a member of the Czech Chemical Society, the American Chemical Society, and the International Society for Nucleosides, Nucleotides, and Nucleic Acids.

Selected publications:

• N. Kuprikova, M. Ondruš, L. Bednárová, M. Riopedre-Fernandez, L. Poštová Slavětínská, V. Sýkorová, M. Hocek. Superionic DNA: enzymatic synthesis of hypermodified DNA bearing four different anionic substituents at all four nucleobases, Nucleic Acids Research, 51, 21, 11428-11438 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkad893
• C. Yang, M. Tichý, L. Poštová Slavětínská, E. Vaiedelich, S. Gurská, P. Džubák, M. Hajdúch, M. Hocek. Synthesis and Biological Profiling of Benzofuro-Fused 7-Deazapurine Nucleosides, European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 26, 44, e202300723 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/ejoc.202300723
• M. Kuba, P. Khoroshyy, M. Lepšík, E. Kužmová, D. Kodr, T. Kraus, M. Hocek. Real-time Imaging of Nascent DNA in Live Cells by Monitoring the Fluorescence Lifetime of DNA-Incorporated Thiazole Orange-Modified Nucleotides, Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed., 62, 38, e202307548 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202307548
• D. Kodr, M. Ortiz, V. Sýkorová, C. Pinar Yenice, Z. J. Lesnikowski, C. O’Sullivan, M. Hocek. Normalized Multipotential Redox Coding of DNA Bases for Determination of Total Nucleotide Composition, Analytical Chemistry, 95, 34, 12586-12589 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.3c02023
• D. Kodr, E. Kužmová, R. Pohl, T. Kraus, M. Hocek. Lipid-linked nucleoside triphosphates for enzymatic synthesis of hydrophobic oligonucleotides with enhanced membrane anchoring efficiency, Chemical Sciences, 14, 4059-4069 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1039/d2sc06718h
• M. Brunderová, M. Krömer, M. Vlková, M. Hocek. Chloroacetamide-Modified Nucleotide and RNA for Bioconjugation and Cross-Linking with RNA-Binding Protein, Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed., 62, 7,, e200213764 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202213764
• Z. Vavřina, P. Perlíková, N. Milisavljević, F. Chevrier, M. Smola, J. Smith, M. Demjek, V. Havlíček, M. Budĕšinský, R. Liboska, L. Vaneková, J. Brynda, E. Boura, P. Řezáčová, M. Hocek, G. Birkiuš. Desing, Synthesis, and Biochemical and Biological Evaluation of Novel 7-Deazapurine Cyclic Dinucleotide Analogues as STING Receptor Agonists, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 65, 20, 14082-14103 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01305