History

9.11.1953 – Almost immediately after the founding of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, its first presidency approved the establishment of the Laboratory of Neurophysiology as one of the 7 workplaces of the so-called Small Workplaces Group of the Second Section of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The founder was Prof. MUDr. Juraj Antal, DrSc. (*1912 – †1996), who at that time also headed the Institute of Physiology of the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University in Bratislava.

1957 – The Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Slovak Academy of Sciences – IEM SAS (director J. Antal) was established from the set of small workplaces.

1965 – The Institute of Experimental Medicine of the SAS was divided into the Institute of Experimental Surgery of the SAS (now the Institute for Heart Research of the SAS), the Institute of Experimental Hygiene of the SAS and the Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology of the SAS. The Department of General Physiology was separated from the Department of Neurophysiology, headed by MUDr. Jozef Zachar, DrSc. (*1925 – †2000), in which the study of excitability and contractility of muscle by methods of electrophysiology began to develop from the beginning of the sixties, which resulted in the study of the molecular basis of excitability – ion channel proteins. Here we can look for the roots of today’s name of the institute containing the phrase “molecular physiology“. From the period of the 1960s and 1970s come the works of high international importance, which have been cited 347 times in total.

1970 – The construction of the building in Kramáre in 1970 led to the relocation of the Department of General Physiology from the historical building at Sienkiewiczova 1 to the building at Vlárská 3.

1.1.1979 – On the basis of the resolution of the Presidium of the Slovak Academy of Sciences of 19.12.1978 the Centre of Physiological Sciences of the SAS (CPS SAS) was established, director academician J Zachar.

1982 – The international journal General Physiology and Biophysics started to be published at the Centre of Physiological Sciences of the SAS and is still published today.

Birth of the Institute of Molecular Physiology and Genetics

1989 – Dissolution of the Centre of Physiological Sciences in the process of society-wide transformation at the end of 1989 led to the re-independence of its institutes and to the establishment of the Institute of Molecular Physiology and Genetics (IMPG) of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Academician Zachar abdicated on 1 July 1990. On the basis of the selection procedure and the first free elections, MUDr. Branislav Uhrík, CSc. was appointed as the Director of the Institute.

1993 – 2010 were years of gradual stabilization of the Institute. The number of employees stabilized at 53. Directors of the Institute were Ing. Albert Breier, CSc. and doc. Ing. Oľga Križanová, DrSc. In 2010, the Institute of Molecular Physiology and Genetics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences consisted of 10 laboratories.

2011 – Based on the recommendations of the accreditation commission, the structure of the Institute was changed and the laboratories were merged into three departments: the Department for Muscle Cell Research (OVSB), the Department of Transport Proteins (OTP), and the Department of Cell Physiology and Genetics (OBFG), in which the Laboratory of Genetics remained as a joint department of the Institute of Molecular Physiology and Genetics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the Faculty of Sciences of the Comenius University in Bratislava.

In the course of the existence of the Institute of Molecular Physiology and Genetics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the scientific rank of DrSc. degree, which enabled the accreditation of the Institute as an external educational institution in three fields of doctoral studies: Biophysics, Biochemistry and Animal Physiology.

Institute of Molecular Physiology and Genetics as part of the Centre of Biosciences of the Slovak Academy of Sciences

2017 – In line with the general trend to integrate fragmented research in Slovakia, the Centre of Biosciences of the Slovak Academy of Sciences was created to increase the productivity of the participating institutes. The establishment of the the Centre of Biosciences of the Slovak Academy of Sciences dates back to 1 January 2017. Initially, it consisted of the Institute of Animal Biochemistry and Genetics of the SAS and the Institute of Molecular Physiology and Genetics of the SAS. Both institutes signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of the Centre of Biosciences of the SAS. The main motivation for this initiative was to promote horizontal integration to share infrastructure and methodologies established in the partner institutes. By reaching an appropriate, well-manageable size, the Centre of Biosciences of the SAS should further strengthen the interdisciplinary nature of research, improve its efficiency and quality, increase its competitiveness within the European Research Area, as well as the success rate of applications for international research projects.

2018 – Since 1 January 2018, another institute has joined the Centre of Biosciences of the SAS – the Institute of Animal Physiology based in Košice.

8.1.2018 – New consolidated Organisational Regulations of the Centre of Biosciences of the SAS came into force. In this context, an organizational change took place in the organizational unit of the Institute of Molecular Physiology and Genetics – from three departments 2 departments were created: the Department of Nerve and Muscle Cell Research and the Department of Transport Proteins.

2.9.2018 – The name of the departments is changed: the Department of Biophysics and Electrophysiology and the Department of Biochemistry and Cytochemistry.

Directors of the Institute of Molecular Physiology and Genetics CBs SAS