Eva Zažímalová (born 18 February 1955) is a Czech

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

and from March 2017 to March 2025 the president of the

Czech Academy of Sciences The Czech Academy of Sciences (abbr. CAS, , abbr. AV ČR) was established in 1992 by the Czech National Council as the Czech successor of the former Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and its tradition goes back to the Royal Bohemian Society of Sc ...

. Between 2020 and 2025, Zažimalová served as a Chief Scientific Advisor to the European Commission. She studied

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

at the Faculty of Science of

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

in Prague in 1974–1979. Since 1983, she has worked in the Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Between 2003 and 2007, she was the deputy director of this institute, from 2007 to 2012 she led the institute as its director. At Charles University, Eva Zažímalová was habilitated in 2004 and in 2013 she was appointed professor of plant anatomy and physiology. She was elected to the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and is a

member of the Academia Europaea Membership of the Academia Europaea (MAE) is an award conferred by the Academia Europaea to individuals that have demonstrated "sustained academic excellence". Membership is by invitation only by existing MAE and judged during a peer review selecti ...

. She has devoted herself to the molecular mechanisms of the effect of

plant hormone Plant hormones (or phytohormones) are signal molecules, produced within plants, that occur in extremely low concentrations. Plant hormones control all aspects of plant growth and development, including embryogenesis, the regulation of Organ (anat ...

s. Her research work is focused predominantly on the phytohormone

auxin Auxins (plural of auxin ) are a class of plant hormones (or plant-growth regulators) with some morphogen-like characteristics. Auxins play a cardinal role in coordination of many growth and behavioral processes in plant life cycles and are essent ...

, its metabolism and the molecular mechanisms of its activity and transport in plant cells. The results of her research have found applications for instance in agriculture.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zažímalová, Eva 1955 births Czech women scientists Czech biochemists Presidents of the Czech Academy of Sciences Living people Charles University alumni Scientists from Prague Women biochemists 20th-century biochemists 20th-century women scientists 21st-century biochemists 21st-century women scientists Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Academic staff of Charles University Members of Academia Europaea