Zuzana Kečkéšová (born 1980) is a Slovak-American molecular biologist at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences. She investigates the reasons that certain organs are protected from cancer.

Early life and education

Kečkéšová is from Galanta. She became interested in science as a child and considered becoming an astrophysicist. She studied molecular biology at the Charles University in Prague and graduated in 2003. During her undergraduate degree, she attended the London International Youth Science Forum where she was selected by the British consulate to represent Slovakia. Her research career began in Prague, where she studied the lifecycle of the murine polyomavirus. She became interested in attending Western universities and began her preparation, but did not have the funding to cover her fees. After learning that University College London offered full scholarships to students from

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

an countries, Kečkéšová joined University College London in 2003, where she worked toward a doctoral degree in infectious diseases. Her thesis considered retroviral infections and was awarded the Qiagen Award. During her PhD, she spent a year at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

where she looked at post-translational modifications of retroviral restriction factors.

Research and career

After earning her doctorate, Kečkéšová joined the laboratory of Robert Weinberg at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. At

Kečkéšová worked on the metabolic processes of cancer cells and the molecular networks of stem cells. Whilst reading the countless scientific studies into the organs that cancer attacks, Kečkéšová became interested in the cells that it did not attack, and began to study cancer metastasis and the mechanisms of tumour growth. She joined the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB) of the Czech Academy of Sciences in 2017. Kečkéšová discovered that the protein LACTB can act as a tumour suppressant. She demonstrated that activation of LACTB in cancer cells can result in the death of cells; by altering the composition of lipids in cancer mitochondria. She was awarded a European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Installation Grant to study the vulnerabilities of cancer cells in 2017. In 2018 Kečkéšová was awarded a €1.75 million grant from BTCZ Ventures to support her research into the mechanisms by which cancer impacts the human body. Under the collaboration, Kečkéšová will retain rights to the intellectual property of her research, whilst BTCZ will own licenses for future patents.

Selected publications

Her publications include: * * * * * *

Personal life

Kečkéšová has two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keckesova, Zuzana 21st-century Slovak scientists People from Galanta Charles University alumni Alumni of University College London Molecular biologists Women molecular biologists 1980 births Living people Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS Slovak biologists