25 September 2024 – Veronika Horkova’s love of immunology began as an undergraduate and she hasn’t lost the passion for the subject. After a master’s and PhD in Prague and now a postdoctoral role in Luxembourg, she hasn’t lost the passion for the subject. “We had an immunology course with Professor Václav Hořejší. Basically, immunology was considered as one of the toughest courses but for me it was so easy. I didn’t have to struggle because I was genuinely interested. It was just a natural fit,” she says.
“You must be curious and love the thing that you do because in immunology there are so many things that we don’t know! There is so much to explore still – it’s just fascinating.”
Horkova’s EMBO Fellowship enabled her postdoctoral position at the Luxembourg Institute of Health.
“We are trying to help our body to fight infections, cancer or whatever comes your way by redirecting the way cells use their energy sources,” she says. “We are exploring how different T cell subsets use their metabolic pathways to accommodate their function. I’m specifically looking at crossroads between glycolysis and oxidative metabolism, studying how altering the pyruvate flux alters the T cell function.”
Her institute has a clear translational as well as basic research function, but Horkova says her work is still at an early stage. “Our research might help us understand how to manipulate the T cell response in autoimmunity or towards various challenges like infections or cancer,” she says. “Can we modulate what function we need the T cells to accommodate? Nudge them towards the necessary response and help our immune cells to fight against the challenges?”
Her advice to young scientists is to be persistent and find the right support. “You have to love it and you have to find a good team around you.”
