Jan Danek, BSc (Hons)
PhD student, researcher
Laboratory of Neural Circuit Optophysiology
Department of Physiology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University
Scientific background
My first scientific experience was under the supervision of Prof. Jakub Otahal in 2018, when I participated in the Students’ Professional Activities competition for high schoolers. The presented project investigated a connection between white matter changes and epilepsy. Later on, I went to the UK to study Neuroscience at UCL, where I wrote my bachelor’s thesis under the supervision of Dr. Rob Wykes, PI at the Department of Experimental Epilepsy. The BSc. project was focused on a pilot preclinical investigation of gene therapy efficacy (increase of Kir4.1 gene expression) in an animal model of absence epilepsy.
During my bachelor studies, I also interned in Prof. Otahal’s laboratory, where we investigated the effects of a potent antioxidant, sulforaphane, on metabolism and cerebral blood flow in the context of temporal lobe epilepsy, utilising immature rats. After completing my BSc I continued working on the project as a research assistant. We have investigated the effect of sulforaphane on electrophysiology and explored whether sulforaphane and acetazolamide possess antiseizure properties, in young adult rats.
Nowadays, I am studying MRes in Translational Neuroscience, finishing my thesis project with a topic of Investigation of resting-state fMRI for the evaluation of epilepsy patients under the supervision of Dr. Meneka Sidhu, PI at the Department of Clinical Epilepsy at UCL. As the project scope includes patient contact, I can utilize my Good Clinical Practice skills. After completion of my MRes studies I plan to pursue a PhD in the Laboratory of Neural Circuit Optophysiology supervised by Dr. Ondrej Novak.
Research interests
I am deeply interested in the association between changes in metabolism and vascular properties, and the process of epileptogenesis. Currently, the neurovascular unit is the target of extensive research in epilepsy. During my activity as a Research Assistant at CAS, we have proven that the sole artificially evoked increase of basal blood flow (using acetazolamide) carries a direct anti-seizure effect.
Many previous studies have also pointed out long-term metabolic changes, which persist for a long time after the initial epileptogenic insult and play a huge part in the tissue changes that subsequently lead to the appearance of spontaneous seizures. We have previously shown that the possible key to the reversal of these metabolic changes could be the restoral of endogenous antioxidative capabilities of the central nervous system, achieved by drug-induced increased expression of the Nrf2 transcription factor. In this context, I find the research on neurosteroids deeply compelling, as there is now the first evidence that neurosteroids can also act on the Nrf2 pathway. Under the supervision of Dr. Ondřej Novák, I will be investigating the effects of newly synthesised neuroactive steroids on neuronal activity in animal models of both acute and chronic epilepsy.
Selected publications
Daněk J, Danačíková Š, Kala D, Svoboda J, Kapoor S, Pošusta A, Folbergrová J, Tauchmannová K, Mráček T, Otáhal J. Sulforaphane Ameliorates Metabolic Changes Associated With Status Epilepticus in Immature Rats. Front Cell Neurosci. 2022 Mar 15;16:855161. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2022.855161