40 years - on the way to a health future
For 40 years, the RECETOX Centre has been studying the relationship between humans and the environment, with a particular focus on the environmental and health risks associated with toxic substances. By protecting the environment and health, it contributes to a healthier, safer and more sustainable future for all of us. Join us to see what has happened over these four decades.
1983-1993: POLLUTION
The roots of the RECETOX Centre go back to 1983, when the Department of Environmental Protection was established at the Faculty of Science. It focused on ecology, the analysis of the impacts of anthropogenic activities and the risks associated with environmental pollution. From the beginning, it developed cooperation with industrial entities and affected regions and contributed its expertise to mapping the situation and finding ways to improve the state of the environment.
1993 – 2003: EXPOSURE, HAZARD, RISK
The analysis of toxic substances in the environment, which was the focus of the department's activities during this period, was soon complemented by experimental ecotoxicology and environmental and health risk analysis. The department undergone personnel changes and also three moves between the university campuses on Kotlářská, Botanická and Veslařská streets before it finally moved to the Bohunice campus of MUNI.
2003 – 2013: SAFETY
For the further development of the Centre, the entry into the European Framework Programmes, the implementation of the INCHEMBIOL research project and the first European Structural Funds project CETOCOEN were decisive. This stimulated the development of interdisciplinary joint teams with the Departments of Chemistry and Experimental Biology of the Faculty of Science, and later also with the St. Anne's University Hospital. Intensive cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic or the United Nations Environment Programme began.
2013 – 2022: HUMAN HEALTH
Factors of the natural and social environment, together with genetic predispositions, determine the health of each individual. However, their interactions can only be studied in long-term population studies. The Centre's focus on assessing the health impacts and risks associated with environmental exposures has necessitated the building of new research lines, population studies, laboratory and biobanking capacity.