About RECETOX
Founded in 1983, RECETOX is an independent department of the Faculty of Science at Masaryk University. We are dedicated to research and education in the fields of environmental science and public health. Our core activities include monitoring toxic compounds in the environment, consumer products, and human tissues; assessing the risks they pose and their toxicological and ecotoxicological effects; and developing innovative sampling and analytical methods, chemical tools and methodologies, biotechnologies, and software solutions.
We are equipped to respond swiftly to emerging challenges related to environmental contamination and population exposure to toxic substances and their mixtures. We propose preventive and legislative measures and offer appropriate interventions for chemical management.
To protect human health and ecosystems from the effects of toxic compounds, we collaborate with a wide range of industrial partners. Through our role as host of the National Centre for Toxic Compounds and the Stockholm Convention Regional Centre (SCRC) for capacity building and technology transfer, and in our capacity of the WHO collaborating centre for Chemical Exposure and Risks we support countries across Europe and Africa, as well as international institutions in the region and globally (UNEP, WHO).
The RECETOX Research Infrastructure is a centralized facility for conducting interdisciplinary research projects. Its core units analyze a broad spectrum of anthropogenic and natural substances and toxins in environmental and biological matrices, carry out long-term environmental and population studies, and develop advanced software tools for data management, analysis, interpretation, and visualization.
RECETOX offers multidisciplinary education through bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs in environmental health, mathematical biology, and biomedicine.
RECETOX in numbers
175
Research staff
60
PhD students
20
Research groups
3
Core facilities
2
Study programmes
3
Centres National and Regional of the Stockholm convention, WHO CC
“Our vision is to become an internationally recognized Centre of Excellence that promotes and implements education and research aimed at understanding how environmental factors affect human health, aging and well-being, and developing innovative approaches for environmental and health protection, and interventional tools for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.”
Prof. Jana Klánová
Director of the RECETOX Centre
History of RECETOX
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2025
After three years of negotiations, in which the RECETOX Centre was actively involved, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution under the United Nations Environment Programme is being established. We successfully completed the ERA Chair project and, at the end of the year, organized a meeting of European and American scientists aimed at developing a joint strategy to strengthen the integration of research in genomics and exposomics.
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2024
The RECETOX Centre has opened new laboratories for human exposome research within the renovated INBIT pavilion at the Bohunice University Campus. As part of the master’s degree program in Environmental Health, two new specializations have been introduced: Environmental Biomedicine and Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology.
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2023
RECETOX is endorsed as WHO collaborating centre for Chemical Exposure and Risks. The center celebrates its 40th anniversary.
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2022
Launch of the PARC partnership.The bachelor study program Environment and Health is divided in two specializations. RECETOX participates in more than 25 EU research projects.
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2021
EIRENE project coordinated by the RECETOX at Masaryk University has been included in the ESFRI Roadmap 2021. 30th anniversary of the CELSPAC study. RECETOX received the accreditation for habilitation and professorship procedures in the Environmental Health Sciences.
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2020
TEAMING project started. ERA Chair for the RECETOX hired and the group to be established. The CELSPAC biobank construction finished.
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2019
RECETOX awarded H2020 TEAMING Phase II project (with advanced partners UCL, ETH, BBMRI-ERIC and FNUSA ICRC), ERA Chair project, Twinning project, and also becomes part of Exposome project cluster.
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2018
Two new bachelor’s and master’s study programmes are accredited. New organisational structure developed, and construction of CELSPAC Biobank begins.
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2017
OP RDE projects on Excellent Teams (CETOCOEN PLUS) and RI upgrade (RECETOX RI) granted to the Centre, the TEAMING Phase 1 project granted to RECETOX
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2016
First ERA-NET (ERA-PLANET) project awarded. Important H2020 projects awarded to RECETOX (HMB4EU, ERA-Planet, ICARUS).
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2014
Trace Analytical Laboratories accredited by Czech Institute of Accreditation, GENASIS information system developed in RECETOX became official tool for Global Monitoring Plan (GMP) data collection. Collaboration with WHO established.
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2013
RECETOX mandate as Stockholm Convention Regional Centre prolonged. Prof. Jana Klánová becomes Director of RECETOX.
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2012
ELSPAC epidemiological database housed at RECETOX.
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2010
CETOCOEN Project starts. New RECETOX building construction started (A29 pavilion).
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2009
RECETOX endorsed as Stockholm Convention Regional Centre. Monitoring network MONET Europe established.
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2008
Start of monitoring the POPs in air in Africa – MONET Africa.
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2007
Establishment of Ph.D. major in Ecotoxicology. RECETOX nominated as Stockholm Convention Regional Centre for CEE region.
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2006
Start of POPs monitoring (air) in the CEE GENASIS-environmental database project constituted.
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2005
First RECETOX summer school organized. Establishment of RECETOX as the National Centre for POPs.
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2003
Report on the National inventory of POPs in the Czech Republic, establishment of the MONET CZ network.
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2002
First EU project – Centre of Excellence and first EU framework programme (FP5 project APOPSBAL).
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1994
First Ph.D. student graduates (Ecology major) Establishment of the Research Centre – PHARE project.
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1990
Ivan Holoubek becomes Director of the Department.
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1988
Regular monitoring at Košetice observatory in cooperation with CHMI.
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1983
Establishment of Department of Formation and Protection of the Environment, with Rudolf Rozkošný as Director of the Department